Wigan Warriors: The 18th Man - 'Will add another dynamic to the Warriors’ attacking shape...'

Our panel of Warriors experts run the rule over last week’s win over Huddersfield Giants and look ahead to Friday’s derby encounter with St Helens at the Brick Community Stadium...

David Bailey:

I think my words last week to the Warriors were ‘please don’t mess this up’, and never has a truer word been spoken.

I genuinely don’t know what it is, but Wigan just cannot seem to get up for ‘flat’ games. In what will likely be the lowest Super League crowd the Warriors will run out in front of this season, they just about coasted home after the Giants once again fought tooth and nail.

The number of times Harry Smith drags us through these games should not be underestimated. Zach Eckersley got a very surprising hat-trick, and Wigan maintained the pressure on league leaders Leeds. The Rhinos came unstuck in their derby versus Castleford to round the weekend off and give hope of a real race for the League Leaders’ Shield.

George Marsden had a bit of a tough game, but he will be better for it, I am sure. He is 18, and when he came off for a mouthguard-triggered head injury assessment, Adam Keighran took the reins and looked impressive. Not only his kicking, which proved vital, but a couple of try assists too. George O’Loughlin had some nice touches in defence and attack, and despite the sin-binning, Shea O’Connor once again posted some impressive stats.

I am not sure Matt Peet will review much of that game, but the resilience shown, especially by some of the younger players, will give him confidence when bigger games appear. Speaking of which, we are back at The Brick this week. After a resilient performance against an understrength Warrington last time out, I am sure Wigan will be hoping to kick on.

St Helens are still shorn of a number of senior players, but it is a derby after all, so Wigan cannot afford to be complacent.

The Warriors have a few returnees back, most notably Bevan French. As the great songstress Heather Small once said, ‘you’re a sight for sore eyes’. The mercurial stand-off has hopefully shaken off his injury concerns for this season and will add another dynamic to the Warriors’ attacking shape, should he hit the ground running. This means Keighran can remain in the centres and not too much reshuffling is required.

Liam Marshall may come back on the wing, but Austin Daniel has fared well in his appearances. I am excited to see Sam Walters return. Although he will now walk a disciplinary tightrope, he adds much-needed size and power in the pack. I would expect he will replace Kian McDermott in the second-row and accompany Ollie Partington while Kaide Ellis continues at loose forward.

It is a no-lose game for St Helens. With so many missing, even the bookies are expecting a clear Wigan win. Only a convincing win for the Warriors will be accepted in most quarters. Despite the winning run, they still aren’t firing on all cylinders. With absentees returning, you can sense an 80-minute performance is coming. Let’s see what they can do this week.

Darren Wrudd:

It seems that each time the Giants have played us this year, they have had a reason to up their game. First time out, they had a new coach coming in, and I think they played for their old coach going out - it was strange that one. But this time, before the game, Ken Davy, owner of Huddersfield Giants, was stepping down as chairman and walked onto the field to thank the fans. Emotion plays a huge part in this game, and the Giants were up for it.

For large parts of the match, I thought Huddersfield were on top of us and in our faces. They showed a lot of energy and disrupted much of what we tried to do with fantastic line speed and enthusiasm.

However, half-time saw us on top at 10-4, but I’m not really sure how. The second half began in the same manner until Keighran outstepped the defence and broke out into open play, giving us some much-needed territory and breathing space. It turned the game for me. We suddenly looked like the little terrier that had been pushed into a corner had turned into a Jack Russell - full of fight.

Too much in the way of disjointed play was evident again, but the lads will know that and will know what to work on, so that’s not a worry for me. Sometimes the plays stick, sometimes they don’t. However, if you have that kind of spirit in the team, we will never be far away from the points, and so it transpired.

There were special performances from McDermott and the pack. Almost insulted by the Huddersfield idea that they could get over us, they stood up and laid the platform for success. I really feel for McDermott though, who has been given a two-match suspension on the back of it.

This week, of course, we look forward to the derby and all the circus that involves. We are super excited to welcome back Walters, French and Marshall. In particular, Marshall, whom I simply adore as a player - there is such fight in his spirit and he never backs down or gives up.

French brings his own special talents too, but Walters, I feel, will want to just put the effort in to make up for lost time after his lengthy ban. A packed stadium awaits with more than 17,000 tickets sold as I write this, so let’s make it a loud one, and to the lads, give it to ’em!