Catalans Dragons v Wigan Warriors team news as Matt Peet makes three changes to 21-man squad
The 21-man squads have been named for Saturday’s game in Paris between Catalans Dragons and Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors coach Matt Peet has made three changes to his 21-man squad ahead of Saturday’s Super League clash with Catalans Dragons in Paris.
The Warriors will be without versatile forward Sam Walters and senior halfback Harry Smith, who were handed seven-match and one-match suspensions respectively following Wigan’s 40-10 win over Hull KR in the Challenge Cup final at Wembley last Saturday.
As Peet confirmed in his press conference earlier this week, there will be no Bevan French for Wigan in Paris this weekend. Peet said they will give French ‘at least one week, or maybe more’ on the sidelines as he continues building up his running load after returning from a 12-week injury lay-off to play a cameo role in the Wembley win.
As a result, homegrown trio George Marsden, Nathan Lowe and George O’Loughlin come into Peet’s 21-man squad for the trip to the French capital.
Marsden appears the most likely option to replace Smith in the halves, with the 17-year-old having made his first-team debut in a home win over Bradford Bulls on May 2.
Meanwhile, outside-back Lowe and O’Loughlin, who can play centre or back-row, made their senior Wigan debuts last month as Peet fielded a youthful line-up against Hull KR in the week before Wembley. Marsden also featured in that 62-4 defeat at Sewell Group Craven Park.
As for Catalans, Kruise Leeming could feature against his parent club Wigan in Paris. The 30-year-old joined the Dragons on a season-long loan ahead of this season, in a move that saw Ollie Partington make a permanent return to his hometown club Wigan on a five-year deal.
Meanwhile, Tommy Makinson, Lewis Dodd and Julian Bousquet have all received the green light from the Dragons’ medical staff to return this week.
Catalans: Charlie Staines, Tommy Makinson, Nick Cotric, Solomona Faataape, Toby Sexton, Lewis Dodd, Chris Satae, Julian Bousquet, Franck Maria, Ben Condon, Benjamin Garcia, Josh Allen, Romain Navarrete, Harvey Wilson, Kruise Leeming, Zac Lipowicz, Matthieu Laguerre, Matty Russell, Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet, Lenny Marc, Ugo Tison.
Wigan: Jai Field, Zach Eckersley, Adam Keighran, Jake Wardle, Ethan Havard, Brad O’Neill, Luke Thompson, Junior Nsemba, Liam Farrell, Kaide Ellis, Patrick Mago, Ollie Partington, Jack Farrimond, Sam Eseh, Tom Forber, Kian McDermott, Taylor Kerr, Nathan Lowe, Noah Hodkinson, George O’Loughlin, George Marsden.
The Round 13 Super League fixture takes place at the Stade Jean-Bouin on Saturday, 6:30pm kick-off (UK time). The game will be broadcast live on the Sky Sports + Channel.