Wigan Warriors to explore Junior Nsemba utilisation after making huge impact from bench
Wigan Warriors were boosted by the return of Junior Nsemba in their win over Wakefield Trinity, with the towering forward making a sizeable impact from the bench.
Nsemba lost his ever-present tag the week previous as he was forced to sit out Wigan’s narrow 10-6 defeat to Hull KR through concussion protocols, having failed a head injury assessment in their win over Warrington Wolves in Round 21.
But the 21-year-old came back with a bang on Sunday, making a notable impact when entering the action from the bench and getting on the scoresheet in Wigan’s emphatic 44-2 win over play-off hopefuls Wakefield.
Many were surprised when the line-ups were announced at 1:30pm, with Nsemba named on the bench, with Sam Walters and Liam Farrell starting in the back-row, but it proved to be a masterstroke from Matt Peet and Co, with Nsemba providing power, size and explosiveness when he entered the field against a fatigued Wakefield defence.
It was the first time Nsemba had started a game on the bench this year, having started in his previous 23 appearances in all competitions in 2025. For good measure, he only started on the bench three times in his 28 appearances last season! But it is a decision that clearly worked and paid off, and it has given the Warriors coaching staff food for thought moving forward.
“It seemed quite obvious to me, really,” said Peet when asked about his thought process behind starting Nsemba on the bench.
“I don’t know if we’ll stick with it, we may well stick with it, Sam (Walters) played well in the back-row last week, we had the option to move him in (to the middle) and he’s got a massive engine, and Junior has played big minutes through the year, probably plays with a bit more punch, so it’ll be something we explore moving forward.
"I just liked the way as soon as Junior came on, Harry (Smith) got him in the game, and he made an impact.”
Peet will be forced to shuffle his pack around in Saturday’s clash with Catalans Dragons in the south of France, with key prop Ethan Havard set to serve a one-match ban. The most obvious replacement candidate would be Tyler Dupree, who was 18th man in Sunday’s win over Wakefield.