Super League Friday's Are Back!

After a superb 80 minutes between Widnes and Wigan last night kicked off the 2015 season superbly, Super League Friday night's begin with tonight's clash between 2014 champions St Helens and Catalans Dragons.

Saints new coach Keiron Cunningham starts his career as head coach with a tough tie against a Catalan side who have reinforced in the off season after missing out on the Grand Final with a 30-12 defeat to tonight's hosts.

St Helens include Jonny Lomax who returns after knee surgery and joins off-season acquisitions Atelea Vea and Travis Burns who will boost the Saints pack which will be without first choice half-back Luke Walsh who is still to return to fitness after missing the back end of last season.

Catalan include the re-signed Remi Casty who returns for a second spell at the Dragons after a short spell in the NRL as does Willie Tonga, Scott Dureau misses out as does marquee signing Todd Carney who has suffered a calf strain. 

St Helens : Lomax, Makinson, Turner, Jones, Swift, Burns, Masoe, Roby, Amor, Vea, Wilkin, Walmsley, Flanagan, Hohaia, Percival, Richards, Wellens, Greenwood, Savelio.
Catalans Dragons : Escare, Duport, Pomeroy, Tonga, Oldfield, Carney, Elima, Henderson, Casty, Taia, Anderson, Mounis, Bosc, Lima, Pelissier, Whitehead, Garcia, Bousquet, Baitieri.

The Carney-less Dragons I see suffering an opening defeat by 12 points so Saints 28 Dragons 16. 

Full previews of the weekend's remaining games will follow early tomorrow morning.  

12-Man Vikings Comeback Denies Warriors

After a mixed pre-season away from home, Wigan made the short trip to the Select Security Stadium to face Widnes in the opening game of the 2015 Super League season ushering in 'The new era of Rugby League.'

The Warriors starting 13 included a couple of surprises with Logan Tomkins and Ryan Sutton both starting in the second row in the absence of the injured Michael McIlorum and the suspended Ben Flower in an otherwise predictable selection.  The pre-match atmosphere between both sets of fans was electric and included a touching tribute from Widnes to loyal warrior Adam Cunliffe who passed away earlier in the week and will be missed amongst the Wigan community.

Both sides made a reasonable start to the game by exchanging sets before a clever move down the left allowed Joel Tomkins to cross for the first try of the game and the season itself in front of the joyful Wigan end. Matty Smith attempted to convert from a tough angle but sent the ball just to the left of the posts at 4-0.

Wigan could have added a rapid second try when a pacy run down the middle from John Bateman saw him pick out Matt Bowen just metres from the line but Bowen's momentum saw him fumble and end the move. Widnes responded instantly with Stefan Marsh racing clear from the scrum only to be excellently denied by Anthony Gelling.

The Vikings continued to advance with a sweeping kick from Joe Mellor finding the grasp of Patrick Ah Van who touched down in the corner but James Child elected to go to the video review who agreed with his decision to deny the try for a knock-on. The intensity rose just seconds later when Kevin Brown's dummy failed to fool Ryan Sutton who floored him with a superb tackle but the impact meant the Vikings captain was unable to continue.

Wigan regained possession and utilised it cleverly as a quick passing play saw John Bateman and Matt Bowen combine to find Anthony Gelling who crossed for the Warriors second score which was added to by Matty Smith's conversion for a 10-0 lead. The visitors looked to strike for a third time in the 23rd minute when Josh Charnley found space on the wing but with the line in sight he was caught by the swinging arm of Patrick Ah Van who after a delay was dismissed leaving Widnes with 12 men for the majority of the game.

Wigan took just five minutes to use the extra man to their advantage as the combination of Bateman and Bowen paid off fr a second time as Anthony Gellng crossed for his second try with Matty Smith converting for a second time to give the Warriors a 16-0 lead. Widnes looked to be heading into the interval scoreless as the minutes ticked down but benefited from a Joe Burgess knock-on which saw Joe Mellor react quickest before blazing down the wing to cross for a try. Danny Tickle converted and Widnes were on the board at 16-6.

