Wigan Warriors: The 18th Man - ‘Competition is certainly hot at the Warriors’

Stephen Ford:

After a demolition job the week before most people were expecting a similar or an even bigger routing against Castleford but it didn’t go exactly to plan. I was quite impressed by Castleford’s hunger in defence and when we did cross for a couple of first half tries they didn’t crumble as virtually everyone expected. In the second half we stepped up to score two early tries and we comfortably extended the lead without getting out of second gear. Good performances from French, Smith and Nsemba with Farrell giving his usual professional performance.

I thought that with resting O’Neill, it unsettled the side a little as he is more composed and authoritative hooker than Leeming and I think it may have blunted our tempo a little. Very pleasing to see Nsemba get to play the full 80 minutes but he did look really tired at times but the lad has huge potential and it's scary to know that he is still only 19. Eckersley had a quiet game but it was great to see him play extended minutes and he certainly doesn’t look out of place in the first-team. I hope that he gets some more game time in the next few months to further help his development. It must be hard for the coaching staff to motivate the team in such games but still another win and on to next week.

Games at Hull KR are always difficult and I fully expect this week’s encounter to be the same. It’s fantastic to have Havard back but that poses a problem for Matt Peet on who to drop from the squad to accommodate him. I suspect that Hill may be disappointed but Mago could be disappointed if Peet wants Hill’s more combative style against a HKR team looking to bounce back from their Catalan mauling. Hopefully Field will come back from his week off more refreshed and over his niggling injury to fully imprint his game over a HKR team who I think are particularly susceptible to real pace. I think that there will be no more than six points separating the two teams with hopefully Wigan landing the spoils.

With Walters back in the next couple of weeks, Eseh out on loan for a couple of weeks at Castleford and Byrne back from suspension in two weeks we will for the first time have a full squad of forwards to choose from. A headache for the coaching team but with competition pushing players to further improve their performances hopefully we can now really start to build for a major part in the Challenge Cup and to cement our place in the play-offs. It will be interesting to see how the squad is rotated and how we can keep all the players happy if they are not getting into the squad every week. Really interesting times.

For me personally I was quite surprised when it was announced that Keighran had taken over the kicking duties. I suspect that Smith may have prompted this rather than Peet shifting the responsibility. It was a little ironic when Smith had to takeover the kicking when Keighran went off against Castleford and he kicked two conversions from the touchline. Contrary to a large number of Wigan fans I think that Smith has quite a decent record at goalkicking and he showed his talent at the end of last season when he had an impeccable record when it really mattered.

David Bailey:

Job done, that's about all you can say about last weekend's victory against Castleford. Whilst many were licking their lips at the prospect of another cricket score following the Challenge Cup game, the Warriors barely broke a sweat. Credit to the Tigers who had obviously been working on the basics of defence in the week. Craig Lingard knew this game was a free hit, but his depleted charges fared reasonably well, against a Wigan side in cruise control.

Matt Peet surprised a few people by giving Jai Field and Brad O'Neill a rest. Later admitting both could have played had they needed to. Adam Keighran came off the field after pulling up with a leg injury, but again, Peet eased any fears by saying AK would have continued had it not been for young Zach Eckersley on the bench. That was Eckersley's second appearance of the season and once again he acquitted himself well. The challenge for the coaching staff now is to ensure that the likes of Zach, Jacob Douglas and Jack Farrimond get some experience, or they will have to go out on loan like Tom Forber and Harvey Makin as they appear ready for the step up from the reserves.

Junior Nsemba has slotted brilliantly into the pack. Whilst losing Willie Isa is undoubtedly a blow, giving Nsemba some real game time is certainly exciting the fans, and hopefully, hopefully, Sam Walters will be back in the side over the next few weeks to share the load of the back row. It's a really exciting prospect to see these young giants taking the field.

