John Duffy reacts to Wigan Warriors' pre-season defeat in Wales - 'A good run out for us'
John Duffy was pleased with how his youthful Wigan Warriors side responded in the second half as they went down valiantly to North Wales Crusaders in a pre-season friendly on Saturday.
The Warriors trailed 24-12 at the break in Colwyn Bay before producing a better second-half showing, but it was the Crusaders who held on for a 34-22 win at the Eirias Stadium.
Tiaki Chan, Leo Wadsworth, Noah Hodkinson and Dayon Sambou scored Wigan’s tries. Meanwhile, Sambou, Jonny Vaughan and Finn McMillan made their first appearances in a Wigan shirt.
“Our start wasn’t great,” said Duffy. “We didn’t cope with the start of the game well, and we didn’t cope with their older players well early on, and it just nipped us in the bud in the end.
"But there were some positives in there as well, which I’m sure we’ll see when watching the video back.
"I think just the chat at half-time about a few things helped, and we came out a lot better, which I was pleased with in the second half.”
Duffy also praised the return of Tom Forber, who captained the side upon his recovery from a wrist injury he suffered in August, as well as unofficial debutants Sambou and Vaughan.
“Tom is back now from his injury, which he has done a good job in getting back from, so it was good to see him getting some minutes,” he added.
"I thought Dayon’s carries were superb. Jonny’s attitude is first-class, and I think putting him with Dayon (at centre and wing) settled them down a little bit because they are used to each other.”
Highly-rated prop Shea O’Connor, who picked up the Edwards-Johnson Memorial Trophy for being Academy Player of the Year in 2025, featured from the bench and caught the eye when he entered the action, having mixed it up in the middle with his physicality.
“Shea was brilliant,” said Duffy.
"He is only second year of the academy this year, but if he carries on doing what he’s doing, then he is going to be some player.
"We’ve had a look at the new lads, we’ve had a look at Shea, who is coming up from the academy, so overall, I thought it was a good run out for us.”