Widnes defied their numerical disadvantage to record a successive score just six minutes into the second half as a clever grubber from Joe Mellor evaded the arms of Matt Bowen to leave Rhys Hanbury with an easy take and try. Danny Tickle made it two from two with the boot for a 16-12 scoreline.

Wigan responded with an effort in the 53rd minute with Joel Tomkins looking to have crossed for his second try but after a video review the try was denied meaning four points still served as the gap between the sides. However, Wigan did extend their lead just three minutes later with Tomkins influential by picking out Joe Burgess on the wing who crossed for a try which saw Matty Smith convert well to make it 22-12.

Although many expected Widnes to suffer with just 12 men, the Vikings proved the critics wrong with a rapid move across the field which allowed Cameron Phelps to cross with ease on the overlap to the dismay of the onlooking fans in the East stand. Stefan Marsh took over the kicking duties but was unable to convert leaving the score at 22-16.

Aside from being the new era of rugby league, the slogan for 2015 is 'Every minute matters' and with just five minutes left on the clock in a six point game, the phrase proved true as a Wigan mistake gave Widnes good field position which saw Chris Dean cross for a try before chaos ensued.

A melee between the players began after the celebrating Rhys Hanbury received a kick from Matty Smith leading to the aforementioned melee which also saw Joel Tomkins grapple Cameron Phelps, both Wigan players were spoken to by James Child but with no punishment. Stefan Marsh converted to level at 22-22 to set up a tight finish.

The restart saw a delay as James Child called over Matty Smith and sent the Warriors half-back to the sin bin for the final minute which saw Wigan waste the final possession and leave both sides with a point each.

The Time Has Come For Widnes/Wigan

Barely a day goes by without thoughts of that fateful day in October where just three minutes into the Grand Final, Wigan's hopes of back-to-back titles were dashed but tonight's opponents Widnes suffered an earlier exit after succumbing to a Warrington comeback in late September.

Both sides will be eager to begin the season on a high with the Warriors looking to avoid back-to-back defeats at the Select Security Stadium after a humbling 24-10 loss in their final away game of 2014 back in August. Widnes will hope lightning strikes twice as to defeat the bookies favourites for glory this year would be the perfect start for the Vikings.

In terms of records, Wigan have won four of the last five meetings with an interesting statistic being that they have only conceded four points in three of the four games but to repeat such a feat for a fourth time would rely on Widnes being uncharacteristically poor which is unlikely.

Recent years have seen Widnes tagged as 'Wigan B' at times due to a flurry of ex-Warriors in their squad and with the pre-season acquisition of Gil Dudson, the Vikings boast eight former Warriors so will have an extensive knowledge of the workings of tonight's visitors. The Vikings have named all but the injured Dudson in the 19 so for the travelling fans their will be a lot of familiar faces in Black and White.

Aside from Dudson, Widnes have strengthened across the field with the arrival of Manase Manukafoa (Bradford), Chris Clarkson (loan from Leeds) and a big signing in the form of Aaron Heremaia (Hull).

Wigan traditionally suffer an exodus in pre-season but for once, their have been more arrivals than departures with the returning home of talismanic half-back Blake Green coupled with the permanent exit of the aforementioned Gil Dudson and Hull KR bound Darrell Goulding. Scott Taylor and Jack Hughes have joined Salford and Huddersfield on loan with fellow forward Greg Burke going on loan to Hull KR.

Arrivals at the DW Stadium see the return of Lee Mossop after a short stint in the NRL with Wigan finally completing their pursuit of Larne Patrick who joins on loan from Huddersfield as part of a swap with Jack Hughes while Taulima Tautai joins after a mid-2014 signing from Wakefield and is valued as a good prospect.

Both sides have named strong 19's ahead of what will surely be a superb opening to the 'New Era of Rugby League'

Widnes:  Ah Van, Brown, Cahill, Carberry, Clarkson, Craven, Dean, Gerrard, Hanbury, Heremaia, Hulme, Isa, Kavanagh, Manuokafoa, Marsh, Mellor, O'Carroll, Phelps, Tickle.
Wigan : Bateman, Bowen, Burgess, Charnley, Clubb, Crosby, L. Farrell, C. Farrell, Gelling, McIlorum, O'Loughlin, Patrick, Powell, Smith, Sutton, Tautai, J. Tomkins, L. Tomkins, Williams.

