Wigan Warriors: The 18th Man - 'He is a Warrior in every sense of the word...'

David Bailey:

The Warriors continued their unblemished start to the season with a scrappy win over new-boys York Knights. A 14-0 deficit was not in the plan for Matt Peet’s side as York capitalised on uncharacteristic defending to score from a kick and some weak tackles by the line. Noah Hodkinson capped an impressive display with a resilient try, and then the pack finally sprang to life to take another two points.

York has some wonderful team spirit, and I really like Mark Applegarth as a coach. I do not feel he got a fair crack of the whip at Wakefield, and it is good to see the Knights thriving under him. Having already done an East Yorkshire double over the Hull teams, I am sure they will cause problems for others up and down the league if they can keep players on the park.

Hodkinson showed glimpses of his elusive running style and was unlucky not to get to a little chip kick from Jack Farrimond that we have seen him execute many times in the reserves setup. I think a little more confidence and command will see him flourish in the team (a couple of times him and Liam Marshall went for the same ball). Junior Nsemba looks back to his rampaging best, and despite York giving him some treatment (including a ripped shirt and a face full of forearm), he once again shone. Peet will have a big decision to make when Jake Wardle is back, as alongside Sam Walters, the back-row looks dominant.

Brad O’Neill clocked up his 100th appearance, and wow, doesn’t time fly? Whilst people rightly rave about Edwin Ipape and Jez Litten, how this guy is left off some radars is beyond me. He is a Warrior in every sense of the word. If anyone tries any rough stuff on the youngsters, he is there to protect them (despite his own tender years). His ability to do 80 minutes is giving Peet a fantastic opportunity to rotate the bench and give much-needed experience to up-and-coming players like Taylor Kerr.

This week, we have a game against lowly Huddersfield and a rare Saturday afternoon game. It was sad to see former Warrior Luke Robinson disregarded by the Giants in the manner he was this week. A brief 50-word press release without a word of appreciation for a man who dedicated much of his career to Huddersfield. Normally, I would worry about new manager bounce when facing a team that has just got rid of the man in charge, but I doubt even appointing Craig Bellamy would get a reaction from the players available. If Wigan look after themselves and learn the lessons from last week, I cannot see anything but a comfortable Warriors win on the 30th anniversary of Super League, not forgetting to mention the fixtures pitting our rivals against each other, so it should be another great weekend to be a Warrior.

Finally, a shout-out to Tara Jones, who makes history as the first female to officiate a men’s Super League game. Despite her obvious affiliations with them over Billinge Lump, she wiped away any doubts about her impartiality in last season’s Women’s Grand Final despite taking charge over former colleagues, and no doubt some friends. It will be interesting to see the reaction from St Helens fans who think every official goes to bed in cherry and white, especially if Wigan win the penalty count and six-agains. Good luck, Tara, you are probably not far off being the most competent official already!

Glynn Bradshaw:

Well, what a thriller that turned out to be. It wasn’t the comfortable victory that some people expected. All credit to York, who played superbly, moved the ball well and defended their line with determination.

Credit to Wigan, too, for turning around a challenging deficit. The sin-binning of Ata Hingano proved crucial, as in his absence, we made inroads into the lead, trailing only by one score at the break. Although York were undoubtedly the better team in the first half, we dominated the second period. Ethan Havard once again came to the fore, along with Nsemba, Hodkinson and Walters. I was impressed with the York fullback, and the left centre gave Adam Keighran a torrid time in the first half. I was pleased to see Hodkinson kick on from last week, scoring a try, making one for Marshall and his take of a high ball in the second half, under pressure, was very brave – he could easily have taken his eye off the ball.

It was also nice to see that it looked like we had been practising defending short kick-offs and drop-outs, with Keighran being excellent. This has been a regular thorn in our side for a while.

A special milestone for O’Neill in his 100th Wigan game – the epitome of a true Warrior, brave, fearless, and just works so very hard. A vital part of the team, it’s easy to forget he is still only 23 years of age.

Huddersfield are next up at the Brick Community Stadium, in the week that they sacked Luke Robinson. He had such a difficult task on his hands with the mountain of injuries they had suffered, but in a results-based industry, there was almost an inevitability about it.

There’s lots of work to do for the Warriors on both sides of the ball this week, as our defence, which has been so good, gave up quite a few metres and points last week, and we were sloppy at times again with the ball in hand and looked clueless in attack at times.

We must not become complacent, and if we stick to the task, there is no reason why we shouldn’t maintain our unbeaten run... Fingers crossed!

Darren Wrudd:

Disrespect the newly-promoted teams at your peril, and York are proof indeed that they are serious contenders. That was a hard win and was played mostly in the spirit of the game, although tight scorelines can always bring out the handbags at ten paces. The York fans, although low in numbers for a Thursday evening game, made a great effort to attend and were vocal throughout. The game itself was a tough one. We certainly improved from the previous outing and respected possession much better.

The players seem to have some steel in their attitude this season. Nsemba is on the way back to the form he was in when he burst onto the scene, and O’Neill looks determined to earn the enforcer badge. It was his 100th game for us, and he stood up well. I am sure his family are as proud as punch with his achievements, and he has made himself a huge part of the performance aspect in defence.

Kieghran was my player of the game, though. The commitment he shows at times is awesome, seemingly having little respect for his own body as he punches far above his weight. I would say it was possibly his best game in a Wigan shirt, and I am looking forward to these combinations developing as the year goes on.

Huddersfield are up next, and they are in a bit of a mess, aren’t they? I’m struggling to see where they will get a win this year, and the added turmoil of losing their coach can go either way. Are they going to rebound or fall in a heap and let us put a cricket score on them? I suspect the latter, but I hope they put up a good game.

The game itself will create a little history as Tara Jones becomes the first woman to referee at a men’s Super League game. She impressed me in the Women’s Grand Final, and there’s always a question of whether any new ref can handle the pressure, but I think she is good enough, and we will need to be squeaky clean, as she is not scared of putting teams in their place. Well done, Tara, and best of luck.

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