Wigan are making no secret of the fact they plan on scouting NRL talent to recruit as part of their Super League trip to Australia this month.
The 2017 World Club Challenge champions arrived in Sydney earlier this week for a 16-day tour, where they'll play a Super League competition match, a trial against South Sydney and train with a number of NRL clubs.
Saturday night's clash with Hull FC in Wollongong is for full competition points as round two of their season, but Wigan executive director Kris Radlinski said the club would be foolish not to also spend part of the time working on their roster..
"We've got succession plans and targets so we'd be stupid not to use this trip to our advantage as well," former England international Radlinski said.
"We watch a lot. We have a pretty wide scouting range and we watch a lot of under-20s Aussie football. We watch all the NRL games and it's all fed back to us."
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The timing of the Warriors' visit will give them the perfect opportunity to scope the NRL's fringe and up-and-coming talent.
They have a training session booked with Manly this week, as well as another scrimmage session with Cronulla next week.
Their ANZ Stadium trial against Souths on February 17 forms part of a double-header where St George Illawarra meet Hull.
Crucially, that weekend traditionally features more fringe players for Wigan to view, much in the mould of former Rabbitohs youngster Gabriel Hamlin who was recruited in the off-season.
"The Super League has been a great nursery for some players in recent years," Radlinski said.
"A few years ago it was players at the end of their career trying to make a quid. Nowadays we've young kids who we're trying to make it.
"Gabriel's a fair way off first grade in the NRL but if he can come to the UK and get some good football under his belt that's only going to be valuable to him later on in his NRL career."
Mahe Fonua, Corey Thompson and Mitchell Allgood are among those who have returned to Australia this year from the ESL, while the growth of English players in the NRL has increased significantly in the past decade.
And Wigan coach Shaun Wane said he accepted that while he was out here casting his eye over Australian talent, his players too were more visible than ever to NRL clubs.
"I'm looking every day to see if we can improve on those we've got. I'm never ever satisfied," Wane said.
"I understand that people from the NRL will be watching our players as well, it's just the way it is. If someone goes we'll just get another one."
"We do very well with bringing our young players through the system."
