Wigan Warriors: Kai Pearce-Paul outlines his ambitions for the upcoming season and discusses the position he expects to play

The 21-year-old, who will join NRL side Newcastle Knights in 2024, featured 18 times for Matty Peet’s side last year and earned himself an England call-up for the Rugby League World Cup.

After returning to pre-season training this month, Pearce-Paul states he’s fully focused on improving further.

He said: “It’s been good so far, I’m sort of in full flow now, I had a few weeks getting back into the routine.

“The team is in a good spot, and we’ve got a good few tests over the next few weeks.

“Thankfully I missed the hills, so I can’t complain, but I came back all guns blazing and was straight into it.

“I want to get as fit and strong as I can for the season.

“I was coming in doing some work in the gym and doing a few runs, because I sort of enjoy keeping myself in good shape and I couldn’t get away from the boys, even in my off time.

“The way I look at it, I always want to think about the present, but I want to improve so I’m hoping this will be my biggest year.

“I just want to get as good as I can to keep improving my game.

“Hopefully this will be a big year for me and us overall.

“With our recruitment, we are strong in the centre department, so I might be having a shot in the back row again, and I’m happy with that, but you never know what is going to happen.

“It’s my preferred position and something I’ve always wanted to have since I arrived at the club.

“It’s something in the back of my mind, but for now I will train as well as I can and hopefully I will earn the right to get that spot.”

Pearce-Paul says he is determined to feature in a winning final for Wigan this season, after being part of last year’s Challenge Cup celebrations while recovering from injury.

“It’s always my aim to be involved as much as possible for this club, especially after winning the Challenge Cup last year,” he added.

“I want to be there with the boys.

“As much as it was great to bring the cup home, I’d love to be there on the field.

“That’s another aim for me this season, just being part of winning some silverware.

“Having been alongside the training and the actual occasion, it just showed me how important the competition is and how highly regarded it is, along with the Grand Final.

“I’m determined for it to be me on the field running out.

“The Challenge Cup is on my home turf as well in London, so it’d be nice for my family as well.

“It’s talking into the future, but we want to set our goals high.

“It’s something I’ll really look forward to and really push for because it’s something I haven’t experienced yet and something I want to do before I go over to the NRL.”