Brad O’Neill salutes red-hot Wigan Warriors team-mate - ‘He’s flying at the moment’

Brad O’Neill has hailed the form of homegrown talent Noah Hodkinson after the 20-year-old scored four tries in Wigan Warriors’ dominant 48-10 victory over Wakefield Trinity.

Hodkinson continued his impressive breakthrough season with a four-try haul at the DIY Kitchens Stadium on Friday night, taking his tally to nine tries in as many first-team appearances since making his debut in March.

Academy graduate Hodkinson, who is primarily a fullback, has excelled on the wing in the absence of the injured Liam Marshall, and O’Neill was full of praise for his team-mate after another standout display.

“It was just about playing in flow, and when we play like that, things just seem to stick, and he comes up with the goods and finishes off the tough tries,” O’Neill told Sky Sports. “But he is flying at the moment, he is killing it, so I’m really proud of him.”

While Hodkinson grabbed the headlines, O’Neill was influential himself, producing a Player of the Match performance as Matt Peet’s side claimed another impressive victory.

The 23-year-old hooker topped Wigan’s tackle count with 39 and helped guide the Warriors to a sixth win in their last seven matches across all competitions.

Reflecting on the team display, O’Neill was pleased with the way Wigan handled a Wakefield side who have enjoyed a strong campaign so far.

“It was a good team performance from start to finish,” O’Neill reflected. “We stuck to the process, and we had to earn it.

“Credit to Wakefield, they’re a big, athletic side who like to throw the ball around, so we had to be on from minute zero to minute 80, so I’m just really proud of the boys.”

The victory continued a memorable period for Peet’s side, who have enjoyed a successful few weeks both domestically and on the road.

Following their Challenge Cup final triumph at Wembley, the Warriors travelled to Paris and returned with another victory before backing it up with one of their most complete performances of the campaign against Wakefield.

O’Neill believes the current mood within the squad is helping drive those performances.

“It’s been a pretty special few weeks, with some very big games, but I feel like we are just enjoying it, we’re enjoying each other’s company and we’re enjoying the challenge as well,” O’Neill added.

“We’ve just got to keep sticking to it, hopefully we can keep in the flow and hopefully keep getting performances like this.”

The result moved Wigan up to fourth in the Super League table and maintained the momentum they have built during a strong run of form heading into the second half of the season.

Meanwhile, Sky Sports pundit Jon Wilkin was full of praise for O’Neill following his Player of the Match display in West Yorkshire.

“An international-standard performance from a nine, a State of Origin-standard performance from a young nine - as good as it gets,” said Wilkin.

“The only thing is his running game, which is so much secondary to that defensive stuff in big games. He’s got a lot of the assets you need to be a great hooker, and I think that’s the best game I’ve seen him play for Wigan.”

Next up for the Warriors is a trip to the LNER Community Stadium to face York Knights on Saturday afternoon, 3pm kick-off.