Wigan Warriors: Bevan French says he was nowhere near his fittest in 2022 as he aims to improve further

The 27-year-old enjoyed an impressive 2022 campaign, scoring 31 tries in Super League, with his performances seeing him named in the Dream Team.

After agreeing a new two-year deal with Wigan at the end of last year, French is looking forward to improving his game further.

He said: “It’ll be good to focus on footy and not have any off-field distractions.

“Hopefully I will get to improve on last year’s performances, I’m really looking forward to getting out there and playing.

“It’s exciting just to be part of a good squad that helped me to shine throughout the season last year.

“It’s good to have this period now before the season starts.

“I want to put in as much hard work as I can and stay disciplined throughout the year, so I can improve on what I did last season.

“Everyone has pretty much the same goals, they all want to improve. We all hold each other accountable.

“I feel like I wasn’t fully fit last year due to missing that chunk of pre-season so hopefully I’m a lot fitter this year and have a lot more involvement.

“I aim high for myself.

“I know I was nowhere near my fittest, I was just lucky to be part of a good team. We all help each other shine.

“I was just lucky to be on the end of a good attacking edge, and I got to score a lot of tries because of their hard work.

“I’ve not really thought too much about my position.

“Jai (Field) has cemented that spot at fullback and I really enjoyed my time on the wing, but it’s a very long year so I’ll be prepared for both places.”

French says Wigan are determined to enjoy more success after experiencing the joy of winning the Challenge Cup and the disappointment of losing in the Super League play-offs.

“It’s important to cover both emotions,” he added.

“Everyone comes here because they want to win silverware, so it’s at the front of our goals.

“It’s an infectious feeling.

“You want to keep making those memories, not just the 80 minute performances but the week leading up to it and the week after.

“You want to relive it as much as you can.”