Wigan Warriors: The 18th Man - ‘There is a real connection at the moment throughout the club and the town’

Stephen Ford:

Another totally professional performance in a final. I was confident of victory after Cooper had served his ridiculous 10 minute sin-binning and Wire hadn’t really caused any damage and our defence stood up to the task with relative ease.

Many people say that Wigan won due to Wire making too many errors but we won in a canter without really getting out of second gear. Wire could just not cope with the stranglehold that our defence had on the entire Wire team with in particular our pack dominating from the very first minute until the final whistle.

For me the only downside to the game was that we only won by 10 points which in no way reflected how dominant we were. French won the man of the match but on the day I thought that Thompson, Smith and Marshall would also have been worthy winners of the Lance Todd Trophy if the voting journalists had cast their votes in their direction. Watching the game the day after the game I thought Ellis played particularly well and for me it was probably his best display for the team since he joined us.

Very pleased for Eckersley on only I believe his fifth first team appearance and after his error early in the game. The lad showed great maturity in his game despite his young age and I was made up when he scored the first try. Injuries aside Eckersley should be starting against Castleford and London due to Keighran’s suspension and it will be interesting to see how he performs in those two games. I was interested watching the discussion on the pitch between the two head coaches after the game and from the body language I don’t think that it was an amicable one. I suspect that this may have a result of the two Wigan players being suspended from the game after their indiscretions versus Wire the previous week and Wires reaction and some of the verbals after Keighran was sent off. Very unlike Peet to show his emotions so much during the game and this was highlighted when Dufty caught Marshall with a high shot and you could lipread Peet shouting for Dufty to be shown the yellow card. All in all a very satisfying result and it feels a little unreal that we now have all four trophies available to us and potentially we could dominate the competition for the next few years. Very interesting times.

A little hard to be enthusiastic about playing Castleford for the third time and we are not halfway through the season. The fixture list this season has been particularly lopsided and I am certain that this has an impact on attendance figures. I suspect that there may be a few changes to the Wembley 17 except for Hampshire replacing the injured Field. I hope that French goes to FB as Hampshire is in no way a FB with his capabilities under a high ball being almost non-existent. Hampshire and Smith in the halves will still give us the balance of a runner and a play maker and French can continue to roam as he feels fit. Personally I would like Hill, Walters and Douglas to get game time enabling Marshall, Nsemba and Cooper to get some rest time.

Hopefully the guys will have sobered up by Friday and can keep our winning run going. I anticipate a tight game and any win by any margin will do for me.

David Bailey:

Wow. What a feeling. Wigan Warriors now hold every major honour available to the men's team. Not to mention they are in prime position to retain further trophies come September/October. In a week where all the build up seemed to be about Sam Burgess and his 'youthful' Warrington Wolves (spoiler alert, Wigan were collectively and in most cases individually younger than their Wire counterparts) it was Matt Peet and his charges that stood tall under the arch at Wembley Stadium.

Wigan shrugged off their suspensions and every player from 1-17 made their mark. Even the squad men played their part. Keighran coaching Eckersley 1-1 in the week. Dupree offering up suggestions on the game, Willie Isa with an emotional shirt presentation which included flags of places the players were representing.

I don't think anyone inside the inner sanctum of the Warriors dressing room was in any doubt at the result.

Matt Peet is a philosophical coach. But the Warriors had a visual representation of what was at stake all week. A poster displayed the League Leaders, Grand Final and World Club Challenge victories. There was a fourth space, with no celebration photos, simply indicating the space where the Challenge Cup could be.

Onto the game itself, after an exchange of yellow cards (both nonsense) and a fumbling of the ball by young Eckersley, Warrington declined the chance to attack Wigan's 12 men on the try line and took a two point lead. Then, the Warriors clicked into gear. Harry Smith was imperious with the boot. Ball in hand he gained almost three times as many metres as his Wire counterpart.

