IT’S fair to say if there is one pundit that divides opinion in rugby league then it is Jon Wilkin.
Known for his outspoken comments and strong opinions, Wilkin’s honesty permeates the Sky Sports and BBC airwaves throughout the rugby league season.
But, that comes with a great deal of abuse and criticism in a world where social media makes peoples’ opinions easily broadcast.
That being said, Wilkin isn’t too fussed about the negative side of things, focusing instead on his honesty and being true to himself.
“It’s part of the territory. I made a pact to myself. When I watched sports coverage, one thing I hated was when it was an agree-a-thon and devoid of genuine opinion,” Wilkin told League Express.
“It’s like a caveated statement such as “he’s made a mistake there but he is a great lad”, I think ‘what are you talking about?’ it makes me sick.
“You should have an opinion if you are on TV and say what that opinion is because ultimately if I didn’t say what I thought, I would be saying nothing. There’s nothing worse than wishy-washy garbage that comes out of peoples’ mouths that mean nothing.
“I don’t want to antagonise people but if I think, for example, Salford haven’t got ‘the minerals’ like I did before, I will say it. Off the back of that you get criticised but I would rather be true to myself and be criticised and disliked to some extent and be ok with that then than the alternative of pretending something to make people happy.”
Instead of people agreeing with Wilkin, he instead wants people to respect where he is coming from given his experience in rugby league.
“I don’t expect people to agree with me but I do want the respect of people to understand I played 495 Super League games, I’ve won every domestic honour you can win, I’ve played for my country 28 times.
“My opinions are being based on a fan, a Hull KR fan, I played in the Championship for Hull KR when they were struggling, I played in Super League over numerous years, I played for an expansionist club in Toronto, I played for my country so my view covers 16 years of a very broad church.
“My views are not entrenched in promoting St Helens or promoting any agendas, my view is what is true to me and if that attracts criticism I’m fine with that.
“If you’re not dividing opinion in my line of work to some extent – though that’s never my intention – I shouldn’t be getting paid for being on TV.
“There are millions of people who don’t say anything whilst players and coaches can’t say anything. You are constantly not trying to give snippets or soundbites away but, as a pundit, I don’t have those shackles.
“It’s the beauty of what I do and it attracts criticism and I embrace critique and sometimes you get feedback and sometimes you listen to it and sometimes you don’t.
“Feedback is part of it and it’s all good. You only hear from a small minority whether that’s good or bad so people who say you are brilliant and those who say you are bad are coming from the same place. The reality is you are somewhere in between.”
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