Adam Keighran outlines Wigan Warriors fix-ups with 'we’ve got to start better' assessment
Adam Keighran admitted Wigan Warriors simply weren’t good enough after their shock 24-14 home defeat to Castleford Tigers on Sunday.
Wigan led 14-6 at the break on Sunday afternoon, but were overrun after half-time, conceding 18 unanswered points as Castleford produced a comeback victory at the Brick Community Stadium.
Speaking after the game, Keighran described the performance as ‘disappointing’ and highlighted their poor start to the second half, with errors and ill-discipline proving costly.
"Disappointing,” Keighran told Wigan TV. “I felt like they owned the first part of the game, but we worked our way back into it.
“Then our start after half-time wasn’t good enough. They got off to too good a start, and when a team gets momentum, it’s hard to pull it back sometimes, and that’s what happened.”
The Warriors were without several key players due to injury and suspension, including a late withdrawal for key prop Ethan Havard due to a calf injury. However, Keighran insisted that there was no excuse for the defeat.
“We’re missing a few people across the park, and losing Eth late was a big one in terms of experience in the middle,” he said. “But we’ve got a next-man-up mentality here. Whoever comes in is expected to do the job.
"Across the board, we had lapses in concentration. They’re learning curves, and we’ll take lessons from it."
Attention now turns quickly to Friday night’s trip to face Warrington Wolves at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, with Wigan looking to respond after three straight losses in Super League, with Matt Peet’s side having won at Wakefield Trinity in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals the week before their home defeat to Castleford.
With just a five-day turnaround ahead of Warrington, Keighran says the focus is already on putting things right.
"We’ve got to start better, that’s probably the biggest thing that we’ve taken out of today,” said Keighran.
"And when momentum goes against us, it’s learning how to change that. Those are our biggest things (to work on).”
Wigan and Warrington both head into Friday’s game on the back of losses, with the Wolves having suffered a 38-22 defeat to Catalans Dragons in the south of France on Saturday night.