FARRELL: IT SAINT TOO BAD
Warriors skipper backs team to get over derby defeat and bans
WIGAN skipper Liam Farrell has backed his side to get over their discipline issues and quickly return to winning ways.
The Warriors saw Ireland prop Liam Byrne suspended for four games at an independent tribunal last night.
He was also fined £750 for a Grade E head contact on Mark Percival which saw him sent off in Good Friday’s 12-4 loss at St Helens.
But champions Wigan have also seen Byrne’s fellow front-row Tyler Dupree suspended for one-game after an incident in the same fixture.
Both miss tomorrow’s visit to Leigh when Matt Peet’s Wigan side are desperate to kick on after seeing their 15-game winning run in Super League crash to a halt against derby rivals Saints.
With England props Mike Cooper and Ethan Havard already out with injuries, it could leave Wigan short of firepower in the middle as they prepare for another derby against the Challenge Cup holders.
But England second-row Farrell insisted: “There’s a lot been said about how we’ve got so many middles (props) this year and the strength in depth there.
“Hopefully somebody will come in and do a job. I can’t imagine there’ll be much done this week (after Friday). It’s a case of resting up, picking some things out of that last game and getting ready for this. We need to look at where we can get better and look at what Leigh have to offer.”
Peet had teenage forward Junior Nsemba as an unused substitute against Saints so he is likely to step up.
Young prop Harvie Hill was 18th man and ex-Catalans forward Tiaki Chan might also get a shot with all three named in Wigan’s 21-man squad for tomorrow’s game.
But Warriors will still be smarting from the defeat at Totally Wicked Stadium, their first league reverse since July.
They knew another win would have equalled Saints’ record of 16 straight Super League victories set in 2008.
But Farrell (above) said: “We’ve never even spoken about it. Not once. We know it’s a great achievement, winning so many games on the bounce.
“But we’ve got another really tough and intense game against Leigh now.”
The 33-year-old had seen his 12-man side lead 4-2 before two late tries gave Saints victory.
He said: “I wouldn’t say I think we’d done enough. It got to about 20 minutes left and Saints started throwing a lot at us. It got fatiguing.
“But I couldn’t be more proud. We came in at half-time and were confident just because Saints had thrown a lot at us. In terms of resilience, I was very happy.”