Tom Forber keen to seize Wigan Warriors opportunity - 'I just want to repay that trust'
Wigan Warriors young gun Tom Forber is ready to seize his opportunity in 2026 – and is determined to repay the faith shown in him by head coach Matt Peet.
The 22-year-old hooker has featured in three of Wigan’s four competitive fixtures so far this season, providing impact from the bench and working in tandem with starting nine Brad O'Neill.
With experienced hooker Kruise Leeming joining Catalans Dragons on a season-long loan – a move that saw Ollie Partington return to the Brick Community Stadium – an opportunity has opened up for Forber to make his mark, which the Warrington-born talent is embracing.
“Yeah, massively,” Forber told Wigan Today. “Matty spoke to me when it was all going on with Kruise and Ollie and just said he trusts me. I just want to repay that trust, keep that trust there and keep working hard.
“I know it’s not guaranteed, so I just want to keep training hard, keep getting better every week and hopefully keep that trust there.”
A product of Wigan’s famed academy system, Forber made his first-team debut in 2022 and has steadily built his experience at senior level. One of the standout moments of his blossoming career came when he featured in the Warriors’ 2024 Grand Final triumph, and he now has 20 first-team appearances to his name.
His 2025 campaign, however, was disrupted by a troublesome wrist injury that curtailed his momentum. Now fully back in the fold, Forber says both his body and mind are in a much better place.
“Physically, my wrist is very good,” he explained. “Mobility-wise, it’s not the best and probably won’t ever be the best now, but I just get it padded up and it’s all good.
“Mentally, I’m a lot better with it. I’m feeling confident with it, and I’m slowly getting back to where I want to be fitness-wise and physically. I’m feeling good with it at the moment.”
That confidence was evident in Wigan’s emphatic 54-0 demolition of Leigh Leopards on Thursday night, when Forber burrowed over for his first try of the campaign.
Speaking to Wigan Today after the game, Forber was quick to praise the forward pack, who laid the platform which allowed the spine to do what they do best.
“I think the starting pack need a lot of praise for that, with how they started the game and how physical they were,” he said.
“Ethan (Havard), Thommo (Luke Thompson) and Brad (O’Neill) – how physical they were in the middle – set the standard for the game really.
“Matty challenged us at half-time not to let that dip. We had a similar start against Hull the week before and dipped in the second half, so the challenge was to be there physically and mentally for the full 80 minutes, and we did that.
“The starting middles set the standard, and then the bench – Paddy (Mago), Ollie P and Sam Eseh – kept the aggression all the way through. It was a good team performance.”
Next up, Forber and the Warriors travel to the south of France to face Toulouse Olympique at the Stade Ernest-Wallon on Saturday evening.