'Wigan Warriors' season would have made a great Netflix show'

From Man City to Spurs, F1 teams to NFL powerhouses, several outfits have allowed cameras behind-the-scenes to give supporters a fresh perspective on what they face during a season.

And coach Adrian Lam reckons a similar insight at Wigan this year would have made for incredible viewing.

The Warriors boss has had much more than the Covid pandemic to deal with.

One of the club’s marquee players, George Burgess, departed before a game was played, winger Dom Manfredi last week retired and along the way, they have lost many key players to injuries and suspensions.

Star man Bevan French is back in Australia – having been ruled out for the year – while exciting recruit Jai Field lasted just a few minutes of his debut before he was ruled out for five months, gingerly making his return last week.

Throw in a mid-season ‘crisis’, a fast-churning rumour mill and a backdrop of issues surrounding the sport, and you can see why Lam thinks fans would have been fascinated by a glimpse into the inner-workings of the club.

“If there was a Netflix programme on the club this year, it would make great viewing,” said Lam, Super League’s Coach of the Year in 2020.

“How it’s unfolded – the injuries, the turmoil – it’s been a really, really difficult year.

“We’ve had George Burgess leave, Dom Manfredi and Ben Kilner retire, it’s just gone on and on.

“When you think that Bevan was our key last year, he’s not there now, Thomas Leuluai is potentially out for a long time, Jai Field has missed most of the season. It’s been really tricky.

“All I can do is pick our strongest side every week and hope we get to a stage with players not injured or suspended, then get them playing together as a group.”

Despite the unrest, Wigan are fourth in the table and appear to have drawn a line under a mid-season wobble with a run of five wins from six matches.

But there remains questions about their big game credentials, given their recent victories have been against sides down near the bottom of the table.

And critics of Lam say his promise for a more expansive style of play hasn’t materialised frequently enough.

For every 50 point-win against Leigh, for example, there are two or three ugly, narrow wins.

The former champion halfback admits they have yet to hit their peak, but points to the constant – and enforced – chopping and changing as being a big factor in failing to build fluidity in his side. With French and now Leuluai out for the season, they at least know who their playmakers will be as they hurtle towards the play-offs.

But Lam has yet to settle on the make-up of his spine.

Jackson Hastings and Harry Smith would appear the obvious choices to operate at halfback, even though Field prefers to play in the halves.

Field, who can also play full-back, will need time to find his feet after so long out – but there’s no doubting his pace and evasiveness could add potency to their attack once he is firing.

Hardaker’s favourite role is at No.1 but Lam has preferred him at right centre in the past.

Whatever the coach decides, whichever way he goes, he’s convinced there are some brighter times ahead.

“Now we have a question over who plays 7, 6 and 1 with those four players,” admits Lam.

“It’s certainly not a foregone conclusion on who is playing where, but we feel we’ve got a bit of rugby in us.

“We feel if we can drop one or two players in over the next couple of weeks and find that form, we’ll be a hard time to beat.

“We’re still getting the wins out, and I’m excited about what’s next because we haven’t quite given it everything we’ve got as a team.

If we can just get everyone back with a month to go and regardless, if we can get into the top-four I think we’ll be really dangerous at the back end of the year.

“We’re aware of what’s in front of us, there are some big games, we’re building blocks and hopefully we can go to Hull KR and take another step forward.”