Could potentially go Farrimond and Rocky with Eckersley at 1 but I do think we will have a stacked bench to give us options.

I think we may actually though go with a stronger team this week than against Hull.

Give us a good run out and 2 weeks to look at things/recover from injury prior to Round 1.

Maybe, but would that mean we end up playing both Wardle and Keighran?

Either way, I'm excited to see some rugby again.

I'd go Eckersley at fullback and Hampshire and Farrimond at 6 and 7. I just can't get the thought out of my mind that I'd be gutted if we lost one of Field, French or Smith for the WCC due to an injury picked up in a friendly but clearly they need to play in one of these two games. I think a run of Hull FC in a friendly, then a week off and then a league game against Cas will get them all in a good place.

On a side note, maybe they'll give Noah Hodkinson a run at fullback. I noticed he was in Portugal with the first team, so he looks to be well thought of.

Hope Luke Thompson gets a game. No idea how good or not he’ll be.

Good shout on Thompson he is a player that absolutely needs games.

Just seen some pictures of Eseh in training, really hope he gets a run out as he looks to have packed on the muscle this offseason.

He left Wakey a big lean lad with a cracking frame, looking at the pictures posted he looks like he has lost some of the puppy fat and gained somewhere in the region of a stone of muscle if not more I would guess.

Aesthetically at least the squad looks in tremendous condition. Mago, Walters, Leeming, Eseh etc look like they've transformed their physiques.

Dupree as well. The pictures posted all over social media yesterday highlighted the work that looks to have been put in by them all.

Squad is an exciting one. Good mix of experience and youth.

https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2024/01/ ... umucyLGa8A

https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2024/01/ ... umucyLGa8A

Good to see Byrne back, thought he might have been touch and go for the start of the season

It'll be a pretty young backline but there is plenty of experience and power in the pack. Fingers crossed everyone comes through ok and we get a good look at the new lads and the younger players.

Dupree benched 100kg 22 times. Most at the club.

Looking forward to seeing how he goes this year. Looking at the forwards they all look lean and probs can do a good stint. Imagine we’ll have Byrne and Harvard starting with a rotation of 2-3 bigger props on the bench to punch holes; Mago, Cooper, Dupree and Thompson. Possibly Thompson will do a stint at 13 as they’ll want him on the field as much as possible

Don’t see much of a difference in the photos on Wigan socials with Eseh from when he was at Trinity. Always had the raw frame and physique to make a cracking prop. Certainly nothing drastic though I’m sure he will continue to build muscle the age he is now and likely the training from Wigan.

Completely disagree he looked like a big lad when he was at Trinity with a very good frame on which to build, he now looks to have matured a bit as you would expect at his age but also added significant muscle.

The downside is that all that muscle is more weight to carry but also needs “feeding” with oxygen during high intensity so it may impact on his ability to play big minutes in the early stages of his Wigan career.

Sounds like Leeming's up for it coming 1st in the latest beep test

Will this be on Wigan Tv?

Yes. The club confirmed earlier this and Hull are on live.

Some interesting things in this article. Not least that Tyler Dupree can bench press 27 1/2 stone!



Paddy Mago looking lean but tipping the scales at nearly 19 stone.

Remember the days when we used to have an underpowered pack?



[urlhttps://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/inside-the-diet-of-wigan-warriors-powerhouse-patrick-mago-as-clubs-head-chef-talks-fuelling-super-league-champions[/url

The interesting thing for me is not who is playing, but who's not playing.
Field, MIski, Keighran, Marshall, French, Smith, Cooper, Havard, Farrell, Isa and Nsemba.

There really is a lot of strength in depth in the squad this year, especially if the likes of Eckersley, Douglas, Farrrimond, Hill etc really kick on.

Very true. We really could do with Eckersley, in particular, kicking on as I think centre is the only area where depth is a possible issue. Wardle and Keighran both seem very durable but, Eckersley aside, I don't see any specialist cover. Isa and Farrell have both played there quite effectively but it's more a square pegs, round holes solution.

In fairness, Eckersley needs game time so carrying an extra 'first team ready' centre would probably have been counter productive. I really feel Eckersley is the real deal and to stifle his chances of first team action could have been a risk.

Sloppy first half, Wakefield the much better side. Our contact in defence looked poor. Bouncing off tackles.

All practice for the lads on both side. Need a footing in the game

What's the over/under on floodlight failures for the 2nd half?

I think they’ve fitted security lights instead of floodlights.