Wigan Warriors- The 18th man: 'I genuinely can’t wait and fully expect a great game'

Stephen Ford

The Toulouse game was a quick chance to rebuild a bit of confidence after the loss at Wakefield.

After a hot start we stuttered a little bit. Once again our passing accuracy and fluency seemed to go adrift for parts of the game.

Still, some great tries scored once again and we were able to rest a few players and bring back Bateman and Farrell without them having to get out of first gear.

I was a little surprised to see Smith playing as I thought he got injured at Wakefield.

With him perhaps carrying a little knock, Cust was able to use his kicking game more than usual, which I think is a good thing.

This week’s game against Saints should be a cracker.

I still think that Saints are the better team, primarily due to their brilliant defence, but we are more than capable of beating them again.

The gap has definitely closed between the two teams and we are considerably better than last year, particularly our attacking capabilities.

Good Friday we ran out of steam after having to defend for long periods in our 20.

We started really strongly in the Challenge Cup semi-final and didn’t panic after losing a good lead to get a deserved win.

The game at Newcastle again showed that our biggest problem that we have when we play Saints is our inability to make significant yardage from within our 20 metre area.

The line speed of the Saints defence is incredible and we have to find ways of beating this if we are to deliver our second win of the season against Saints.

Cooper I think will help in this area but this will be diluted by the absence of Havard.

I hope that Peet and his coaching staff come up with some new initiatives to help break down their defence, because unless we can reduce the amount of play in our 20 we could struggle to win on Friday.

The loss against Wakefield ended our League Leaders’ Shield hopes and I hope that we at least postpone Saints winning the trophy on our home ground.

I’d feel more confident if Leuluai, Powell and Havard were available, but we do have the speed out wide to cause Saints real problems and I’m hoping with the home support we can deliver our second win of the season against them.

I’ve got a feeling that our pack will put in a great display and that Cooper will be leading from the front.

If we get a good start I think that we can win but with no more than six points will separate the two teams. I genuinely can’t wait for Friday and fully expect a great game.

Glynn Bradshaw

We didn’t really get out of second gear against Toulouse, but French once again outstanding, and it was good to have Bateman and Farrell back.

Meanwhile, having Smithies back this week will hopefully add to us defensively.

Toulouse were disappointing again, and if Bibby hadn't jumped in, instead of staying with his winger, we would have nilled them.

This Friday is obviously a big challenge against the best team in Super League, but it’s always a good benchmark to see where we are at.

I’m not too confident, we need to get off to a good start and get in front, as I don’t fancy us chasing the game.

Although, you never know, we have French and Field so there is always hope.

We have closed the gap on them this season. On Good Friday the score flattered us really, followed by a great Challenge Cup victory.

Then at the Magic Weekend we could and should have won with the players they had missing, but the sending off was key and we just couldn’t hang on.

Looking forward to a sizable crowd and a good atmosphere at the DW, so fingers crossed.

Darren Wrudd

I suppose we all expected a rebound in performance last week, even Toulouse must have dreaded coming here on the back of our loss to Wakefield.

One thing it showed is that attitude is a major part of this game.

We all like to see the big hits and fancy footwork, but being in the right mental place often is enough to seal a tight game.

Toulouse were just not good enough so one could obviously not call that a tight game, we played some wonderful off the cuff stuff and French and Field were the icing on top again.

Well almost, it might sound churlish but the attempt of a tackle by French to stop the only Toulouse try was poor.

We had already won and he decided to give them that one.

I hope Matty Peet had something to say about that behind closed doors as that could cost us an important game in the coming weeks.

The coming weeks indeed, how many times do we need to play Saints this year?

We won the important one to get to the Cup Final, and have been very close otherwise so the gap has certainly closed.

I feel we are a real threat to Saints dominance of recent years and they will be well aware of what we intend to do on Friday night.

I can see a Wigan win on home turf but only if we remain focussed for 80 minutes.

We have a tendency to allow teams to come back at us with poor discipline and errors, if that’s the case in this game you can forget it, but I don’t think it will be.

Saints have all the pressure on their shoulders to perform and live up to their billing, while we keep picking away at them, so it must make them nervous whether they say so or not.

We need our leaders on the field and everyone to stay switched on, I expect some stand out performances as the lads know what this fixture means.

Unfortunately however, the one game that I would not miss all year will need to be watched from home as the dreaded Covid has struck the Wrudd household. But I only live in Ince, so I am sure you will hear me shout and cheer.

Robert Kenyon

The win against Toulouse was the best remedy for the loss against Wakefield and gets us back on track for Saints.

It was great to see Field and French scoring tries for fun. Like modern day reincarnations of John Ferguson and Brett Kenny, they have set the league alight this season and will live long in the memory of us fans.

I also liked Cade Cust’s show and go try, he's been trying it all season and I think he has polished that diamond now and it was good to see him score.

This week we play Saints, we lost in poor fashion on Good Friday but we won when it mattered in the Challenge Cup so we can beat them when it matters.

My only concern is what will be our plan B when Saints shut down Field as they have for most of the season with their centre rushing him and suffocating him for space and time.

They have lost a few players and have had to dip into their reserves, fielding a good few inexperienced young but talented players, so hopefully we see another Field and French show.

Either way, whatever the result we need to be focussing on the play-offs and beating Saints when it matters, like we have already done.

Jon Lyon

As always it’s hard to know exactly how much to read into a big win.

Toulouse had lost two of their best players to suspension and would have known they were all but relegated.

That said, you can only play what’s in front of you, and we defended well and scored some scintillating tries.

It was great to see Liam Farrell back in the side along with John Bateman, the difference they make in attack and defence is clear to see. Miski had another solid game and Field and French were their usual sparkling selves.

It would have been more beneficial ahead of the derby to have had a tougher test, but a big score line will do our confidence no harm.

A fourth game against St Helens, so far, should give us a true indication of where we’re at.

We were well beaten on Good Friday but I feel we were the better team both in the cup semi-final win and the narrow loss in July.

Both teams have had wobbles in recent weeks and in truth neither are at the level currently that they were in the last two matches.

As always the result will come down to the finest margins. A missed conversion or a lapse of discipline could well be the difference between winning and losing.

We should welcome back Morgan Smithies who has been exceptional this season, which is another huge boost.

I don’t buy the talk of Saints resting players, they’ve two more games to do that and will be desperate to win the League Leaders shield at our stadium.

While the forward battle is key, I’d like to see us play expansively where possible.

We can’t just play safe and hope for the back three to create something out of nothing.

Let’s throw everything at Saints and see how they cope.

I’d rather we try it now and make them think twice should we meet again in the Grand Final. It worked for Salford a couple of weeks ago so why not.