Twenty minutes in and Bevan French showed the sparkle that likely won him the Lance Todd Trophy. Firstly he attacked the Warrington defence and played a sublime kick through for youngster Zach Eckersley to score in his first Challenge Cup appearance. A couple of minutes later, French attacked the same side and twisted and turned his way over to extend the lead. Smith nailed his second conversion and from there the Warriors never looked back. French almost crossed again at half-time but couldn't find the try that would have killed the game.

The second half was as controlled as you will see. Warrington were throwing the ball about and going for last tackle power plays but couldn't get that important first score. Instead, with the hour mark approaching, Wigan attacked left, Field delayed a pass to perfection and Captain Faztastic took centre stage. Unusually there were few options supporting so he just decided to run straight through Dufty and managed to hold off Nicholson. Smith again converted. 18-2 with time running out. Wire did manage a consolation after several repeat sets proved too much for Wigan to withstand. A wonderful day out at Wembley and a fantastic homecoming. Matt Peet singing to Tommy Leuluai, and the Sean O'Loghlin chant in full. Liam Marshall providing the entertainment with a rousing version of Walking in Memphis. Players and staff who obviously love each other's company celebrating another landmark victory.

There is a real connection at the moment throughout the club and the town.

Now back to the grind and Castleford. Away. Again. They must be sick of the sight of the Warriors. This game also marks the end of an arduous first half of the season where Wigan have played just three regular season games at the Brick. The same number we have played at the Jungle this season which is crazy! Just four away games remain for the Warriors who are sat joint-top with St Helens with the game in hand against Leigh now scheduled for early August. This weekend I am sure a couple of players will be rested as Peet ensures his squad are in prime position to defend the League Leaders’ Shield.

Sadly, news broke that Jai Field has a hamstring issue. Amazingly, he suffered this early in the piece in the cup final. He soldiered through with some telling contributions in attack and defence. Let's hope it's just a minor issue which will heal in the next 3-4 weeks. I am sure I won't be the only fan hoping Farrimond gets a game in the halves but Peet may give Hampshire another chance at fullback and leave the halves alone.

Castleford, whilst slowly getting their squad assembled for next season, are still short on players for this season and I am hoping for no Wembley hangover this week. Despite their form, the jungle isn't the happiest of hunting grounds for Wigan. A win this week really puts down a marker as the season gets to the halfway point.

Darren Wrudd:

I was sat on the ferry on my way home from the TT races when the game kicked off last week and determined to watch the game fresh with Glenda on my return home via Iplayer, I had to keep my eyes down for three hours as there were TVs everywhere - but thankfully no sound.

Even brother-in-law Dennis sat beside me watching the game on a silent screen and kept quiet and did not let anything slip at all. Was that good news or bad, my nerves were all over the place.

I need not have worried for we were in control of the game from early on and never looked like losing for the whole match. I had silently wished that the official would be largely invisible but the two early yellow cards, a common theme from official Mr. Kendall, seemed to want to stamp some authority on the game and could have been a spoiler once more. The balance is not right yet with these decisions and whilst I understand the legal implications of protecting players health, this year has been a bit of a joke.

I know that Bevan got the Lance Todd Trophy and he had a wow of a game but I think I would have chosen Harry Smith as that young man directed and controlled our game in the most professional manner throughout. Warrington tried hard but the only time they looked threatening was when Sam Powell came on for them and gave them some desperately needed structure, but the hunger in our forwards snuffed out any thoughts of glory they had turned up with whilst the eagerness of the backs meant that we had threats popping up all over the place.

To now hold all four trophies says much about the high standard of coaching and the trust that our players have in the whole process. I was most pleased for the backroom staff to get this win as their hard work gets overlooked so often and they have had much to deal with this last year, but all round it is fantastic to ride the wave.

The games just keep coming thick and fast though and the challenge now is to focus on this Friday's match against Castleford. To replace Jai Field, I can see Ryan Hampshire stepping in - I bet he has practised high balls every day since last time out.

Another two points up for grabs and with things so tight in the league table we need to secure as many as possible.

Well done Wigan, a great performance, now same again please.