Wigan Warriors youngster Noah Hodkinson embraces Jai Field mentorship with debut ambition aired

The 20-year-old fullback, who began his journey at community club Hindley ARLFC before joining Wigan’s scholarship programme in 2021, has continued to progress steadily through the ranks at the Brick Community Stadium.

Now approaching the end of his second full pre-season as a full-time professional within Matt Peet’s first-team squad, Hodkinson embraces the fact that he gets to learn from one of Super League’s standout performers in Jai Field, while firmly setting his sights on making his senior Wigan debut during the upcoming campaign.

“It’s good when you’ve got someone like Jai,” Hodkinson told Wigan Today. “If you’re struggling with something, you can just go to him for a bit of advice, and he’ll tell you. Spending one-on-one time with him and Tommy (Leuluai), doing individual fullback stuff, has been really good for me.”

Hodkinson, who also gained valuable experience during a brief loan spell with Championship side Widnes Vikings last season, believes the positive and supportive culture within the Warriors’ first-team environment has played a key role in his development both on and off the pitch.

“The more time you spend with everyone, the more friendly the environment becomes,” he continued. “You can be yourself a bit more, and that helps on the field as well, because you feel more comfortable and play better rugby.

“It gets easier as you get to know the boys, settle in more and take on more responsibility, so I’ve really enjoyed my time in the first-team so far.”

Having been named 18th or 19th man on a couple of occasions last season, Hodkinson came close to making his first-team bow and is now determined to take that final step and earn his Wigan heritage number in 2026.

“I came close last year but unfortunately didn’t get it,” he said. “Hopefully, I might get it this year. I just need to keep working hard and doing my best.

“My main goal is the first-team debut. I’d also like to get out on loan again, maybe, to get some game time, but the debut is the big one for me.”

Hodkinson has been in and around the senior squad for a couple of years now, having first joined the first-team on their pre-season training camp in Portugal back in 2024 while still part of the academy set-up.

Since then, the Bolton-born fullback has travelled on the Warriors’ last two pre-season camps in Tenerife, where the squad have been able to fine-tune their preparations in ideal conditions.

“It’s just good to get some warm weather and good training in those conditions,” Hodkinson said. “I really like it there – it’s a nice environment.”

While the days were spent putting in the hard work, evenings allowed the squad to relax together, with the strong camaraderie within the group clear to see.

“Me and Dayon (Sambou) were in the same room, and Sam (Eseh) and Tom (Forber) were in our villa as well,” he added. “Our villa was a good villa!”

Hodkinson will wear the number 28 shirt for the Warriors in 2026.