Why the Oz trip will get us off to a flyer '“ Liam Farrell

The Warriors start their campaign at Salford on Friday night – just hours before they fly to Australia for a two-game tour of New South Wales.

Given the hype and excitement of their Super League clash with Hull FC in Wollongong, and their exhibition match with NRL big-guns Souths, their non-televised opener at the AJ Bell is somewhat low-key.

But Farrell said: “We’re pretty buzzing for the season to start now.

“Everyone is raring for Friday night and putting in a performance, because the last thing we want is to get on a plane for 24 hours afterwards, knowing we’ve lost to Salford.”

After Castleford ran away with last season’s domestic campaign – to be pipped by Leeds in the Grand Final – Farrell expects the likes of St Helens, Hull and Warrington to make it a closer battle.

And he is confident the changes made during the off-season will work well for Wigan, who are second-favourite with bookmakers but have been written off by some pundits.

“It’s a matter of opinion, they’ve looked at the faces who havw left and who we’ve brought in,” said Farrell. “But we’re confident in what we can do, and we’re aiming for success.

“What we’re focusing on is week to week consistency.

“We reset our standards from what we accept - there are a lot of differences, in terms of what we expect from ourselves.

“You may see more play from us.”