Farrell relishing Wigan’s Saints sequel
Wigan second rower Liam Farrell is looking forward to revisiting the scene of past glories when the Warriors tangle with St Helens in Saturday’s Old Trafford Grand Final.
Saints and Wigan last faced off in Super League‘s final fixture in 2010, with the Warriors emerging as 22-10 winners that day.
“It’s the old derby game again, a remake of 2010,” said Farrell.
“I’m really looking forward to it, it’s been quite a long journey to get here.
“There’d be no better end [to the season] than a Grand Final win, which I’m hoping we can do.
“We have got a young squad, but we’ve gained some experience through the year with the injuries that we’ve had.
“[The youngsters] have had to have a lot of game time, and they’ve grown through it.
“This experience that they’re going to get on Saturday, they’ll have nothing again like it, so they have to take it in. It’ll be a great experience for them.”
Wigan claimed a place in the final with a 16-12 win over Warrington last Friday. Farrell feels that the game was one of the best in which he has ever played.
“I’ve been thinking about it all week, and that’s easily the best game I’ve played in since I started playing,” he added.
“The way it finished and the way we won the game were unbelievable. I’ve played in some great games, but that was up there with the best.
“Warrington are a class side, but I think the way that we started the game in the first 30 minutes and what we did to them it probably paid dividends for us in the end, and I think we deserved the win.”
Farrell is also well aware of how good a Saints team the Warriors will have to overcome, if they want to emerge from the final as winners.
“They’ve fully deserved to get where they are,” he said of Nathan Brown’s League Leaders Shield winners.
“They’ve probably had more injuries than anyone else this year.
“They’ve got a really simple gameplan, they like to use the middles. They’ve got big middles and they’re rolling through teams. I think we’ve got to get on top of that.
“But we’ve got quite a dominant pack as well, so it’s going to make for quite a fiery game, I think.
“Just playing St Helens in the league, everyone talks about it, so playing them in a Grand Final, so I think this week’s going to be extra special.
“We’ve won one each this year, but this is a one-off game and anyone can win it, so I wouldn’t be going off form at the minute.
“It’s all about who turns up on the day. Both teams have got world-class players and players who will probably play for their countries this year, so we’re really looking forward to seeing what we can do against them.”