Super League Grand Final winner Tom Forber has explained why it was an easy decision to commit his long-term future to Wigan Warriors.
The 22-year-old hooker was out of contract at the end of the current season, but he recently inked a new five-year contract with the Warriors, which would keep him at Brick Community Stadium through at least the end of the 2030 season.
Forber has made 17 appearances for Matt Peet’s side since his first-team debut in 2022, including a Grand Final victory over Hull KR at Old Trafford last season.
The Warrington-born hooker has had to wait for his opportunities this year, with only six appearances, but he says there is no other club he would rather be at than Wigan.
“Soon after we came back for pre-season, I was talking a lot with Matty and having honest conversations with him,” Forber told the Wigan Post in an exclusive interview. “He was telling me where I was, where he believed I could get to, and where he saw me in his plans. “After the club spoke with my agent, they came back with a five-year agreement, so I was ecstatic.” Long-term arrangements like that are uncommon, so I considered myself quite fortunate to be able to stay here for the next five years. I’m pretty pleased with it.”
Forber, a highly rated hooker from Wigan’s renowned youth system, admits the five-year contract extension surprised him, but it allows him to focus on developing his game rather than worrying about his future.
“When they said they were going to offer an extension, I had it in my head that it might maybe two or three years, and then when I saw five, I was like ‘oh wow, what a great opportunity’,” Forber mumbled.
“I’m at ease here, and I grew up playing with a lot of the guys, so it’s a wonderful opportunity to establish myself. It gives me time. I don’t have to worry about where I will be in the future. I can simply focus on my game and strive to be the best version of myself.”
Forber has played six first-team games in 2025, while also playing in the Reserves and Championship on dual registration with Oldham.
Forber could have moved to another Super League club, which would have required him to play every week at the highest level, but he preferred to stay with the reigning champions.
“I think just the honesty, really,” Forber said when asked why he chose Wigan over other options.
“Matty tells me what I’m doing well, what I need to work on, and where I stand, which is great for me.
“A five-year contract, in my opinion, demonstrated that they want me here and that the club has plans for me. It’s simply up to me to get where they see me, therefore I thought it was a fantastic opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.”
During his stint in the Wigan first team, Forber went on loan to Newcastle Thunder, Whitehaven, Widnes Vikings, Barrow Raiders, and Oldham.
While he is currently behind Brad O’Neill and Kruise Leeming in the pecking order, Forber insists that healthy competition is only good for all three of them, bringing out the best in a well-stocked hooking department.
“It’s very good,” he said. “You encourage each other to be better versions of yourself every day.
“Obviously, you work on your own stuff in your own time, but I believe that having those two there, and the quality that both of them have in different areas of their games, I believe that if I can learn from them and they learn from me, we can continue to improve and collaborate in our own ways. “It’s healthy competition.”
Forber is working hard both on and off the field to become a well-known Super League hooker, which includes extra training sessions in his spare time to become fitter and stronger, as well as adhering to a relatively strict and healthy diet.
What are his ambitions for the remainder of the season? That’s simple: keep pushing himself wherever he’s playing and seizing each opportunity that comes his way with both hands.
“Some weeks I’ll come into training and not know where I’m going to be, if I’m going to be on loan or whatever, but as long as I’m playing, I just want to keep getting better every week, fitter, faster, stronger,” says Forber.
“Obviously, it can be frustrating at times. You want to play in first-team games every week, but Matty is honest with me; he tells me what you need me to work on, so it is up to me to get on with it, and you will get your chance later on.
“I’m trying to do a lot of things outside of rugby right now, just working hard, trying to get as strong and fast as I can, and putting myself in a situation where if I get an opportunity, I’ll stay with the squad.
“Matty has said I will get chances this year, so it’s just about taking it with two hands when I get those chances.”
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