Widnes v Wigan Feb 5th 2015 | Create infographics

Young Warriors Fall to Workington Defeat

Wigan's pre-season programme ended with a loss as a youthful Warriors side slipped to a 24-6 defeat away to dual-reg partners Workington Town of the Championship earlier this afternoon. The Warriors fielded senior players Sam Powell and Dom Manfredi in a side comprised mainly of U19s players.

A windy day in West Cumbria began with both sides making decent starts but it was the hosts who opened the scoring as a nice from Callum Phillips picked out brother Brett who battled through the Warriors defence to cross for a try which was added to by a conversion from Carl Forber for a 6-0 lead.

Alike their previous two outings, errors seemed to be main problem for Wigan and Workington took full advantage just before the end of the first half with two scores in the final four minutes starting with a try for Jarrad Stack who edged over after a knock-on from Joe Bretherton and with Forber converting for a second time, the hosts led 12-0.

After scoring himself, Stack turned creator as he picked out Jason Mossop who crossed for Town's third try with just 11 seconds left of the first period and with Forber maintaining his perfect record with the boot, Workington went into the interval leading 18-0.

A switch-around at half-time saw Wigan return without Sam Powell who was replaced by Jake Shorrocks but as in a similar vain to the first half, Workington scored the first try of the period as a solo run from Callum Phillips saw him evade challenges from Bretherton and Tierney before crossing the Wigan line. Carl Forber made it four from four with the boot for a 24-0 lead.

Wigan's errors and indiscipline let them down at St Helens last week and with four scores needed in 27 minutes to avoid defeat, something had to change quickly to prevent a repeat and change it did as the Warriors got on the board in the 56th minute.

A succession of kicks from Jamie Doran and Jack Higginson resulted in a collection of the ball from James Greenwood who touched down for a try, Jake Shorrocks converted easily to reduce the deficit to 24-6

Despite a battling response from the Warriors, 24-6 was how the contest ended meaning with the exception of the Academy victory over London Skolars, Wigan as a club will go into Thursday's Super League opener against Widnes looking for a first senior win of 2015.

Warriors Fall To Saints Loss

After an experimental Warriors squad suffered a narrow loss away to Championship side Leigh Centurions last Sunday, Wigan continued their pre-season schedule with a short trip to face fierce rivals St Helens at Langtree Park.

In the first meeting between the sides since the 2014 Grand Final which was soured by Ben Flower's dismissal and ruled him out of this game, both sides named strong squads with the new Super League season just on the horizon.

Despite being billed as a 'friendly', clashes between the sides usually quite fierce and this was apparent in the early exchanges as a melee broke out after a strong first tackle from the chasing Wigan pack.

St Helens attacked well and came close to an opening try inside three minutes when a well-worked move saw Mark Percival held up over the Wigan line before Wigan utilised their next possession to force the Saints into a goal-line dropout.

However, a mistake from the Warriors gave St Helens good field position which they used to good effect in the 10th minute when a high kick from Travis Burns caused chaos for Joe Burgess whose failure to collect gave the home side a scrum close to the Wigan line. St Helens utilised the scrum with James Roby finding Joe Greenwood who crossed for the first try of the afternoon followed by a successful conversion from Tommy Makinson for 6-0.

The ball changed hands in a flurry due to a number of knock-ons and penalties before Wigan tried to create a move down the right but a stray pass from Ryan Hampshire glided into the arms of Jordan Turner who in turn found wing partner Adam Swift who dashed over for the Saints second try. Tommy Makinson failed to convert from the touchline as the St Helens opened up a 10-0 lead after 21 minutes.

Wigan's attempts to reduce the deficit began to leave gaps in the line which nearly proved to be costly in the 27th minute when Makinson looked to have crossed for a try with his textbook one handed touchdown but had the effort denied due to being in touch in the process. However, it didn't take long for St Helens to extend their lead as a well-worked passing move allowed Swift to gain significant yards before a cross-field move resulted in an easy score for Atelea Vea which Makinson added to with a conversion for 16-0.

