Wigan Warriors: Patrick Mago looks ahead to his first Magic Weekend and states he is hungry to get the win against St Helens in Newcastle

Matty Peet’s side face their biggest rivals at St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon, in the second game of day one at the event in Newcastle.

Mago states he’s looking forward to experiencing the Magic Weekend for the first time in England, and admits he’s enjoyed every opportunity he has had with the club so far this season.

He said: “We have a similar round in the NRL, but I had never really heard much about it over here.

“You can tell it’s something everyone looks forward to. It’s a great weekend of footy with all the teams playing at one stadium, it’s good for the game as it just brings everyone together.

“As a player it’s special to play at one of these grounds, so I’m looking forward to it. I’m lucky to be in this position, and happy to experience it all.

“I’m really enjoying it here, we have a good bunch of boys and good coaching staff. Everyone around the club as well are just really good people.

“Saints this weekend is a big game, so we need to go into it with a real focus. It’s something we have to look forward to, but it won’t be easy against them.

“The town, players and everyone in Wigan has that rivalry. The Good Friday game and the Challenge Cup semi-final were massive for me personally.

“It didn’t take long for me to realise the rivalry between the two clubs, and it’s something I don’t take for granted.

“I’m really looking forward to the challenge this week, but there’s a lot of hard work we need to do before it. We are just as hungry as they are, we will do everything we can do to beat them.

“We’re not really looking at the leaderboard because there is still a long season ahead. It is exciting to see that we are closing the gap, but we need to make sure we come out victorious this weekend because this game could hurt us in the long run.”