'We need to fix it' - Liam Marshall rues Wigan Warriors defeat with Challenge Cup response targeted
Liam Marshall admitted Wigan Warriors fell ‘below our standards’ after surrendering a relatively healthy lead to lose 34-24 against St Helens in a dramatic Good Friday derby.
Wigan led for the majority of the contest at a sold-out BrewDog Stadium and appeared in control when they opened up a 24-10 advantage with just over 10 minutes remaining. However, a late fightback from Saints saw Paul Rowley’s side score four tries in the closing stages to take the spoils and local bragging rights.
Marshall did not shy away from the disappointment post-match, having described both the performance and the manner of the defeat as unacceptable.
“We are obviously very disappointed with the result,” Marshall told Wigan TV. “It wasn’t good enough from start to finish, really.
“We got ourselves in a position to win the game. I don’t think we were playing great all game, and then we sort of rolled over at the end. It’s below our standards.
"As much as the fans will be very disappointed, we’re hurt in there after that. It just wasn’t good enough, and we need to fix it.”
Wigan held a narrow 12-10 lead at half-time and then extended their advantage in the second half through Jai Field and Zach Eckersley before the late collapse.
“At half-time we had a slim lead, and we didn’t feel like we played our best (in the first half), and we just sort of talked about locking that off and then going again, trying to get back to the game plan,” Marshall explained.
“But we just weren’t there in the second half. We got ourselves in a winning position, and then we’ve just rolled over at the end. It’s very disappointing.
“I think we’ll have some tough, honest conversations this week and try to fix it because you don’t want to lose any game in that manner, but to lose it on Good Friday like that is poor. The last 10 minutes were shocking, really.”
The Good Friday defeat follows on from the previous week’s loss to Huddersfield Giants, leaving the Warriors looking to respond quickly as attention turns to the Challenge Cup quarter-finals, with a trip to Wakefield Trinity on Sunday, April 12.
Marshall insists the only way forward is to learn from the recent setbacks and rediscover the standards that underpinned their strong start to the season, when Matt Peet’s side had won five from five.
“We’ve got to learn from them,” he said. “I think that’s the only way we can try to flip it.
“There aren’t loads of things that we can pull out of those two performances that are great, so we just need to get back to what we do well.
“It’s going to be a very tough Cup game next week, and obviously it’s a knockout game, so we need to be at it.
“It’s easy to say, but hopefully we can have a good week’s training and try to fix a few things, but we’ll be hurting for a good while after that one.”
Wigan now face Wakefield in a Challenge Cup quarter-final, where they will look to return to winning ways after back-to-back defeats and keep their hopes of reaching Wembley alive.