I'm glad we'll get a chance to play a game over there before the WCC to be honest. If we get hammered then it may prove to be a wake up call before we play Sydney. Plus it's another game to try to find our flow in attack.

I've seen an interview with Wane regarding when he won the WCC. He says they knocked seven bells out of each other in training leading up to the game, and he attributes that training to them being tough enough to win the game. I'm not saying he's necessarily right but it may be his approach. As for injuries, I'm sure if anyone's not 100% they won't play, he's already said in an interview that Lockers probably won't play and McIlorum sounded like he would do a short spell off the bench at most.

Talk of the Big NZ pack belting the Wigan forwards before the WCC is Rubbish ( not aimed at the posters ....rather the Myth about the Big Warriors forwards ).

Genuine week in week out NZ Warriors fans hate the " Big Warriors Forwards " thing because it's not true and based on a by gone era when it was true.

The NZW used to be legend for being the most physical pack in the NRL and for more than a decade they were voted the worst team to play.

We now have a modest / small forward pack and have done for many years.

The Roosters had the best defensive system in the NRL last year......but they weren't noted Bruisers either.....Big hits isn't their thing , their line speed and unique defensive system is very effective.
They beat teams with their ability going forward.

I think the Wigan Warriors have chosen well in playing their NZ counter parts. NZ are using their top forwards for most part.

Where it will get interesting is that Wigans defense is very reminiscent of the Storm. Melbourne are the one club that are well matched in styles V NZ.
NZ give the Storm a hard time because their forwards play direct and get a roll on through fast play the balls which upsets Melbournes time to set their line for the Wrestle.

I'm looking forward to seeing if this plays out against Wigans emphasis on numbers in the tackle and the wrestling.

The NZ mob won't be playing their Spine first choice picks , and the backline will be made up of Junior and reserve grade Fillers.

That's useful for the opposition to have somewhere to target their trial opponents and to ensure this game is not taxing.

Lastly the Wigan side are using our facilities to prepare for the WCC after the trial.

After our multi million dollar up grades at Mt Smart Stadium , it's as good a set up as anywhere in the World to prep.

Not expecting too much from the Warriors game tbh, playing a game less than 48 hours after all that travelling with minimal recovery from the Hudds game is a lot to ask. The timing isn't perfect, I guess the coaching staff would've ideally preferred a game at the weekend but thats a no-goer because of the 9's. It should hopefully blow some more of the cobwebs off before the big one on the 22nd anyway.

Looking at the squad that's travelled and noticed Sam Hopkins isn't in there. He seems a good way down the pecking order at the club which surprises me as he's always been touted as someone who'd settle in at superleague level as quickly as Hill or Walmsley have done.

No rush though I suppose.

Interview on warriors tv when wigan arrived in auckland www.warriors.co.nz/warriors-tv

Interview on warriors tv when wigan arrived in auckland www.warriors.co.nz/warriors-tv

Radlinskis Aus/NZ blog Entertaining as ever. No escape for Sam. www.wiganwarriors.com/WBlogp.aspx?id=21

Radlinskis Aus/NZ blog Entertaining as ever. No escape for Sam. www.wiganwarriors.com/WBlogp.aspx?id=21

The team looked well today training at Waikato stadium.

No one pulled up lame. Charnley trained in full.

Had the privilege of meeting Rads , Shaun Wane and Lockers.

Well worth the Two hundred mile round trip from my place to see them.

fans I spoke to at the ground were impressed with the Physiques of the W Warriors.

I overheard the Rugby Union trainers from the Waikato chiefs muttering about the low body fat % etc.....very interesting watching the Rugby Union crew studying the W.Warriors.

Stop being sensitive.

I live in Auckland and watch NZ, the point I was making is the last thing you need after Hudds is another defeat and to pick up knocks especially with the game against a very strong Sydney side on there on patch coming up.

I actually want Wigan to win the WCC.

Quote ="Mt Smart"The team looked well today training at Waikato stadium. No one pulled up lame. Charnley trained in full. Had the privilege of meeting Rads , Shaun Wane and Lockers. Well worth the Two hundred mile round trip from my place to see them. fans I spoke to at the ground were impressed with the Physiques of the W Warriors. I overheard the Rugby Union trainers from the Waikato chiefs muttering about the low body fat % etc.....very interesting watching the Rugby Union crew studying the W.Warriors.'" www.nzwarriors.com/threads/warri ... med.18178/ As Mt Smart says there are some interesting comments in the above link taken from the NZ Warriors forum, pages 6, 7 and 8.

Quote ="Mt Smart"The team looked well today training at Waikato stadium. No one pulled up lame. Charnley trained in full. Had the privilege of meeting Rads , Shaun Wane and Lockers. Well worth the Two hundred mile round trip from my place to see them. fans I spoke to at the ground were impressed with the Physiques of the W Warriors. I overheard the Rugby Union trainers from the Waikato chiefs muttering about the low body fat % etc.....very interesting watching the Rugby Union crew studying the W.Warriors.'" www.nzwarriors.com/threads/warri ... med.18178/ As Mt Smart says there are some interesting comments in the above link taken from the NZ Warriors forum, pages 6, 7 and 8.

Great start to the game, I didn't expect us to play that pace all game though only having got off the plane 2 days ago.

Some slow defence but you can only expect that, showed we can start a game really well though which is encouraging.

some poor defense from our SR again like last week.

Dodgy defence

EDIT: They are looking fiarly sharp in attack though

Dodgy defence & terrible discipline. Same old story...

yeah no complaints going forward. Missing HH and Lockers in D

My PC reception is terrible, first 10 min not to bad but since then picture keeps freezing or going to a screen of vertical multi coloured stripes.

I am going to switch of completely and try again.

Also, it's a complete joke that we're playing different rules in the Super League to the NRL...

Looking good when going forward, in defence we look like a team who has only just got off the plane which is fair enough for me.

Lockers will tighten that up next week, as will McIlorum once he is more into the swing of things.

Sam Powell looks superb.

Thats the feed to the uk from nz i dont think its your pc

The game is a good workout to get rid of the long flights effects

The two referees is different and there have been a few penalties ont he last tackle at what i would say were normal play of the balls

look more balanced with Hampshire

Powells having a cracker

We need to sign their No.27 up - he looks an absolute beast!

Sam Powell's best game in a Wigan shirt. Just played himself into the WCC ahead of Logan there. Gelling went well at centre when he came on. We looked more enthusiastic when the younger lads came on. Scott Taylor immense again, his 25m run after being knocked loopy was awesome.

Tony Clubb needs to improve, we looked far better at 2nd row when Bateman came on, likewise at FB when Hampshire came on. Tough decision for Wane, does he play Bowen or Rocky in the WCC?

Looking forward to Powell getting more game time in the halves. He's so dominant when he gets the chance, controls the flow and has a clever kicking game.

any score update?

How good are our kids? That was a great effort by them to turn the game round and lads like Hampshire, Bateman and Powell must have given Wane plenty of food for thought.

They were the big plus points from the night with the negative probably being our first half defence against the NW big men. We need to improve rapidly there or we'll get run over next week but you can forgive them with the jet lag issue.

All in all not much changes. We're up against it next week but you never know. We will certainly need our final lucky charm back in Lockers.