Wigan Warriors- The 18th man: ‘Teams always bring their A-game when they come to play us'

Darren Wrudd

I have often wondered why so many teams bring their A-game when they come to play Wigan.

As galling as it must sound to the (very) average saints fan, Wigan is simply the biggest name in the world of Rugby League. They all want the bragging rights and Salford were certainly not shy in asking for them.

Beyond a few errors in defence mainly due to lack of experience and a little youthful exuberance thrown in for good measure, I thought we played a good game.

Harry Smith goes from strength to strength and is getting the game time he really needs to develop his potential.

The pack has a steely determination this year, which was obvious by its absence in 2021, but discipline around the ruck still helps opponents down field.

I would imagine that this week's exercises in training will be based at times around squaring up the shoulders and hips to the defensive line and less ball watching, as it opened up a couple of glaring holes in our line to let Salford almost stroll through.

That said I was impressed by the Red Devils and they will trouble some teams this year.

What can you say about our speedsters though and I include Marshall in that statement. We have some sparkling talent here at the moment and if you have not been down to watch them so far this year, you are really missing out.

Terrorising tired defensive lines, French and Field are an awesome pairing.

Take that thought forward to the next game and Warrington will have some serious work to do to contain our attack, but they can respond with the on form Josh Thewlis to counter our threats.

Wire have threats all over the park but Darrell Clarke is one to watch for sure. His speed from dummy half could be the unlocking of our retreating line. I hope not for it really cheers me up to see Darrell Powell with a grumpy face on TV.

With a two month gap to our next home game, we need to keep the momentum going and I really think we can.

Finally it seems that Hardaker has found his way back home to Leeds by the circuitous route.

Whatever the ins and outs of why he has gone I wish him luck in his future. It is a shame but perhaps for the best. I would not want anyone wearing a Wigan shirt who was not 100 percent dedicated to what we stand for. We are Wigan.

Stephen Ford

I really enjoyed the Salford game. Before the match I expected a pretty comfortable afternoon with hopefully a few tries.

We got plenty of tries but a lot of them came from Salford.

I was impressed with the one, six and nine from Salford and the intensity in how they played the game.

With a 12 point lead at halftime I anticipated that we would run away with the game and post another 50 as we had done against Wakefield.

I genuinely didn’t think that Salford could carry on with such a fast defence and a well oiled attack willing to use the ball at every opportunity throughout the entire game.

Thankfully we responded well in the final 15 minutes or and despite bombing a couple of chances, another spectacular try from Field gave us the two points.

I am beginning to think that Field is the fastest player that I have seen in the British game since Martin Offiah. It really is a privilege to watch him score fantastic tries with such regularity.

Normally I would be looking forward to a Wire game as much as I would a Saints encounter but this week’s game for me is one where I don’t want any more injuries or suspensions that would harm our semi-final tie, even if that means a defeat.

A win would be great but a loss with no injuries wouldn’t be a disaster by any stretch of the imagination.

I’m hoping that O’Neill will get 60 minutes game time and that French will play another full 80 to further enhance his fitness.

I’m caught between resting players and going with a full team for continuity but I’m sure that Matty Peet and his team will make the right decision whichever route they take.

I’d like Halsall to get a place in the 17 but I think Bibby will get the nod to continue playing in the centres despite not playing at his best for the last few games.

Jon Lyon

Hats off to the boys for a nail-biting win over Salford. Even if it was only for Channel 4, it was good to be at the rugby on a Sunday afternoon again, I’d love more of that over the summer months.

It was clear the ridiculous Easter period had caught up with everyone but we found a way to win a tough game against a better than expected Salford side.

Kaide Ellis set the tone with his first carry, steaming onto the ball at full pelt with no thought for his own safety, and the rest of the forwards followed suit.

It was great to see Liam Marshall and Iain Thornley back, and hopefully both can have an injury free run in the team for the rest of the season. Brad O’Neill played well at hooker and I'm excited to see what he brings with a good run in the side.

Despite another two tries from Jai, including the magical moment of his match winning score where Sean O’Loughlin’s face was an absolute picture, my man of the match was Harry Smith.

He looked to inject himself into the game as much as possible and seemed to run a lot more than previous games, culminating in a fantastic try.

With Tommy sadly out for a few months, Harry has the chance to make the number seven shirt his own and give Matty Peet a really tough decision to make when Leuluai is fit again.

On to Warrington with another short turnaround, which is going to be tough again on the players legs.

Wire finally found some form against Huddersfield last week after a poor run of results, and they did so without the likes of Widdop, Williams, Hughes and Ratchford, make of that what you will.

No matter the form of both teams, Wigan v Wire games are always intense. There have been some fantastic clashes over the years and no doubt Friday will be the same.

We have been starting matches well and need to keep that up.

Our forwards have been aggressive and out enthused opponents recently and we have the intensity to push Warrington back from the start with their pack, on paper at least, not quite at the same level as a few years ago.

This will be a good challenge for O’Neill as he will need to keep Daryl Clark quiet. I’m hoping as the weeks go by we find more ways to get the ball to Bevan French as he has tended to have to come looking for the ball rather than having chances created for him.

Having a back three of Marshall, Field and French is a mouthwatering prospect though, if I were a Warrington half back I'm not sure which one I would kick to, as all three can go the length of the field returning the ball.

Despite the tired legs I think we are in better form than Warrington and will grind out another win. If we can get on top early I don’t see enough in this Warrington team to come from behind, I'll go for an 18-10 win.