Wigan Warriors: The 18th Man - 'The suspension of Kaide Ellis... I just shake my head in disbelief'

Darren Wrudd:

Ok I’ll admit it, smug mode descended on the Wrudd household as the final hooter sounded and the magnificent defensive effort of the squad let the big fat zero shine out beside the St Helens score sheet. Even late into the game when we could afford to perhaps cruise along, our steely nerve held and the workload was evenly shouldered between the whole playing roster. I love it when this happens, a combination of almost a perfect storm. Harry Smith and Bevan French, arguably the best half-back pairing in Super League, both sidelined, Liam Farrell our fantastic captain crocked at the last gasp, Ryan Hampshire suffers a heart breaking fracture the previous game so we are left with Adam Keighran, an expert centre with some experience at half, and young Jack Farrimond, a kid with more promise than a supermarket Santa on Christmas week.

So the squad know that they need to work twice as hard to support the structure and by goodness didn’t they do well. No matter what they threw at us, the Saints could not break us down and the strict organisation of our standing defensive line was as impressive as the individual scramble to cover the odd gap. You can perhaps tell that I really enjoyed that.

Another yellow card though for Ellis seemingly for wearing a Wigan shirt in an aggressive manner as I could see nothing wrong with the tackle, but then to prove they are not colour blind, the RFL hand a one match ban on top.

How desperately terrified are those in charge at the RFL of Wigan dominating the sport of rugby league that they start to hand out bans for perhaps ‘looking at me in a funny way’ or walking around with an offensive club crest on your shirt. They are making a mockery of how this sport is run in the UK and the dwindling crowds at the Magic weekend (second lowest ever) show how the faithful of most clubs are getting fed up.

I felt so sad when I heard of Ryan Hampshire’s fractured arm, an injury which probably means he has played his last game for the club. I hope that he is given a real send off by the fans as the season ends as he has given so much to this club and we owe him a real debt.

Sunday's game offers a chance for us to put right a scoreline which inadvertently cost us the league top spot, although it's not over just yet. Hull FC have been less than ordinary this year and yet our last meeting they seemingly had nothing to lose and played some fast and skilful rugby. We cannot afford to lose this one and after most teams have put the cleaners through them only complacency could possibly leave us vulnerable.

We have our injuries, our suspensions, our youngsters learning the craft at this level. But we also have the whole history of this great club to show the seventeen players on Sunday that there is always a way for Wigan to succeed. The season is approaching its climax and we cannot afford to slip up, so I am looking for another committed performance like last weeks.

Stephen Ford:

We got the result that we all wanted and personally I wasn’t too bothered about the quality of the game as our form of late has been quite poor and I just wanted the two points as we strive for a top two place. As local derbies go in the short-term it was very forgetful but in the longer term hopefully this is us getting back on track to retain our title.

I thought that Nsemba had a storming game particularly in defence and Walters had for me his best game yet for the club. Keighran was assured and looked better defensively than when he usually plays at centre. Farrimond’s try was a bit of magic and he looks like the real deal. Overall our defence looked like it was getting back to its best and the Saints pack looked defeated from the opening minutes.

In an ideal world we could have doubled our points tally on the day but I can understand the reluctance to really let rip after playing three games in 10 days with some tough fixtures on the horizon. The referee was pedantic to the point of almost ruining the game and as for the sin-binning and subsequent suspension of Ellis I just shake my head in disbelief. I've never been a fan of “Magic” Weekend and I saw nothing over the latest rendition that will make me change my mind.

With the suspension of Ellis and the confirmed absence of Farrell for at least a couple of weeks this should give Peet the opportunity to give some players additional minutes (Byrne, Walters and Mago) and maybe give young Douglas a run out at the expense of Miski. Ideally I’d like to see Thompson given a rest against a very weak Hull team however, with the enforced absence of Farrell and Ellis, I suspect he will be required to lead a pretty inexperienced pack albeit at possibly reduced minutes. It will be interesting to see what the attendance will be on Sunday as I fear Hull won’t bring many fans with them but hopefully a nice summer’s afternoon may bring some additional support for the home side. I don’t expect a runaway victory but will be a little disappointed if we don’t avenge our recent loss to Hull with at least a 20 point differential in our favour.

David Bailey:

The great wordsmith Gary Barlow once said 'Could it be magic?' Well. No. Despite The RFL trying to gaslight us into believing Magic Weekend was a success. Yes, it made a profit (Leeds must have paid us for the stadium use) but the cold hard facts are it was one of the lowest attended Magic Weekends ever, and the games were of a poor standard, with very little competitive edge. Is it because it's so late into the season and teams are juggling their squads to cope with injuries? I certainly can't recall a Wigan St Helens game so lacking in intensity. When you consider Jai Field was the only first choice starting spine player for either team, that can be forgiven. I was absolutely thrilled for young Jack Farrimond. After some impressive early displays, I saw a few disparaging comments from supporters when Wigan started to wane. Sometimes we need to take a step back and see that he is an 18 year old lad being asked to play one of the hardest positions in the league. He has a natural gift to play what he sees, as was ably demonstrated in his try last weekend. I don't think anyone else in the squad aside from maybe Bevan French would even think about committing that play, let alone executing it. Speaking of Bevan, it was great to hear Matt Peet say French has resumed full training this week. I don't think there is any need to rush him as Keighran and Farrimond looked very comfortable against Saints, but what a boost to have the reigning Man of Steel back for the final few rounds (especially when you consider St Helens have just lost Welsby and Wire have lost Dufty). To think that in a couple of weeks time we could be calling on our key spine players in Field, French and Smith and all will have had a considerable rest as the season reaches its peak. St Helens weren't at the races and young Harry Robertson aside, didn't look like a threat at all. Those over Billinge lump are nervously looking at Leigh and Leeds over their shoulders and Wellens could be the first St Helens coach never to make the play-offs in the summer era.

Onto this week and Hull FC. I am a lot calmer about this game than I was over the return fixture. The Warriors seem to play better with added motivation. Hull have lost two players to suspension whilst Wigan have to cope without Kaide Ellis. I think Ellis can count himself unlucky as there was absolutely nothing he could do in that situation. The bump from Nsemba caused the impact and to see Kaide get banned was disappointing if not unexpected. Warriors players (along with Hull FC) have missed 20 games due to suspension this season. Meanwhile the likes of London, Hull KR and even Leigh players have missed just three. (Liam Byrne has missed the same number of games this season as the entire Leigh and KR squads) don't tell me these things even themselves out. As always it's the lack of consistency that infuriates fans. Liam Farrell missing for a few weeks may well be a blessing in disguise too. Sam Walters had his best game for Wigan and very much seems to be a confidence player. Having him and Nsemba must be a huge mental strength for the Warriors given their size. He could play himself into some form and then Faz could return for the final few rounds. Whilst talking about injuries, while Ryan Hampshire has had his critics this season, it is sad that his Wigan career will end on a sour note after suffering a fracture against Leeds. He hasn't for one reason or another, hit the heights expected of him, but from the outside it looked like he was an important squad member and always fully committed to the team. Good luck Rocky.

Now let's get a win against FC on this family fun day and put some pressure back on Hull KR. They have a 54 points difference advantage at present and Wigan should be looking to really capitalise on a poor FC squad and reel some of that back in.