The Wigan chairman, Ian Lenagan, has described the dual-registration system as “a shambles” after agreeing to send the back-row forward Connor Farrell on a season-long loan to Widnes.

Farrell, 22, the younger brother of Wigan’s England forward Liam, has signed a new contract that will keep him with the Warriors until the end of 2018. But he was unlikely to get much game time in 2016 and will instead spend the year with the Vikings rather than on dual registration with a Championship club.

Lenagan said: “Connor is a good young player who needs to be playing rugby league regularly at a competitive level and the current shambles of reserves/dual-registration does not allow that opportunity.

“We believe this move will help Connor achieve more senior game time, which will help him improve as a player and allow him the chance to show his capabilities regularly on the Super League stage.

“Connor has a major future at the Wigan club and we have extended his contract until the end of 2018 to reflect the year away. Connor is determined to have a long-term successful career at Wigan and agrees that this is the right opportunity for the next stage of his career development.”

The Wigan head coach, Shaun Wane, said: “This is a good move for Connor and one that will serve him well in the future. Greg Burke recently returned to Wigan after spending a year with Hull KR and is a much better player for that and I know that Connor will take this opportunity with both hands.”

The Widnes head coach, Denis Betts, said: “We’ve been looking for replacements for Danny Galea and in Connor, we feel that we’ve found the best quality player available to do that.

“He’s still young and he’s got a great desire to be successful. He’s got four international back-rowers ahead of him at Wigan so he comes here to fight for his spot and it’s good to put that pressure on him.”

Farrell, who made 21 appearances on dual registration with Workington, said: “I am delighted to have extended my deal at Wigan and am very grateful to Kris Radlinski and Ian Lenagan for giving me this opportunity to play regularly in Super League.

“I am now at the stage of my career where I feel I need to play weekly in the Super League and hope to be able to do that this year. People I have spoken to have only had good things to say about Widnes and I’m looking forward to playing for them this year before returning to Wigan in 2017 and 2018.”