Iain Thornley says the competition in the Wigan Warriors squad will prove beneficial for everyone

The Warriors have added Jake Wardle and Toby King to their ranks during the off-season, with the pair looking likely to be the club’s starting centres at the beginning of the 2023 campaign.

Thornley, who is currently recovering from a knee injury, states having a range of different options will only help Matty Peet’s side become even stronger.

“We obviously lost (Jake) Bibby and Zak (Hardaker) last year so we needed to strengthen in that area so we’ve got two new boys,” he said.

“We’ve all made them feel welcome.

“I’m obviously not training at the moment so it’s hard to be on the field with them to chat about positional stuff.

“It’s a good competition and they’re great players, so I think we can all make each other play better to get the best out of each other.

“It helps, because if you have a poor game there is someone there to take your spot, so it makes you play better week in, week out.

“You can’t have an off game and expect to have your shirt for the next week.

“That’s the way it is across the team, you’ve got to be a 9/10 to make sure you keep your spot.

“It’s great for the club, because we get the competitiveness and they get the performances out of us.

“We had a great time with the Challenge Cup last year, so if we can replicate something similar and add more to it then it would be great.

“You want those first few performances at the start of the year to set you off, and that’s going to be the main thing at first.”

Thornley is hopeful he can be back in the early stages of the campaign, as he looks to put his injury problems behind him.

“I’ve started to do a bit of running and change of direction, so I’m in a pretty good place at the minute,” he added.

“I’m feeling good so that’s the main thing.

“I think I’ll be ready for about four games into the season, so I’ll miss a couple at the beginning just to make sure everything is right and that I’m ready before I get my first chance.”