George Burgess waits for chance to 'respond' from disappointing Wigan Warriors debut

The marquee recruit has been left out of the Wigan squad which heads to Castleford tomorrow night as he nurses a hip injury.

Burgess suffered the problem in training and it kept him out of the pre-season matches and flared up midway through the first-half of the 16-10 win against Warrington.

Injury aside, coach Adrian Lam admits the prop wasn’t happy with his first outing in the Cherry and White which saw him slip off tackles on Blake Austin and Ben Murdoch-Masila.

“Straight after the game he was in a bit of a grudge because he’s an ultimate competitor,” said Lam.

“He wasn’t happy with the way that he played. He’s an experienced campaigner and I’m sure he’ll sort himself out. You have to remember he’d only played in two games in the last eight months or so.

“But he’s experienced, he’s been around for a long time and he knows how to handle himself in these moments and how to respond to a performance he’s not happy with.”

His absence tomorrow night may open the door for Mitch Clark to come into the side for his debut, against his former club.

The Kiwi chances of playing may hinge on whether Sam Powell passes a mandatory head test; if he is absent, both fringe halfbacks Jake Shorrocks and Harry Smith may come into the fold, with one likely to take a bench spot.

Lam described Clark as “raw” during pre-season and has been happy with his progress, having been impressed with his robust display against Wigan in this corresponding fixture last year.

“That was the game that confirmed to us that he should probably be on our team and not theirs,” said Lam. “Mitch is working hard, he understands where he’s at.”