Warriors will take positives despite match abandonment, insists assistant Sean O'Loughlin

Match official Chris Kendall was forced to blow the whistle with an hour on the clock due to multiple floodlight failures inside Belle Vue, with the hosts holding a 22-12 lead in Matty Ashurt’s testimonial.

Despite the difficulties of the game, O’Loughlin, who took charge of Wigan alongside fellow assistant Thomas Leuluai, says that players will take positives from the game with their first minutes of 2024 ahead of their title-defending Super League campaign.

The champions named a full strength forward pack with Luke Thompson, Sam Eseh, Sam Walters and Kruise Leeming all making their first appearances, while Tiaki Chan featured again after being involved in the win over Midlands Hurricanes.

O’Loughlin explained: “A few individuals were probably a bit shy of their minutes that they were supposed to play.

“There were also a few lads on the bench who didn’t get on. But it is what it is, the referee was doing everything he could not to do it [abandon]. But blokes running full on and the lights going off, it's not safe.

“It was the right call.

“The first half, Wakefield put us under a good amount of pressure and tested us across the board.

“The middles in the first half, and the young edges we had out there, it was a good hit out for them.

“Wakefield put some good shapes on and tested our edges and our young boys did some good stuff for us and made some good reads.

“For the boys in the middle, it was a good battle in that first half.”

Having recovered from an injury that saw him ruled out of international duties with England against Tonga at the end of last year, Jake Wardle played in the centres alongside youngsters Nathan Lowe, Jacob Douglas, Zach Eckersley and Reagan Sumner at full-back.

“It was our first-team pack with a reserves back, plus Jake Wardle in that mix,” O’Loughlin continued.

“I thought the youngsters did a good job, a first hit-out against blokes.

“Nathan Lowe has probably played a handful of reserves games but apart from that, he’s been an academy player. So there’s lots of positives from that point of view.

“For the established players, it’s good to get a hit out. We didn’t get any injuries and that’ll tee us up for the Hull friendly next week.”

Back-rower Walters set up the game’s first try with a slick assist to find winger Jacob Douglas in space out wide for his first senior try, while Jack Farrimond also opened his first-team campaign in the second half thanks to a chip kick from half-back partner Ryan Hampshire.

“Sam Walters is a threat and we knew what we were getting,” O’Loughlin said of the 23-year-old.

“That try he set up was quite silky.

“He’s a good asset to us this year and I think there’s still a lot more in his game that he can get better at and improve on, but there was some good stuff there.”