Wigan have confirmed Super League's worst-kept secret by appointing Shaun Wane as their new coach with Iestyn Harris as his assistant, but the chairman, Ian Lenagan, also seized the opportunity to signal a counterattack on rugby union in response to the likely loss of Joel Tomkins.

Both Lenagan and Wane refused to comment directly on the situation regarding Tomkins, who reports have linked with Saracens and Harlequins. "We're never going to be able to match the money that rugby union is able to offer," said Wane, a former Wigan and Great Britain prop who has been promoted after two years as Michael Maguire's assistant, and given a two-year contract. "But we have a fantastic game, and I want to make it as attractive and enjoyable as possible for players to stay with this club."

Lenagan was more combative. "One of the reasons I'm not particularly concerned about the threat of rugby union coming in for our senior players is that we can keep them coming through from the bottom," he said. "We produce creative, inventive players in rugby league which rugby union can't do. Even their own people are now admitting that they coach it out of them at 14."

However, Lenagan still believes there are talented young players in rugby union who would be capable of switching to league, and hopes to announce a number of signings before the start of next season, as part of the club's emphasis on developing their own – partly in response to the growing difficulty of signing quality league players from overseas because of the increasing financial strength of the National Rugby League.

"Our recruitment policy is going to shift dramatically," he said. "The Aussie player market is largely dead, which is why I say around 75% of our players must be developed ourselves. Our recruiting is going to shift dramatically, to other areas of the country, and we think rugby union is the perfect hunting ground across the south, in Wales, in Scotland and Ireland. The shining stars aren't going to come, but we're probably saying we might get four or five players a year aged from 16 to 19, from different areas."

He agreed that the appointment of Harris, who represented Wales in union and league, might help in that process. "Iestyn is an excellent technical coach, and he might have an entry into Wales for us," he said, although he refused to confirm that Harris's former Wales captain Gareth Thomas will also be joining the club.

Paul Deacon, the former Great Britain scrum‑half who enjoyed two successful seasons with his hometown club after spending most of his career at Bradford, has also joined Wane's coaching staff after confirming his retirement at the age of 32, and the Wigan-born conditioner Mark Bitcon has signed a new two-year contract in a new role as director of sports science and medicine.