As the final seconds of the first half ticked down, Wigan fell further behind as a quick passing move allowed Tommy Makinson to find space and cross for a try which he then converted to give Wigan a mountain to climb in the second half with the score at 22-0.

Wigan need a huge turnaround in the second half to prevent a humiliating defeat and kicked off their comeback just six minutes into the second half as a kick from Matty Smith found the path of Josh Charnley who found support in Connor Farrell who in turn picked out John Bateman who crossed for the Warriors first try in front of a jubilant East Terrace. Matty Smith converted the effort and put Wigan on the board at 22-6.

The Warriors began to threaten the Saints defence far more than in the first half and reduced the deficit further just before the hour mark as a George Williams grubber kick forced a dropout which allowed Wigan to advance towards the try line. Connor Farrell looked to gain yards and despite being challenged by a trio of Saints defenders, powered over the line for a superb try. Matty Smith maintained his record with the boot to make it 22-12.

Wigan continued to battle back into the game but were caught out by a clever move from the Saints who looked to have sealed the victory when Joe Greenwood crossed for his second try of the game and with Tommy Makinson converting, St Helens led 28-12 with ten minutes remaining.

St Helens held on for the win but in pre-season the result is secondary despite the rivalry with the biggest positive from a Wigan perspective being a good run out for players ahead of what will be a tough Super League campaign.

Highlights from the game can be seen in the accompanying video from my 'Out and About' feature series.

Kay Treble Stuns Warriors

 

After success for the Wigan Warriors Select XII at London Skolars on Friday, Wigan Warriors began their pre-season campaign with a tough local derby against neighbours Leigh Centurions on Sunday afternoon at Leigh Sports Village.

In front of a crowd of 4,125, Wigan fielded a squad of 24 players which included senior debuts for Academy starlets Oliver Gildart, Jake Shorrocks, Rob Lever and Kyle Shelford while new signings Larne Patrick and Taulima Tautai both began their Wigan careers.

A cagey start from both sides included a mini-brawl in the seventh minute which saw no repercussions to the relief of both sides and despite fielding a fair number of young players from the start it was the Warriors who opened the scoring in the 15th minute.

Clever play from deputising centre Joel Tomkins saw him find wing partner Josh Charnley out wide resulting in the Warriors number two crossing for a textbook try in the corner but one which left Matty Smith with a tough conversion attempt from the touchline. Smith narrowly missed leaving the Warriors with a slim lead at 4-0.

Leigh responded well to going behind and soon took the lead with a move down the left side that saw Tom Armstrong pass out wide to Liam Kay who raced over for the Centurions' first try which was added to by a superb conversion from Ryan Brierley for 6-4.

A dangerous high-kick from Leigh on 35 minutes caused trouble for Warriors fullback Ryan Hampshire who was unable to collect and allowed Liam Kay to cross for his second try of the afternoon which was converted by Ryan Brierley for a 12-4 lead going into half-time.

Wigan made a number of formation changes with Matt Bowen and Jake Shorrocks coming on while Ryan Hampshire moved into the halves and the switches paid dividends just six minutes into the half as Bowen's high kick out wide found the welcoming grasp of deputising centre Joe Burgess who touched down for the try. Ryan Hampshire attempted to convert but saw his effort narrowly miss with the score at 12-8.

Leigh's lead came to an end just five minutes later with Ryan Hampshire influential again as a pass from Jake Shorrocks unleashed his half-back partner who raced through the Centurions defence to score a fine try and went one better as he converted his own score for a 14-12 lead.

However, Leigh were not finished yet and had the last say on the outcome in the 74th minute as a final tackle drive saw Liam Kay complete his hat-trick and with Ben Renyolds converting for 18-14, Leigh had secured a famous victory.

A New Era in 2015 for Wigan?

