Ben Flower gives inside track on Wigan Warriors to new teammates

The Welsh prop won’t face his former side as he recovers from the hamstring injury suffered in the semi-final which denied him a Grand Final farewell from the Warriors last year.

But Flower, hoping to be fit for the derby in May, said: “I know a lot of the boys there and the way they play.

“If I can do my part and tip them up on certain plays I will.

“People are writing us off already and we don’t feel that way as a team.

“It’s a tough challenge but we know what we need to do, and we’ll go out every week and play the way we want to play.

“The proof is in the pudding.”

Flower moved to Leigh before their place in Super League was confirmed, after seeing a move to Toronto Wolfpack collapse with the Canadian club’s demise.

The 33-year-old, who spent nine seasons at Wigan said: “It was strange at first but once you start settling in, it can be a new lease of life to move on, you can get a bit stale at the same place.

“I’ve loved coming to Leigh and I’ve got another bunch of friends.”

Leigh are coached by John Duffy, who started his coaching career with a season at Wigan before taking charge at Swinton.

He said: “It was a real eye-opener for me, going to Wigan, obviously Waney was there at that time so to see how the best in the business did things.”

Ex-Warriors Matty Russell, Ian Thornley, Joe Mellor, Craig Mullen, Tom Spencer and Lewis Tierney are also in the Leigh squad. Kick-off at Headingley on Friday is 8.15pm (Sky Sports).