Speaking of returns from injury, I think Matt Peet caught many of us off guard with the inclusion of Ethan Havard in this week's squad. It's fantastic to see Ethan's name on the list after an awful 12 months of injuries. If he does get to play a part against Hull KR this week, I'm sure I won't be alone in holding my breath, praying he gets through unscathed.

Hull KR will welcome us on the back of a heavy, sobering defeat by Catalans Dragons. Without talisman Mikey Lewis, I am sure Willie Peters will have reviewed the game and put it to bed quickly. Rovers seem to lift their game against Wigan, especially at home, and with the likes of Oliver Gildart and Joe Burgess in their ranks, the Warriors will need to be fully focused. Looking at the squad lists, I think it will be in the pack where the game is won. With Thompson on fire, Mago performing admirably and Tyler Dupree continuing his rise to the top, KR will have a job to do.

Speaking of Dupree, if you haven't watched his video by Sky Sports, please take 20 minutes out of your day. He comes across as such a nice character. Caring about his family and wanting to help people from underprivileged backgrounds. I remember Peet saying he wants to be proud of the players on and off the pitch and bring men together in a positive environment. The connection between the club and the fans is as good as ever, and the players all seem like good people. Radlinksi, Peet et al should be very proud of the environment they've created.

An interesting clash ahead of the Challenge Cup Semi Final awaits, with the Warriors keen to keep the pressure on at the top of the table. Current league leaders Catalans visit the DW next week so a win is imperative. It's going to be an interesting few weeks which could shape the season.

Glynn Bradshaw:

It was not a great performance on Friday, but credit to Castleford who put up a much sterner show than the week before.

Eckersley is fitting in well and I know he is highly rated by the coaching staff. Nsemba looks a great prospect who will only improve with more game time.

It’s great news about Havard returning and makes our bench stronger – with no disrespect to Hill, who is doing well.

Probably the right decision regarding goal kicking, as people have said, Keighran’s stats are higher than Harry’s and it will take a bit of pressure off Harry too.

Thought Dupree was excellent on Friday and was my man of the match, with a strong showing from Nsemba and Mago too

Hull KR will prove a tough nut to crack on Friday I’m sure - I think we can disregard last week - and it looks like Mikey Lewis will return which will be a big plus for them.

They are a good club, who have made some good signings, and Willie Peters is doing a great job there, we will have to be at our best to come away with the spoils, fingers crossed we can rise to the occasion.

Darren Wrudd:

I thought we performed well against Cas last week. It was a game which the Tigers would be fired up for after their embarrassing performance the week before, but also a difficult one for our lads to build themselves up to. True to form, they gave us a tough game and were a far better test than previous but their young side flattered us at times and I hope we can get back to our best standards this weekend. That said, how good was it to see Zack Eckersley on the field. Another young gun making his way through the ranks, Zack has come on leaps and bounds over the last couple of years and is very ready for some Super League action. Competition is certainly hot at the DW these days and senior players need to be on the game indeed to secure their spot.

Very interesting to see Adam Keighran kicking too, and although Harry took over when Keighran left the park, I think it is a great move from Matt Peet to take some pressure off of Harry Smith’s shoulders knowing that he can just step back in if required.

Of course we travel to Hull KR on Friday night and sadly with work commitments, I will be relegated to the sofa to watch the game. I must admit that the Robins have surprised me this year with how they have come on. Their coach has certainly found a way to get the best from their squad and they are playing for one another in a really coherent manner. The test now for us will be to put the two relatively easy weeks behind us and pick up our game to match and defeat them to keep pressure at the top of the league.

The brilliant news this week is the possible return of Ethan Havard to the squad. Just when you think we can’t get any stronger, another huge player steps back in. Ethan will add a huge boost to the squad and is a fantastic addition to bring in against KR. With the possibility of Sam Walters very soon too, I am glad I don’t have the selection headache faced by our coaching team.

Finally, if like me, you could not get to Hull on a Friday night, why not join the wheelchair teams from 1.15 on Saturday at Robin Park with both our reserves and first team in action. I am certainly going and can’t wait to see them go at it again.