Wigan Warriors fans reflect on a busy week for the club and look ahead to the Challenge Cup semi-final against Hull KR

Stephen Ford

After the poor result at Wakefield it was good to see a better display against Wire as we obtained our third victory against them this season.

The relatively poor start was once again disappointing, but the second half performance was very pleasing.

I thought Kai Pearce-Paul, Jake Wardle and once again Harry Smith had very good performances.

Patrick Mago once again proved hard to put down and although his bar is quite low he is showing some flickering signs of improvement with ball in hand but his old defensive lapses still occur.

It was good to see Bevan French running more with the ball and he has significantly reduced his speculative kicks.

The game could have been closer but whilst we grabbed our chances Wire wasted a couple of opportunities that could have made the score much closer.

I believe that during the Sky commentary it was suggested that we had signed Adam Keighran and when this was officially confirmed over the weekend I was quite pleased.

I think that he is a solid acquisition and his ability to play centre or halfback gives us flexibility and he has the added bonus of being quite a decent goal kicker which can be utilised if/when Smith doesn’t play.

I suppose his acquisition more or less confirms the departure of Cust.

Hopefully we have at least two more signings lined up which will include some experienced front row forwards.

The announcement of Danson’s takeover of the club obviously wasn’t a surprise but the timing certainly was.

I think that Ian Lenagan deserves a huge thank you for stewardship whilst owning the club in that he brought stability to a dysfunctional club and brought silverware to the club after quite a lengthy absence.

I like Lenagan because he is very much a supporter of the club but still kept a firm business approach to the club. I wish him and his family good health in the future.

I’m not quite sure what to expect from Danson as he is quite a private individual but I am very hopeful that he will improve the commercial, marketing and communications side of the business.

I am pretty confident that he will further improve our youth development and I am sure that he will significantly increase our catchment area to cover the south of England and rugby union. Exciting times ahead.

I think that the Challenge Cup semi-final will be a tough game and I expect Hull KR to start very aggressively and we must overcome this if we are to progress onwards to Wembley.

Having poor starts to games is becoming too predictable and my fear is that if the opposition will get a ten or 12 point advantage early on we will struggle to turn it around.

Hopefully Peet and his coaching team will have the lads perfectly poised to deliver an excellent defensive platform to weather the early storm then we can use our speedy backs to give us a victory.

Ideally I would like dry conditions but the forecast at the moment is for rain which I think will suit the bigger Hull KR pack.

I think it will be a very tight game and I can't see either team winning by more than six points with hopefully Wigan edging a classic.

Darren Wrudd

I suppose the best place to start is the Warrington game.

It was obvious that Wire would be fired up and try to overrun us with energy.

While the first 20 minutes were exactly that, there is an argument for managing energy levels and controlling these onslaughts.

At the same time however, we need to fight fire with fire- and if we are trapped on our own goal line have the ferocity in the forwards to batter our way out.

That arrived around twenty minutes in when Pearce-Paul came on and made an instant impact both in defence and attack.

I think he single-handedly took the wind out of Warrington’s sails.

From then on, we had a solid chance to turn things around and showed some much better management of the game as a whole.

It goes to show just how important the battle up the middle is in controlling what happens everywhere else and although the backs tend to get most of the praise from fans and media, it is in the forwards that the base for success is more often set up.

Hull KR are going to be just the same. They beat us up with energy and enthusiasm this year so far and we are going to have to match that to give us the very least chance to proceed to the final.

There has been so much more news this week with contract extensions and new names coming in, but for sure the biggest has to be the stepping down of Mr. Ian Lenagan at the end of the year as chairman and owner.

He set out in 2007 to put the honour back into the name of Wigan Warriors and bring success back to the club, I would say mission accomplished on both scores.

I would not hesitate to suggest that he is the best thing that has happened to our club for several decades and has brought us into the modern era in a really good state.

I do hope he continues to attend games as he is a lovely and approachable chap who is as passionate as every other fan.

The club will want to send him out on a high and usher in the new owner with success ringing around the corridors so expect a good show.

As for Mr Danson, I know little other than he is Wigan through and through.

I hope his commitment to both football and rugby is equal and we can bring in a new sense of camaraderie between the two sports.

It is about time we all started to sing from the same hymn sheet and if it says Wigan, cheer it on.

An exciting time for sure and much more to be said in due course, but for now we have a semi-final to win.

Glynn Bradshaw

It was a great win against the Wire, although I feel it was a good time to play them, as they missed George Williams badly.

Walker tried his best but his short kicking game in particular was no match, and he also missed Field for Farrell’s try.

We started off slowly and struggled to contain their size and offloads early on in the game, however in the second half we dominated as they visibly tired, and could have won by more.

