Wigan Warriors name matchday side for St Helens derby as Jai Field return confirmed
Wigan Warriors coach Matt Peet has made one change to his matchday line-up for their Good Friday derby clash with St Helens, with star man Jai Field returning to the side.
Field has missed Wigan’s last four matches after undergoing surgery to have his appendix removed, having fallen ill at the beginning of March and being diagnosed with appendicitis.
The Australian speedster comes back into the fold for the derby at a sold-out BrewDog Stadium, being named to start at fullback for the Warriors. As a result, young fullback Noah Hodkinson, who has featured in Wigan’s last three outings in the absence of Field and Bevan French, has moved to the bench.
With Field coming back into the side, the only change from last week’s 34-16 defeat to Huddersfield Giants sees young forward Taylor Kerr come out of the 17, with the homegrown talent being named as 18th man for the derby.
As for hosts St Helens, coach Paul Rowley has made two changes to his squad that went down to a 52-10 defeat to Hull KR last time out. Jordan Dezaria and Bill Leyland, who have both arrived from Hull KR on short-term loan deals this week, come in for injured duo Mark Percival and George Delaney.
St Helens: Harry Robertson; Owen Dagnall, Matt Whitley, Deon Cross, Lewis Murphy; Tristan Sailor, Jackson Hastings; David Klemmer, Daryl Clark, Agnatius Paasi, Jake Wingfield, Shane Wright, Joe Shorrocks. Subs: Noah Stephens, Jake Davies, Jordan Dezaria, Bill Leyland. 18th man: Alfie Sinclair.
Wigan: Jai Field; Zach Eckersley, Adam Keighran, Liam Farrell, Liam Marshall; Jack Farrimond, Harry Smith; Ethan Havard, Brad O’Neill, Luke Thompson, Junior Nsemba, Sam Walters, Kaide Ellis. Subs: Patrick Mago, Ollie Partington, Sam Eseh, Noah Hodkinson. 18th man: Taylor Kerr.
The Rivals Round fixture takes place at the BrewDog Stadium on Good Friday afternoon, 3pm kick-off. For those without a ticket, the game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Action.