Wigan Warriors boss Shaun Wane relishing selection headache

Shaun Wane is relishing the selection headache his fringe players have given him following a crushing 44-6 win against Hull KR.
Gabe Hamlin on his Warriors debutGabe Hamlin on his Warriors debut
Gabe Hamlin on his Warriors debut

Playing three days after a bruising Good Friday derby, he rested a clutch of senior players.

And those he brought into the side grabbed their chances, with Liam Marshall scorching over for four tries and Australian prop Gabriel Hamlin enjoying a superb debut.

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Frenchman Romain Navarrete also caught the eye and - with the likes of Tony Clubb, Sean O’Loughlin, Morgan Escare, Sam Powell, Joe Burgess and Taulima Tautai available for Saturday’s trip to Catalans - Wane has some decisions to make.

He said: “There were some really good performances. I liked what Romain and Gabe gave me, and Marshy did a great job - he can score a try.

“Gabe looked very, very good. He carried the ball strong, he looked composed, it didn’t look like his first game.

“I’m really pleased. They’ve come in and done a fantastic job, and I’ve not had any selection headaches for a couple of years, so now I have I’ll enjoy it.”

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A five-try blitz inside 13 minutes just before half-time - including two from Liam Farrell and Marshall’s first - put Wigan 26-0 up.

“Our attitude was outstanding, our attack looked composed, and in pretty bad conditions,” said Wane.

“Our defence really impressed me. I think they had six plays on our line - normally you’d have about 25 - which showed our D was very intense.”

Sam Tomkins finished with 16 points from a try and six goals as Wigan maintained their place in second spot, behind leaders St Helens.

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Hull KR coach Tim Sheens praised George Williams’ short kicks which inflicted a lot of the damage, with all of Wigan’s eight tries scored down the left channel.

Sheens said: “For 30 minutes we competed well and then our right edge copped a bit of a hammering. A few tries came from kicks in behind - there were some very deft kicks from Williams.

“We were our own worst enemy and we must have upset the official.”