A new year and season means a new title for the blog and in keeping with the topic of 2015 - I have chosen to re-name as 'A New Era in 2015'. The first post of this year is an article about how Wigan will adapt this season and various changes in the post-season both good and bad.

The countdown to the new Super League season is on and for many teams there is the impetus to improve on last season which is a focus for Wigan after an memorable end to 2014 for all the wrong reasons.

Some 'experts' have rated the Warriors best hopes for 2015 are to finish in fourth while others see a return to Old Trafford in October and a potential rematch of the 2014 Grand Final against St Helens but as a Warrior myself, the focus is on how the new structure will affect the team and performance in 2015.

Usually, the post-season at Wigan features an array of exits normally with players returning home to the NRL but this year has seen a break from that tradition with only two exits in the form of mercurial half-back Blake Green who leaves the number six shirt with a huge reputation while Eddy Pettybourne departed recently due to personal reasons.

Both performed superbly last season and will be missed in the side by both players and fans alike but the winds of change have seen some real prospects come into the squad with the notable duo of Taulima Tautai (Wakefield) and Larne Patrick who arrives on loan from Huddersfield in a swap for Jack Hughes with both massive deals for the club after being highly rated last season.

Aside from Jack Hughes moving north to the Giants for 2015, loans have dominated the exits from the DW with the only permanent deal seeing Darrell Goulding sign for Hull KR where he will be joined for a year by Greg Burke while Scott Taylor moves to Salford and Sam Hopkins continues his learning curve at Leigh.

Wigan's biggest positive in terms signings has to be the extension of inspirational captain Sean O'Loughlin's stay on the playing field which will be a huge boost for 2015 after a mixed 2014 raised doubts of retirement. Sean's commitment to the club is second to none and the '13' shirt would not be the same had he chose to move into coaching  rather than to continue the stellar skill of try assists with the derby pass to Dan Sarginson, a stand-out moment of last season.

Returning to the earlier topic of going home, Lee Mossop returns to grace the Cherry and White after a short stay in the NRL with Parramatta which was curtailed by injuries but his return could signal to him being be a real star for Wigan this year going forward.

In the forwards, Wigan are flush this season despite the recent departure of Gil Dudson to Widnes and the suspension of Ben Flower until April after his Old Trafford indiscretion as the aforementioned trio of signings join a youthful group that includes Dom Crosby, Ryan Sutton, Tony Clubb and John Bateman among others.

Youth is a topic that last season led to many negative predictions for Wigan which were stunningly rubbished as the Warriors prevailed several times in tough games thanks to some superb performances from previously unknown gems such as Joe Burgess and George Williams who have both been rewarded for a great 2014 with the number five and six shirts respectively.

As 2015 is heralded as the beginning of a new era of Rugby League, at Wigan the mix of budding youth and experience should make for a great assault on re-claiming the Challenge Cup and Super League titles of 2013.

The season begins with a trip to Widnes and Wigan will be eager to right the wrongs of the last meeting which ended a woeful season on the road of which a huge turnaround will be a primary focus for 2015 but which 13 players launch the season for the Warriors?

As the pre-season programme begins this weekend, little is known of the new structure that Shaun Wane has devised for 2015 but in my view the best starting side at the moment has to be spearheaded by a familiar back five.

                                                                         Bowen

                                        Charnley

                                                        Gelling                 

                                                                      Sarginson  

                                                                                         Burgess

The halves is a topic of discussion among many fans with the 2015 six and seven the current favourites to make the starting lineup with Ryan Hampshire and Sam Powell vying for places on the bench.

                                                           Williams  

                                                                            Smith

A squad boasting an array of forwards will give Shaun Wane a headache for the opening game with the new signings sure to be in contention alongside the upcoming Academy stars with Dom Crosby awarded the number eight after Scott Taylor's exit with Taulima Tautai my tip to deputise in Ben Flower's absence.

                                                         Crosby                     Tautai

                                                                         McIlorum

                                                        J.Tomkins                   Farrell

                                                                       O'Loughlin 

Of course, my selection is based on last season's setup and may change as the pre-season programme continues but the headache hopefully makes for a good 2015 for the Cherry and Whites but what do you think?