Wigan free to breach salary cap

The Wigan chairman, Maurice Lindsay, has defended the decision by the Super League to give his club a £500,000 leeway on its salary cap for next season.

The competition is due to introduce a flat-rate maximum of £1.8m for each club to spend on players next year, but a meeting last week ruled that Wigan should be given transitional relief, under which they can spend £2.3m.

"It would have been contractually impossible for us, even if I never signed another player," said Lindsay, who has given the Super League a written guarantee that Wigan will abide by the cap from 2003 onwards.

"When I came back to the club, the wage bill was creeping towards £3m. We have made progress in reducing it, but when the new salary cap was brought in at the end of December, we were already locked into a number of contracts." Lindsay's argument is that the club is tied to long-term deals with senior players, like Denis Betts and Gary Connolly, agreed by a previous regime.

But those who will have to compete with Wigan point out that Wigan are also negotiating with, and expected to sign, two high-priced players from the Antipodes, Jamie Ainscough and Craig Smith.

"We haven't signed those two yet, although it could well be that we will," said Lindsay. "But, against that, we could release as many as nine players." The concession Wigan have been given depends on them unloading players before signing any more. That means that Steve Renouf is likely to go when his contract expires at the end of this season and others could depart before then.

Chris Chester is interesting his old club, Halifax, although Hull could also come into the equation, while Simon Haughton is the subject of an offer from Huddersfield.

That situation has been complicated by an approach from Leeds, which would no doubt be more attractive to the player.

Huddersfield have made one signing as they try to break their losing run, with Hull's Papua New Guinea stand-off, Stanley Gene, joining them on loan for the rest of the season. Gene joined Hull Kingston Rovers when he first came to the country. He signed for Gateshead shortly before their merger with Hull, where he has found it difficult to make the first team this season.

St Helens could have Tommy Martyn back in their side for the first time since the Challenge Cup final when they play Wigan on Friday. Martyn has recovered from a hernia operation.