Adam Keighran on 'loving' time in England and his tight-knit bond with Wigan Warriors teammate
Australian centre Adam Keighran says he is ‘loving’ his time with Wigan Warriors and that he and his young family have settled in well to life in England.
The 27-year-old has scored 10 tries and kicked 111 goals in 36 appearances for Wigan since linking up with Matt Peet’s side on a two-year contract ahead of the 2024 campaign after his debut season in Super League with Catalans Dragons.
The former New Zealand Warriors and Sydney Roosters man played an important role in Wigan’s Grand Slam-clinching campaign in 2024, whilst making a name for himself as one of Super League’s most accurate goal-kickers.
Keighran, who returned in Wigan’s 36-12 win over Hull FC on Sunday following a four-match absence due to a knee injury, says he and his young family are enjoying their time in the north of England.
“I’m loving it,” Keighran told Wigan Today when asked about his time in England after arriving from Australia via France. “I’m just in Orrell, I’ve got two kids, so I needed a house to have a backyard! We found a place here, we took the house from Cade Cust, who had the house before us.
“We’re in a good street with good neighbours, they help us out a lot, but there are just some really nice people around. Walking around the streets, there are people having proper, good, genuine chats. It’s a really good community to be a part of.
“Obviously, you get your downfalls because you’re not around family (who are in Australia) and things like that and my wife is at home quite a bit with the kids and I’m fortunate to come here (to training) and be around the boys and around some of my best mates, so it’s a little bit tougher for her not being around people all the time but she’s made some really good friends too, which has really helped, but I can’t complain, I love it around here.
“I’m fortunate in my street that we’re all really good friends, so it’s not like I’m stuck in conversation. There’s always a bit of banter and stuff like that, but you go past some people at the shops when you’re doing your groceries and stuff, and they’ll say a few things! They are always asking questions like ‘are we going to win?!’ and I just say ‘yeah, definitely!’. It’s good to have that sort of banter with people in the community.”
Keighran and his wife Taylee have formed a close bond with Warriors star Harry Smith and his partner Chloe during their 18 months in Wigan so far.
“We haven’t been able to play golf too much lately, which is a bit disappointing, but straight away, that was a common connection that we had,” Keighran said on his mateship with Smith.
“I think golf is a lot of footy players’ pastimes to be honest, so when you can get a connection like that and make it a bit easier to create a friendship, that’s helped us.
“Harry has been massive for us, I say to everyone, himself and his partner Chloe, they are very easy to get along with, we have our pre-game dinner nights every week. It has to be a pasta; we change it up so each one of us cooks it each week, and it has to be different from the week before, but it has to be a pasta with garlic bread.
“I’d flog him at golf, he is ordinary at golf! But in terms of cooking, the girls are up there. My wife cooks a really good pasta, and so does Chloe. I think Harry tries to claim that he cooks it at his house, but I know for sure he doesn’t!
“We definitely get around the cricket at training as well. I haven’t been able to play it for a few weeks now because I was injured, but it’s going to be starting again for me but the boys are into it every morning. Every time we have a break, there’s cricket going on and it’s good, it gets everyone together and gets everyone connected even more, which is what you need in a footy team, so it’s all good.”