Happy to see Keighran’s signing, presume he will play centre to accommodate King’s expected return to Wire.

I would like us to sign a quality stand off and back rower now.

Pleased to see Ellis sign an extended deal, as I thought he played well on Friday, along with Kai Pearce-Paul, Field and Smith in particular.

Looking ahead to the semi-final, what a cracker it promises to be.

Willie Peters has done a grand job in his first season at the helm, and we will have to be at our best to prevail.

They have a team who really appear to work hard for each other.

Think KPP will start in the back row after his strong showing last week, with Shorrocks relegated to the bench, otherwise I see little change, although Singleton may get the nod over the inexperienced Hill in such a big game.

Here’s hoping for a big performance, fingers crossed!

Robert Kenyon

The Warrington game is a good show of how the team has settled since the change in the team structure.

French seems to be taking to the stand-off role a bit better and O’Neill is growing into the hooker role.

I’ve been impressed with Jake Wardle- who for me is my player of the year so far.

It’s a shame that Ian Lenagan is stepping down but it’s been a fantastic tenure he’s had since the dark days before he took over.

We have been solid and steadily successful throughout that time, from appointing Michael Maguire and Wane to putting faith in youth and splashing the cash when needed on players and facilities- his tenure has been phenomenal.

Every Wigan fan is grateful for his effort over the last 14 years and this period of time will go down as one of our most successful periods.

Great news for next year is we’ve signed two up and coming forwards in Sam Walters, who personally I think would be a cracking loose forward and Tiaki Chan, from what I've seen of him is very aggressive and combative.

Those two plus Kruise Leeming and Adam Keighran make us stronger for next season, however I still think we are missing a prop.

It’s great news Kaide Ellis has signed for another three years, he is a player I rate highly and he can become one of the best props in the league if he carries on improving.

The semi-final is going to be a tough game, Hull KR are a strong team and full of good players.

I think a Wembley win would be the perfect send off for Ian Lenagan.

David Bailey

Well, it's never dull being a Warriors fan is it. A week is a long time in sport it seems, so strap in, there's a lot to get through.

Let's start with the Wolves shall we. A very depleted Warrington backline caused Wigan more problems than I expected.

Once again, goal line defence let us down as Daryl Clark scored and assisted to push Wigan all the way in the first half.

Wigan kept the Wolves at bay in the second half and ran away comfortable winners.

Kai Pearce-Paul was hugely impressive on his return with some terrific tackles and charging runs, Harry Smith dominated with the boot and converted all five kicks, Jake Wardle really showed some classy touches and the young forwards once again stood up.

I believe since taking over at Warrington, Daryl Powell has played Wigan and Saints on nine occasions and lost every single one.

The fans' patience appears to be running out with him, and if results don't improve when George Williams returns then I am not sure how long his position can be tenable.

After the excitement of a crucial win, the morning after gave us the news that Ian Lenagan is stepping down at the end of the season.

After 16 wonderful years under his guidance, he has definitely earned it.

People on the outside may just see the trophies that we have won (which he has won the lot) but culture starts at the very top.

It's a buzz word used often about Wigan Warriors and that began with Mr Lenagan.

He put his hands in his pockets to ensure we not only survived (especially during Covid), but thrived.

He put his neck on the line, appointing Michael Maguire, and then appointing Shaun Wane and Matt Peet from within.

He gave us a base to be proud of at Robin Park.

The list is genuinely endless.

His greatest gift for me though was mentoring Kris Radlinski, bringing on board new owner Mike Danson and putting a structure in place that includes new leader, Professor Chris Brookes.

Danson has been involved with the Warriors for a few years now, gradually increasing his shareholding and influence.

We now have a club to be proud of, that is both respected and feared across the sport and the world. Thanks Mr Chairman.

We also had the news that Adam Keighran has joined the club from next season.

The Warriors recruitment so far has been very impressive. Getting the job done early, stealing a march on their rivals with impressive, hungry and still relatively young players. Leeming, Walters, Chan and now Keighran will add a great deal to the club.

Obviously Toby King will be heading back to Warrington, despite his and Wigan's desire for him to stay, and question marks now hang over the likes of Cust, Mago, Singleton and even Sam Powell but so far so good from the Warriors even in the retention stakes with Ellis the latest to commit long term to the club.

Finally, it's a huge game against Hull KR in the semi final.

Ultimately, a trip to Wembley is at stake and a defence of the Challenge Cup against either Leigh or St.Helens, so the players shouldn't need much motivation.

The vast majority were around last season when we won at Tottenham. I know Ian Lenagan regards Wembley as his favourite venue.

With no further injury worries and on the back of a close-fought tussle, I fancy Wigan's experience to edge it.

Let's give Mr Lenagan one last big day out in London!