Wigan Warriors head coach Matt Peet has confirmed one forward will definitely miss Sunday’s Challenge Cup clash, whilst another has a ‘chance’ of featuring despite limping off in the loss to St Helens.
That loss will take some getting over as well given the fact Wigan led by 14 points with just ten minutes to go and head coach Peet spoke ahead of this weekend’s Challenge Cup tie with Wakefield about how his side will kick on.
“The hurt’s still there as it was a tough one to take, but we’ve got to turn that into fuel and look forward,” Peet said in his presser, as shared on the Wigan Warriors’ website.
Looking ahead to Sunday’s game, he added: “There’s enough experience in the building to know it’s about what you do next moving forward. We’ll take it on the chin and look at where we can improve, that remains consistent.”
Wigan Warriors boss issues Junior Nsemba update
Wigan won’t announce their 21-man squad until Friday but one man who will not be named is Ethan Havard with the prop being sat down under the concussion protocol, despite initially passing his head injury assessment.
Peet explained: “Ethan Havard passed his HIA on Good Friday but looking back at the footage it was a bad bang. He’ll be sat down under the one week protocol, which is the best thing for Ethan.”
Whilst Havard will be an unexpected miss, one man who it was assumed would miss out could in fact play as Peet revealed that Junior Nsemba, who had limped off with an ankle injury against Saints, was in fact a chance of playing.
The Wigan boss confirmed: “Junior has a chance. He’s been with the physios and we’ll look to get him into a training session later in the week to see how he comes through.”
Hooker Tom Forber also comes back into contention after his loan spell with Castleford, with Peet confirming that the youngster will be named in the 21-man squad.
Challenge Cup opponents Wakefield boast the best defence in Super League but Wigan are the competition’s second-highest scorers and Peet is well aware of the test that Sunday presents.
“From what I’ve seen, they’ve improved as the season’s progressed,” he assessed.
“They’re building momentum, they’re a well-balanced team, and they play well at home in front of a packed stadium. It’s got all the ingredients of a tough game.”
That game is available to watch on BBC One on Sunday with kick-off slated for 1:00 pm.
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