Wigan Warriors fans share their views on the Hull FC win and look ahead to the game against Catalans Dragons

Darren Wrudd

As we arrived at the stadium the weather was ok, a warmish breeze and dry track. But that soon ended as the drizzle came down and made a greasy bar of soap out of the ball all night.

In defence I thought we were the better team throughout- more aggression and structure with a growing game plan to deal with whatever the Black and Whites could throw at us.

But we seemed to want to give ourselves a hard time with ball in hand and so just kept insisting on giving Hull possession back.

Knock ons, penalties, or just a wayward pass was enough to consistently invite them into our half to score.

To come back from that and grind out that win showed an immense amount of commitment from the squad and we had some brilliant performers on the night.

Liam Byrne was awesome, driving the ball in time and again with speed and determination.

It seems only a short time ago he was one of the new youngsters and suddenly he is at 100 games.

I hope we keep him at Wigan for the next 300 too as he just gets better and better.

Great to see Sam Powell back too, his accurate passing game is a lesson to any young hooker coming through the ranks.

But what can you say about Harry Smith? It seems he has to carry the world on his shoulders at times with play selection, tactical kicking, spot kicking and then the drop goal specialist steps up too.

He must have some wonderful people around him both at work and home to be able to cope with the pressure and cope with it he certainly does.

Conversions I see as almost a bonus after a try but can make such a difference, but after a poor night with spot kicks he steps up and makes the one that matters most, a drop goal from 45 metres out. Simply sublime.

That we can grind out a win like that is a credit to the coaching team too as to be able to impart such belief and work ethic into our squad is a joy to behold.

This week of course we head off down to Catalans, the table toppers with a style of play allowed to blossom and perhaps flatter their competence.

Far too often they drag the game to an almost standstill with their laying on in the tackles, players like Tomkins get involved with tackles by interfering with our defenders and there is often more play acting than a student review.

I hope we go down to Perpignan with the same gritty and uncompromising attitude we had last week. The French (mostly British and Aussies) won’t know what’s hit them.

Hopefully a dry track will help our attacking play too and we can look forward to some sprinkles of magic from French and Field.

But so long as we bring the two points back, it will be mission accomplished. If we are to have any chance at all at the Leaders Shield then it’s a must win game.

If you can’t make it to the south of France though, why not go along to Saints and watch our academy play on Saturday to get your live rugby fix.

Kick off 1pm and just a fiver to get in for adults. It promises to be a cracker and the boys would love to see you there.

Stephen Ford

I didn’t get to the Hull game due to a school reunion and from what my sons told me I probably did the right thing in missing the game.

Conditions I believe were terrible but even so from the game that I have seen on Wigan TV we made far too many mistakes and we could have won quite comfortably.

All season our attack has been very hit and miss and inside the opposition 20 at times we look clueless.

Once again we made a poor slow start to the game.

For all our inconsistencies we consistently start games quite poorly.

On the plus side Mago performed better than he had in the previous 18 months and Smithies was his usual hard working self.

Byrne, although unspectacular, did look more physical and aggressive than he did before his two week break.

Yet another game where I won’t be looking to review again once the season is over.

Although we are currently second in the league, the season has been mainly a poor affair with an occasional good victory.

So far a very forgettable campaign.

The Catalans game at the weekend is hopefully where we start to play at a consistently higher level as the playoffs are getting nearer.

Defensively we are generally good however, our attacking threat is very disappointing and Catalans having already beaten us twice this season will be a very difficult opposition.

Hopefully with no more injuries and with Ellis back our pack can look to match a very physical Catalan pack.

French is still struggling at halfback and although he isn’t, by any means, the sole reason for our ineffectual attack it is a primary reason why our attack misfires on a regular basis.

A dry pitch and conditions would be a major plus as we do seem to struggle when we play in wet conditions.

I am not next expecting many changes with perhaps the only change being Ellis for Hill.

In the two encounters so far Catalan have really had our number and the defeat at Newcastle, albeit a good hammering, could have been a lot worse.

To even think of a victory we need to match our wins earlier in the season at Wire and Leyth otherwise another good hiding could be on the cards.

Even if we beat Catalan on Saturday I think that the League Leaders’ Shield will still be beyond us.

However, if we can land a positive result it will be a great morale booster come the playoffs where I believe to win the Grand Final at some point we will have to beat Catalan to secure another Super League victory.

David Bailey

Another valuable two points picked up in dramatic fashion.

The Warriors toiled and never gave up against a niggly and spirited Hull FC to clinch a second Golden point victory of the season.

It wasn't pretty but it was full of guts and gusto on an awful drizzly night at the DW.

After eight minutes of Golden point, totally dominated by Wigan in both territory and possession, Harry Smith stepped up to smash a drop goal from 45 metres that I don't think anyone in the stadium thought he was even going to attempt, let alone convert.

The fact it cleared the crossbar by a good metre shows how sweetly he struck it.

Many fans will bemoan his record of zero from three in terms of conversions, but again the elements and the fact that Wigan seem to always score out wide conspired against him.

I have given him a rough ride this season but now isn't the time to worry about it.

He's the best kicker we have at the minute so let's get behind him, not give him more things to ponder as the season hits the crucial point.

The suplex tackle from Tuimavave was horrific. The fact he only got a yellow card was a shocking decision given some of the punishments Wigan have dealt with.

It feels like Aaron Moore and his brother Liam are so hell bent on not giving decisions to Wigan that they flip full circle.

For Tony Smith to even suggest it wasn't even a yellow card was beyond disgusting and although I believe a two match penalty notice is quite lenient, at least it's been recognised as a terrible challenge.

Yes, Wardle landed on his shoulders rather than his neck, but that was from pure good fortune rather than anything else.

To fling a player backwards and release them completely shows absolutely NO duty of care to your fellow player.

A couple of inches further and we could have been looking at a life changing injury for Jake Wardle, never mind a career ender.

This weekend see's the Warriors jet off to Catalans.

It's an opportunity for the players to bond a little further and I would argue it's a free hit.

I certainly don't expect Wigan to win at the league leaders as the Dragons keep turning up and performing.

Wigan will likely have to beat them at some point if they want to win the Grand final but it's a huge ask in Perpignan.

Let's hope the Dragons social media admin will be relieved from doing one of those stupid viral videos this weekend (tbf they are quite amusing but you know).

Hopefully a dryer pitch will give Wigan the chance to utilise the burning pace at their disposal. I can't see a victory for the Warriors but if they do pull it off, it'll be a statement win which could be crucial in the final few weeks.

Glynn Bradshaw

It was just a relief to get away with a win last Friday as we were very poor, they seemed to handle the ball better than us and played the conditions better

We had so many chances to put the game to bed but at times we looked clueless in the opposition 25, and struggled to break down defences.

Mago, Miski and Smithies went well again and King and Wardle took their tries well, but we need to be a whole lot better than that if we have any chance of contesting second place.

I am sure the weather conditions will be a whole lot different than last week, on Saturday, and we will have to be at our very best, as Catalans are very strong and have beaten us soundly twice already.

We will have Ellis back which will probably mean that Hill drops out of the matchday 17.

We will need to match them in the pack and if we can do that, we have the pace in the backs to match anyone- we have not won there since 2020.

Here’s hoping, fingers crossed

Interesting times.