Three takeaways as Wigan Warriors get 60 minutes under their belts in abandoned friendly

Wakefield were leading 22-12 before official Chris Kendall was forced to call the game with 20 minutes remaining due to player safety issues inside Belle Vue.

Luke Thompson, Kruise Leeming, Sam Walters and Sam Eseh all made their first appearances for the club with a strong forward pack named, while Liam Byrne also returned for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury last September that saw him miss the run to the Grand Final.

Jake Wardle’s fitness tested

Jake Wardle was the only senior player among the back-line alongside youngsters Nathan Lowe, Jacob Douglas, Zach Eckersley and Reagan Sumner at full-back.

It saw the 2023 Harry Sunderland Trophy winner make a return from injury, having been forced to miss international duties with England for the end-of-season series against Tonga.

Explaining his inclusion, assistant coach Sean O’Loughlin, who took charge of the Warriors for the fixture alongside Thomas Leuluai, said: “It was more because he’s come off the back of an injury, rather than him playing a full game next week, we wanted to give him half a game this week and we’ll see how he comes through and that’ll dictate how his minutes go next week.

“Rather than chucking him in and expecting 80 minutes from him straight away, we thought we’d feed him into this first.

“And he was quite keen to play, as were a lot of the middles.”

Youngsters impress as duo celebrate first senior tries

A young back-line impressed, despite the score after an hour, playing against a more experienced opposition.

Winger Douglas and Jack Farrimond both crossed for tries before the abandonment, with the latter scoring thanks to a slick chip kick from half-back partner Ryan Hampshire.

Nathan Lowe, who took Liam Marshall’s spot in the overseas training camp in Portugal, featured on the wing with O’Loughlin admitting that the side will take positives from the minutes played.

There has been plenty of talk about 18-year-old Farrimond, and his defensive work was impressive against much bigger bodies, with the playmaker still eligible for the club’s academy.

Sumner also looked comfortable at full-back, although was sent to the sin-bin for a professional foul in the first half after Josh Griffin started a break from a quick tap.

Rusty start for Super League champions

There’s still plenty of work for the Warriors, but there will be no panic with the game opening the senior side’s pre-season schedule.

Ball retention was an issue, while Renouf Atoni’s try next to the posts was soft against a strong middle unit.

Back-rower Walters assisted the game’s first in his opening appearance for the Warriors, with his looping pass finding Douglas in space out wide.

Wigan look set to take a full strength squad for their final pre-season match against Hull FC on Sunday, February 4, at the MKM Stadium, which should see a more polished performance ahead of their title-defending campaign.

Unfortunately, Friday’s game will be remebered for its power failures on Matty Ashurst’s testimonial fixture with a healthy crowd inside the ground.