Wigan Warriors’ Kai Pearce-Paul feels ‘fitter, faster and stronger’ ahead of the upcoming Betfred Super League season

Wigan Warriors forward Kai Pearce-Paul is raring to go with the new season less than three weeks away.

Following a breakthrough season last year, in which the 20-year old became an established first-team player with 19 appearances, he is grateful to have a full pre-season under his belt after an injury-hit off-season in 2021.

“It’s been a really good pre-season. Personally, I feel like I have got a little bit fitter, faster and stronger. Thankfully there hasn’t been much disruption this year compared to last.”

Having a successful pre-season is vital to any player, but being unable to run for four weeks, will ultimately have an impact on fitness heading into the new season.

“I had an issue with my knee, it was heartbreaking, more so because it came at a random time. It went from being fine to having a bit of a niggle and before I knew it, I was injured. It hurt the most because it came out of nowhere and lasted a couple of months”.

Even though Pearce-Paul had to deal with an unsettling pre-season, he made a huge impact on the Warriors side throughout the 2021 campaign, which saw him called up to Paul Anderson’s England Knights side for the game against Jamaica in October, as well as winning the club’s Player of the Year award.

“Winning the award felt like a massive reward after a long hard season. There were a lot of games in a short amount of time and getting Player of the Year felt good because it came from Wigan [Warriors]. Knowing it came from the fan base as well as the coaches and players was a nice feeling to have.”

Having an uninterrupted pre-season, alongside a new coaching team at the Wigan Warriors, has created a buzz around the squad with Matt Peet taking over as Head coach, Lee Briers joining the coaching team and England manager Shaun Wane returning to the club.

The Wigan forward admitted he is looking forward to continuing his form from last season into the new 2022 campaign.

“I managed to gain a lot of experience last season and I want to play as much as I can, so I can do my bit to help the team. It has been a tough preseason, to say the least, but we are all feeling strong and are in a good place heading into the season”.

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