Kaide Ellis’ verdict on gritty Wigan Warriors win - ‘Sometimes they are the most important'

Wigan Warriors forward Kaide Ellis believes Saturday’s hard-fought 20-16 victory over Hull FC could prove to be one of his side’s most important wins of the season after digging deep to come from behind at the MKM Stadium.

Matt Peet’s side trailed for much of the afternoon before Harry Smith’s 73rd-minute try secured Wigan’s eighth win in their last nine games and lifted them up to third in the Super League table.

Ellis admitted it was far from the Warriors at their fluent best, but felt the character they showed made the result all the more satisfying.

“It was tough,” Ellis told Wigan Today. “It’s always a tough place to come, and in tough conditions too.

“They spoke all week in the media about being physical and testing us in that way, and we knew that - we weren’t shocked by it. I think the way we’ve been going the last couple of weeks, that was probably going to come - a tough performance where we were tested.

“I think at the start they got the jump on us a bit, too many points due to our ill-discipline and dropped balls, things that we don’t want to be doing. But again, I think in the past we probably would’ve rolled over and let that game pass us by and get beaten. I’m very proud that we were able to dig in and get the job done in the end.

“It wasn’t pretty, but sometimes they are the most important wins.”

The Warriors also had to overcome a series of setbacks after losing captain Liam Farrell and England international prop Luke Thompson to injuries inside the opening 15 minutes, forcing several players to take on increased workloads in temperatures approaching 30 degrees.

Ellis praised his team-mates for stepping up when they were needed most.

“It does make it hard, obviously you’ve got to change a few players around, we’re already light on middles as it is, and then you lose Thommo, which is hard, and then you’ve got to play boys for more minutes, and it just stretches everyone,” he said.

“But I’m very proud that we found a way - we couldn’t use it as an excuse if we lost.

“Some people had to dig deep, do more than they had to, and it was a proud effort, a tough win, and these are the ones you look back on at the end of the year if you get the big job done - that’s where it comes from.”

Wigan are in a rich vein of form, winning eight from their last nine matches, with rivals St Helens up next on Sunday at Magic Weekend, which takes place at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium for the first time.