WIGAN have successfully fought off the lure of rugby union to keep Great Britain centre David Hodgson on their books for another two years.

The Hull-born flier, who signed from Halifax Blue Sox two years ago, has put pen to paper on a new contract which will see him remain a Warrior until the end of the 2004 Super League campaign.

The news ends months of speculation over the promising 20-year-old, who has been linked most strongly with rugby union outfit Orrell. Hodgson, who follows the example of Test full-back Kris Radlinski in turning down a cross-code switch, admitted there had been interest from other clubs and that one day he might try his hand at the 15-man discipline.

"There were a few interested parties but nothing serious. Wigan have come in with an offer early enough and I wanted to stay here," he said. "I'm not interested in playing rugby union at the minute. I just love playing rugby league. Later on in life maybe I'll choose to have a go but not right now."

Coach Stuart Raper was delighted to keep Hodgson on board and said talks had gone on for long enough.

"This has been going on for a couple of months now. I tried to move it along quicker but we had the Challenge Cup final to think about and the work didn't get done," he said.

"I'm very pleased he has decided to stay with the club because I believe he's got an exciting future. I think he's progressing as a player every week."

For Hodgson, who has his heart set on selection for Yorkshire's Origin series and for Great Britain's one-off Test against Australia this summer, the conclusion of contract negotiations will come as a relief.

"It is great to get my contract talks sorted out early on," he said. "Now I can just concentrate on playing - like you do when you are a kid. That"s important because I need to be playing well to stand any chance of earning representative honours."