Wane back Warriors for Super League success

Wigan head coach Shaun Wane is confident his side can bounce back from their Grand Final heartbreak last season by going one better this time around ahead of their opener with Widnes tomorrow evening.

The Warriors lost a tight final 14-6 against rivals St Helens at Old Trafford in October, while in the regular season, they finished just one point off top spot.

Although the disappointment of falling short of the Super League crown last season hurt Wane and his players, the Wigan coach believes they are now focused on the campaign ahead.

He said: “I had to lift myself from it so I know how tough it must have been for the players. I didn’t have any time off. I worked hard all the way through pre-season and we got the players in as soon as we could. Once we reviewed the game together, the players soon forgot about it and we tried to work on a system which will help us to be success this season.”

The Warriors squad have had the luxury of training in Florida for a large chunk of their pre-season. Wane took his players to Orlando where they worked in a hot climate before returning to the UK for a number of friendlies.

“We went to Orlando last year and we didn’t have a bad season so we decided to go again. The warm weather over there was a big help and we were able to get some good work done with the ball. Hopefully we will see the benefits of that when the season gets underway.

“With the new structure in place this season, we need to be at our very best in every single game. I am not going to be able to pick teams which includes young kids in there as much this time around as it is important we go out to pick up the two points each time we play,” added Wane.

New signing Larne Patrick is expected to be included for the trip to Widnes but the Warriors will be without prop Ben Flower who will serve the first of his 10 match ban.