ADRIAN Lam thanked the Wigan fans following the defeat to Leeds Rhinos that saw the Warriors’ 2021 season and his time as head coach come to an end.
Speaking after the play-off eliminator defeat, he said: I’ve spent a big chunk of my life in Wigan and I absolutely love the place.
“I love the people, our fans, my players and staff. I’ve had a really great ride; great experiences and I’ve learnt a lot along the way.
“Hopefully I’ve brought through a lot of young players here that can set the club up for what’s next. Some of my leadership group that have backed me through this process have been outstanding and I just want to say a big thank you to all the fans who have been by my side as a player or a coach, or either.
I will take these memories to my grave. I leave with some wonderful moments and memories.”
The Warriors fell short in a closely contested game against Leeds at the DW Stadium. Lam said: “I’m absolutely gutted, the dressing room is devastated.
We just didn’t really get into our rhythm tonight with the ball attacking wise, but I thought we defended pretty tough for most of the game.”
He added: “There’s a lot of players leaving including myself. They’re just gutted because we had an opportunity there to finish on a fairytale. It was in our hands to get to a semi-final, but we couldn’t quite get there.”
The defeat also signalled the end of the Wigan careers of Oliver Gildart and Jackson Hastings as they prepare to head off to the NRL with Wests Tigers.