By KEITH McGHIE
KRUISE LEEMING only joined Wigan at the start of the season after the former Leeds captain had a stint with Gold Coast in the NRL.
But he admits that the values that underlie the club have fully justified that decision.
“It’s very special because they are a very special group of guys,” said Leeming.
“I’ve been in champion teams and probably the work behind the scenes hasn’t been put in, but that’s not the case at Wigan.
“We get everything right here at Wigan, we deserved to be in the final and we deserved to win .
“I’m not just talking about on the field but also off the field and how we treat people as blokes. We get everything spot on.
“It’s good to be part of a club that’s got the same values that I have.
“I could have come here and won and still been unhappy, which sounds weird, but if they hadn’t had the same values as me I could still have been unhappy.
“The way Wigan have accepted me and improved me as a player and a person is everything I could have wanted.
“It was a massive decision coming back from the NRL to the Super League. But the question I asked myself was which team is going to make me a better player and a better person and Wigan was the answer – I’m so glad I got it right.
“When we stop having a drink and stop celebrating, we will look at how we still could have been better, whereas most teams would regard that as the ceiling.
“Here, you never get bored of winning and being successful – you never get bored of the feeling you get walking up those stairs to lift that trophy.
“We want to do it all again and that’s the culture we have at Wigan.
“It’s been a positive experience and it’s hard to gauge which experience is the best.
“When you come from a family that has good morals, you become a good person.
“We have such a wealth of talent in the squad that there is always someone pushing you to be in that 17.”
First published in League Express newspaper, Issue 3,434 (June 10, 2024)
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