'˜Jake said he'll be gunning for me'

Liam Marshall is preparing for his first game against close mate Jake Shorrocks – the player who introduced him to rugby league as a schoolboy.

Wigan fringe-player Shorrocks is on loan at Salford and has been given the green-light to face his parent club tomorrow night.

Marshall first played alongside him for the Standish High School team – Shorrocks later offered the winger £10 to join his Shevington Sharks junior side!

The pair went on to line-up at Wigan St Pat’s and the Warriors’ academy side together.

“But I’ve never played against him – this will be the first time,” said Marshall.

“It’s going to be strange because we’re really good mates and he’s one of the reasons I got into rugby league when I was 13.

“We’ve already had a bit of a crack, he said he’ll be gunning for me and I’ve said the same back. But we can’t really speak to each other this week now we’re enemies!”

Shorrocks played a big role in Wigan’s 2016 Grand Final charge as a bench-hooker but last year suffered a season-ending knee injury in his only appearance, at Widnes.

“He’s shown his resilience to come back and it’s good to see him getting some game-time at Salford,” added Marshall.

“Before his injury he showed what a talented player he is. He was the best player all the way through our junior teams and even at the Under-19s he was the talisman. He’s always had that flair about him.”

Wigan’s reserves will face Wakefield at the DW Stadium in a curtain-raiser to Friday’s Super League game against Salford.

The reserves match kicks-off at 5.45pm. Wakefield are the only other Super League team who choose to run a reserves side.