Joe Greenwood to make Wigan Warriors return from the bench

Wigan head to Huddersfield tonight hunting a third win on the bounce as they look to edge towards a top five play-off place.

As well as wins on the board, Lam is also hoping Wigan can break their habit of winning games by narrow margins and bolster their for and against column, and he thinks Greenwood will be a handy addition with that in mind.

“He’s an attacking threat, teams don’t like playing against him and as a side we’ll benefit from that because we need that difference,” said the coach.

“I’m pretty happy with the back row so Joe will have to come off the bench and work his way back into the side. Which is what we wanted all year, competition for places.”

Greenwood, who signed mid-way through last season from Gold Coast Titans, has been unlucky on the injury front lately, sustaining a knee injury in Wigan’s loss to Catalans in Barcelona last month before injuring his ribs in the Magic Weekend loss to Warrington.

But on making his return, the forward doesn’t mind having to fight for his place.

“For the last two years I didn’t really get any injuries, not even niggles, so this happens at times – it’s part of the game,” he reflected.

“You always want competition, if you’re settled you don’t get the best out of yourself, complacency can creep in even if you don’t want it – it’s better to have someone keeping you on your toes.

“We’ve got depth and I’m looking forward to come off the bench and make an impact. I did it last year and I enjoyed it, playing a different role. Wherever he wants to put me, I’ll play.”

Greenwood was part of a group of players to meet Great Britain coach Wayne Bennett earlier this week.

The coach spoke to the media on Tuesday and has briefed members of the Elite Training Squad ahead of this autumn’s Tour which will include matches against Tonga, PNG and New Zealand.

“He spoke to the players and he was happy to see us all,” said Greenwood. “He told us the plan for the Great Britain tour and it was good to see everyone.”

Among them was Leeds’ Kallum Watkins, who is leaving to join Greenwood’s old club Gold Coast Titans.

The ex-St Helens forward was cut by the NRL outfit last year after he and Dan Sarginson fell out of favour under coach Garth Brennan.

“I was a bit surprised by that because I was told, ‘We want to bring our own through rather than play English’,” said Greenwood.

“I’ve come here and won silverware and loved it, but I’m not sure what happened there, I don’t know if they’ve changed their approach.

“I saw Kallum on Monday and wished him all the best. When he’s on his game he’s up there with the best centres in the world.”