Wigan Warriors: The 18th Man - 'Let’s hope the Warriors can get back on the horse...'

David Bailey:

They don’t call it Shakey Wakey for nothing.

If there ever was a rugby league definition of a bogey team, it would be whenever Wigan travel to Wakefield. There can be no excuses, and the warning signs were there the week before.

The returns of Bevan French and Luke Thompson were welcomed warmly by the Warriors fans. However, they didn’t inspire a return to form for the champions.

There just seems to be something not quite clicking for the Warriors. The goal-line defence, which was often the hallmark of the team, seems brittle by the ruck. The attacking swagger where Harry Smith would utilise Jai Field or French out the back seems to be stifled.

It’s hard to put a finger on it, and I am sure Matt Peet, Sean O’Loughlin and Thomas Leuluai are working hard to rectify it. Despite Hull KR having a four-point advantage, and a far superior points difference, there shouldn’t be any panic... yet.

I don’t believe there will be as much focus on the League Leaders’ Shield this season with no quadruple at stake, but Wigan will need to find some form and momentum as we start to get to the business end of the season.

I am sure a few players would accept they aren’t having the impact they are used to, but I think the team have enough credit in the bank to just let them roll on towards the play-offs. The top two is key, and there is still a bit of breathing space to third.

I was at Robin Park Arena on Sunday when a record crowd of almost 1,000 witnessed the first female Battle of the Borough.

Wigan continued their impressive unbeaten start to the season with another convincing victory, racking up a 60-6 victory in monsoon conditions at times, so credit to the girls. There is something very special happening with the Women’s team. They look on a different level than any team right now.

Next week, they host a St Helens team that will be smarting from their humiliation at Wembley. I expect a tough battle, and it will be interesting to see how they cope with a heavy favourites tag against St Helens.

This week, the Warriors Men head back over to the WF postcode for the final part of the trilogy. With one win and one defeat, it’s a hugely important game.

Castleford have shown steady improvement over the last few weeks and look to finally be getting their act together. The crowd will be on us again, and a defeat doesn’t bear thinking about.

The early weather forecast looks good, so let’s hope the Warriors can get back on the horse as we come towards the end of the long run of away days.

Darren Wrudd:

Looking through social media over the weekend was a tough read for sure. Many heavily criticise everyone, from players’ lax attitudes to Matt Peet’s comments that he was happy with the efforts of the squad. I think I lie somewhere in between the extremes.

Primarily, you cannot take away credit from Wakefield. They were full of energy, executed well for large parts of the game and showed so much more desire in defence than we did; there is a real case that they deserved the win.

However, with that accepted, we must look at the performance of the squad and the urgency which was often lacking in defence and our attacking structure throughout the match.

Errors or dropped balls are inevitable, and whilst in the moment I cringe or cry out, I would never hold that against any player.

But when we are undone by opposition whom just look sharper and more full off energy, we need to seriously look at either training workload, too much or too little energy conservation, or indeed the application of psychology to give the whole squad a ‘switch on’ moment as a metaphorical kick up the backside.

We were, in my opinion, disorganised in attack and lethargic in defence, with little in the way of structure or a well-rehearsed game plan, and you have no idea how hard it is for me to write that.

It has been coming for a while, and scraping wins together does not test us or do us much good going forward, as it can embed a feeling of that’s ‘good enough’ and settle us into a self-imposed standard well below our best.

No individual player bears the brunt; it’s a team game, and it will take a team working together to sort it out.

One thing I must agree with, though, is the trust that Peet shows in the players. As high-achieving individuals, they will be their own biggest critics, and there is no one better to set things right.

We have another test coming on Saturday as the wounded Tigers play host, and on another small pitch, our game plan will need to be spot on, individual skills sharpened, and for 80 minutes we need to be ruthless and switched on, eager to do the hard stuff harder and faster than the opposition.

We are the only ones who can get us out of this rut, so I expect a reaction and a serious one at that.

Wigan Today and The Wigan Post are on the lookout for more contributors towards The 18th Man column every week. Have your say on all things Warriors in our weekly column dedicated to the fans, by the fans! If you are interested in getting involved and contributing, please drop [email protected] an email and let’s get this show on the road.