{"id":117096,"date":"2025-09-05T20:01:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T20:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/117096\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T20:01:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T20:01:16","slug":"st-helens-man-relishing-tough-run-amid-wigan-warriors-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/117096\/","title":{"rendered":"St Helens man relishing tough run amid Wigan Warriors opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Whether it be Hull KR and Hull FC, Leeds and Bradford or St Helens and Wigan, the debate as to which rugby league rivalry will never be solved.<\/p>\n

One thing is for certain though, when game weeks for those key derby fixtures come around, the excitement increases that little bit more.<\/p>\n

For players, the feelings are the same, and for St Helens\u2019 Matt Whitley, growing up as a Saints fan means he knows all about what this week\u2019s fixture means.<\/p>\n

Whitley has played in three of these derbies in his career, winning the first before losing the last two. He has given his thoughts on just how big this game is, and how he hopes to head into the latter stages of the competition on a high.<\/p>\n

Speaking to SaintsTV<\/a> to preview the 2nd vs 5th clash, he said: \u201cThere\u2019s two fixtures you look out for when they first come out at the start of the year and it\u2019s Wigan at home and Wigan away.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t need much introduction, we all know what to expect and hopefully we\u2019re going to put on a good performance for the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saints have had arguably the toughest run-in of any playoff chasing team, facing four of the top seven in their final five matches. Whitley believes that the difficult run of games will only help his side, with form and momentum being vital at this stage of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to play everyone,\u201d said Whitley. \u201cIt\u2019s Wigan this week, we look forward to that and we can finish the season strong hopefully.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery team wants to do well and it\u2019s going to be massive for us that we get some good run of form going into the playoffs.<\/p>\n

St Helens were beaten by Hull KR last time out, and suffered two huge blows with forwards Morgan Knowles and George Delaney absent for this game through injury and suspension respectively.<\/p>\n

Whitley, who made 49 tackles in the loss, explained: \u201cIt was a tough game up at Hull. We invested a lot in that and we\u2019ve reviewed the game and seen some things that we\u2019re happy with and seen some things that we can improve. We put that into training this week and hopefully we can build into it on Friday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahead of derby day against the @WiganWarriorsRL<\/a> tomorrow night, we caught up with @matty_whitley<\/a>, who knows how big a contest this will be \ud83d\udc4a<\/p>\n

Subscribers can watch the full video now on Saints TV \ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa https:\/\/t.co\/FpxoAm3i9c<\/a>#COYS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) September 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

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