Faz saluted ahead of special milestone

The forward, who debuted in 2010, has been labelled one of the club’s most important players by coach Shaun Wane ahead of their clash at Hull FC.

“He’s right up there with Sean O’Loughlin, in terms of his standing here,” said Wane. “I doubt anyone rates him higher than I do.

“He drives standards, he’s a fantastic competitor and very consistent.”

Captain O’Loughlin - a team-mate for Wigan and England - says Farrell’s consistency is a quality which is really valued by players and coaches.

“When someone plays at the same high level week-in, week-out, you can sometimes take them for granted a bit,” said the 34-year-old.

“But Faz is consistently up there with his work-rate, on and off the ball, and on top of that he’s got the quality in his work, too.

“In the last few years he’s become a pivotal player in this team.”

Wane says Farrell’s attitude is typified by the fact he has only ever been disciplined for the same breach - training when he is supposed to be resting!

“There have been loads of incidents like that,” laughed Farrell.

“I think now they’ve got their head around the fact I like to do my own thing.”

Farrell, 26, won a Grand Final during his debut season with Wigan and went on to win two further titles in 2013 and 2016, landing the man of the match in last October’s triumph.

The two-time Challenge Cup winner has also broken into the England ranks.

Younger team-mates say they try and learn from his professionalism.

“He’s first in, last out – people look up to him,” said prop Ryan Sutton. “I look at him and think, ‘Why is he doing that and I’m not?’

“It’s not just the extras after training, but he’ll do things on top of that, things he’s not been asked to do - he’ll go the one step further to make himself better.

“He’s a quality, quality player.”

And full-back Lewis Tierney added: “When you see him there in the dressing room or see his name on the team-sheet, it’s reassuring.

“He’s a world class player.”