Wigan Warriors and Huddersfield Giants start the mind games ahead of the Challenge Cup Final

Two weeks before both Wigan Warriors and Huddersfield Giants make the trip down South, the mind games have already begun.

The sides meet this game week as Wigan make the trip to the John Smith’s Stadium and both sides have decided to rest a number of players after a hectic couple of weeks.

The teams sealed their fate last week at Elland Road as they got past St Helens and Hull KR respectively to confirm their place in the Challenge Cup Final which is to be held for one year only at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 28.

Ian Watson has chosen to rest Jermaine McGillvary after what the Head Coach described as the most workload ‘he’s done in any game’ after the Semi-Final victory over Hull KR last week.

Watson added: “They were kicking to him all the time so he’s fielding the kicks all the time on first play but the way that we played meant he was kick-chasing all the time as well which obviously takes its toll.

“I think individually his defensive efforts were outstanding so it’s more a week for him to rest psychologically”.

As for the Warriors, Matt Peet has chosen to rest star-man Jai Field along with the likes of Liam Marshall, John Bateman, Morgan Smithies and Liam Byre who all drop out.

In their place see the returns of James McDonnell, Umyla Hanley, Matty Nicholson, Logan Astley and Jake Bibby.

So there is plenty of rotation within the Warriors side who travel to Yorkshire with a youthful-looking squad, but one which will be keen to continue the momentum heading into the big cup final two weeks on Saturday.

Speaking to the club website, Peet remains focussed on his own side heading into two weeks of tense build up.

Peet said: “We very much focus on ourselves. We aren’t a team who alter much on opposition to opposition but I do know that Ian Watson is a smart coach and they’ll be well prepared.”

“We’ve had a few lads who have played a lot from the start of the season, you look at the minutes and the metres they have covered and we’ve delved into that and made some comparisons for our squad.

“I think we’ve got to stay professional, there’s people playing for places but there’s two points at stake and I’m hoping that we want to set some standards as a club”.

But with a number of fridge players being given a chance to shine on Thursday night, we are likely to see a number of players eager to wedge their way into Matt Peet’s plans ahead of the trip to Tottenham in a fortnight.

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