Wigan Warriors reserves roundup: Darrell Goulding pleased with the performance of his youth players following a dominant victory over Newcastle

Wigan Warriors reserves produced a dominant 80-4 victory over Newcastle Thunder at Robin Park Arena.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

After kicking off the campaign with a win away to Hull FC last week, they made it two out of two, as 10 different players went over to score throughout the afternoon.

Wigan’s head of youth Darrell Goulding was delighted with the performances of the young players involved in the fixture.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: “It was a pleasing performance. I know John Winder and the staff had spoken about being judged on effort areas of the game, and I thought throughout that was something that was really strong.

Wigan Warriors reserves put in a dominant display against Newcastle (Credit: John Baldwin)Wigan Warriors reserves put in a dominant display against Newcastle (Credit: John Baldwin)
Wigan Warriors reserves put in a dominant display against Newcastle (Credit: John Baldwin)

“Every lad put their best foot forward and put themselves in the window to be selected for the next game. There was an element of composure as well as great opportunist rugby.

“Tom Forber did really well. Last week he was probably our best performer, and backed it up really well. We also challenged Ben O’Keefe in the sense of what to do in a few areas of the game, and he really responded with his strongest game for the club.

“We were happy with every player involved. They all came out of it with their reputation enhanced a little bit, but we’re not daft and we’re not getting carried away, I’m sure the next game against Leeds will be a big test.”

Read More
Wigan Warriors : Matty Peet named as coach of the month for February after makin...
The Warriors beat Thunder 80-4 at Robin Park Arena (Credit: John Baldwin)The Warriors beat Thunder 80-4 at Robin Park Arena (Credit: John Baldwin)
The Warriors beat Thunder 80-4 at Robin Park Arena (Credit: John Baldwin)
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

From start to finish Wigan were the dominant side, with Jack Bibby, Jacob Douglas, Tom Mitchell, Tom Forber and Kieran Tyrer all scoring before the 25 minute mark.

Ahead of half time, Junior Nsemba, Adam Jones and Logan Astley added their names to the scoresheet too, while Forber secured his brace to make it 54-0.

After the break, Kavan Rothwell became the latest player to score, while Nsemba added his second.

Ellis Hobson crossed the line to make it 70-0 after an hour, before Jones and Astley went over for seconds as well.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sam Murtagh scored a late consolation for the visitors as the game finished 80-4.

Goulding says he’s pleased with the opportunities available to the players this season.

“I think the pathway of having the reserves and the dual-registration, gives the best of both worlds, as the young lads get the chance to step up to a different level,” he added.

“It gives us a lot of choice as a club and it’s great because they’re playing our plays with our staff and our facilities, and there’s options to test them further, so we can constantly adapt to a players pathway to make sure they’re developing in the right way.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“All the players at the club, who weren't injured, got a test of playing last weekend and would have benefited from it. Without the reserves, it’s been hard to throw a kid in after a long rest and to expect them to play at first team level.

“Sam Halsall is the example, where he’s performing really well at Championship level so I’ve got every confidence that if he gets the call-up to play in the first team, he’s going to be ready to play at his best.”

To celebrate the start of the Super League season we are offering readers 20% off digital sport subscriptions until February 23. Use promo code SL20 when signing up to enjoy the discount. https://www.wigantoday.net/subscriptions/sports.