Jake Bibby reflects on his first season at his boyhood club.

The 24-year-old began his career at Salford Red Devils spending four years at the club before getting his dream move to the Wigan Warriors at the end of the 2019 season.

After reaching the Super League Grand Final with the Red Devils in 2019, the centre saw his time at the club come to an end with a new challenge on the horizon at the Warriors. He said this on his time playing at the AJ Bell Stadium “I loved it at Salford. As most lads from Wigan look to play for the club, I unfortunately didn’t have the chance and it was Salford who gave me the opportunity. I couldn’t have asked for a better time at the club, they developed me into the player I am”.

Jake admitted the move to Wigan ahead of the 2020 season was a dream come true. He grew up watching players like Sean O’Loughlin and Tommy Leuluai and to play in the same team as them is surreal.

“Growing up I was a big Wigan fan; I was a season ticket holder in the south stand watching them home and away every week. Watching players like Tommy and Sean is surreal and I still don’t think it has processed yet that I have played with those players for Wigan in a Grand final in which I also scored”.

Looking back on a disrupted first season in Cherry and White, he faced a tough year both on and off the field. Jake lost both his grandparents which he was very close to in sad circumstances. His Grandad, a big Wigan fan, always said from a young age that Jake would play for Wigan. Fulfilling that dream last season makes him proud.

In the final game before the lockdown, Jake pulled his retina in five places with a risk of it detaching. He had a successful operation and due to the enforced break was able to recover properly to make sure he was back fit for the restart of the season.

It saw Bibby’s first silverware, as the Warriors claimed their first League Leaders Shield in eight years. Wigan also reached the Grand Final but fell short in dramatic circumstances. In his debut season for the club he has supported all his life, Jake made 22 appearances scoring 10 tries.

After reaching the Grand Final in 2019 and 2020, a Grand Final winner’s ring is definitely the main objective.