Wigan Warriors: Zak Hardaker says he is ready to earn his place in Matty Peet's side

The 30-year-old missed most of pre-season as he worked his way back from an injury.

He’s set to start in Matty Peet’s first home game as head coach, but it may not be playing in his favoured position.

He said: “I don’t think you have to be a brain scientist to know where I would rather play.

“I missed a lot of pre-season, where the team did really well, so I can’t go into Matty’s office and say ‘I need to be playing,’ because I’ve not earned the right.

“It’s really hard to put someone in there that’s not been in and around it, when the boys have been working hard and earned their stripes. I want to work my way back into the team.

“I was on the bench in the first game, and unfortunately for Iain (Thornley) he got injured in the first 15 minutes, so I got a bit more time than I was expecting.

“I’m really proud of the boys because we’ve got a tremendous squad that’s really talented, and we’ve got a good selection of lads to fill any spots if someone does get injured.”

Hardaker says Wigan need to build on last week’s victory over Hull KR, ahead of the visit of his former side.

“The round one fixture was really important to us, so to get the two points was really positive and sets us up for what will be a really challenging game against what’s tipped to be a team finishing in the top four this season," he added.

“I know they’ll have a few missing key players, but something I personally know from being at Leeds is no matter what team they put out they will do a job. Their fans will come out in force, so that will add to the atmosphere.”

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