It’s an entertainment stacked round one in the Betfred Super League with Wigan Warriors facing a trip to Craven Park to face Tony Smith’s Hull KR.
The surprise package of Super League last campaign, KR will also be hoping to get off to a good start and continue the momentum which blew the remainder of Super League away towards the end of last season.
KR finished in the play-offs and shocked Warrington in the eliminator fixture, leaving them to face Catalan Dragons in the semi-finals. However, they did ultimately fail to get past the French giants, but that didn’t take anything away from their efforts across the year and fill the fans and players with confidence ahead of 2022.
Wigan, on the other hand, look ahead to their first competitive game under new head coach, Matt Peet alongside a brand-new coaching set up at the D.W Stadium. Peet has been promoted from within all the way to the senior role and takes charge of his first competitive game against Hull Kingston Rovers.
The change followed the departure of Adrian Lam who has since become the new head coach of Championship side and local rivals Leigh Centurions. Furthermore, the Warriors have made some impressive signings such as Cade Cust and the experienced Ian Thornley from Leigh as they look to improve on last season’s disappointing end to the campaign.
After losing at home to Leeds Rhinos in the Eliminator fixture, many of the Warriors squad will be performing with a point to prove, not only to their new head coach but to the cherry and white faithful who felt the squad hugely underperformed last year.
Jay Field has featured as a full-back in several games as of late, impressing new coach Peet after barely featuring last year due to a hamstring injury. As such, Field may feature for Wigan at full-back against KR. Many feel this season could be a big one for the former Parramatta Eels man who will be another player wanting to prove a point in Super League.
The game, which is available on Sky Sports on Friday night, will pose the first of a tough start for the Warriors with a doubleheader in France in the early weeks of the season.
As for KR, they will be hoping to get maximum points from their first few fixtures and put down a marker to keep performances at a high level for the entire campaign and go one better than they managed last season.
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