Wigan Warriors have secret weapon as they aim to 'wrestle' back title

Warriors had the luxury of a weekend off as reward for winning the League Leaders' Shield on the final day of the regular season.

As a result, they'll be well rested ahead of Saturday's semi-final against Hull KR, who advanced to the last four with a hard-fought win over Leigh.

And O'Neill says a wrestling session with assistant coach Sean O'Loughlin will hopefully provide them with an added edge heading into the DW Stadium showdown.

“It was short, sharp and again pretty intense," said O'Neill.

"It was all about competing against each other in the basic fundamentals of wrestling, but we also managed to get some conditioning in there as well.”

On the preparation as a whole, O’Neill added: “Training has been shorter days, but they’ve been tough and intense.

"Even though it’s a week off from playing it’s important we get some tough training in which hopefully leads us well into the semi-final.

“Our preparation would be the same no matter who we face, as all the teams we could play would be tough.

"We just need to make sure we prepare in the best possible way we can for ourselves.”

Winning the League Leaders' Shield was extra special for O'Neill, a born and bred Leyther.

“It was a great achievement for us all to finish top of the table, but it was also very good for me lifting the League Leaders’ Shield in my home town," he smiled.

"We knew Leigh wouldn’t just rollover and it was a really tough match to win it in.”

The 21-year-old is hoping he has double reason to celebrate over the coming fortnight, having been nominated for the Super League Young Player of the Year award.

“I wasn’t really expecting to be nominated as there’s a lot of young talent in Super League," he added.

"It’s a proud moment for me and I can’t wait to go to the awards and hopefully win it.”

Wigan host Hull KR on Saturday dinnertime, with St Helens - fresh from last weekend's victory over Warrington - travelling to face Catalans Dragons on Friday night.