Successful on and off the field: Liam Farrell on Wigan’s transformation

Wigan forward Liam Farrell says the Warriors are looking to build on what was a successful year on and off the field for the club in 2022.

Matt Peet enjoyed a stellar debut season as head coach of his hometown club. He guided them to Challenge Cup success as they beat Huddersfield in Tottenham.

And off the field, the club improved their matchday experience massively. They have opened their Robin Park training complex open to fans, which served as a marquee prior to matches.

The club has never been more connected to the town, according to Wiganer Farrell.

“The club being successful last year wasn’t just because of winning the Challenge Cup,” Farrell told Love Rugby League.

“If you look off the field at the way the lads got on with each other socially and enjoyed being at training.

“The engagement with the fans is probably the best it has been at in my time at the club. As for the gameday experience, I don’t think I spoke to a Wigan fan who didn’t enjoy coming to a game.

“The club is in a good place but we know there are areas to improve on as a team on the field. We are just trying to get more of what we did last year”

“Robin Park is a great experience. With the way it’s set up, we’ve done the odd ocassion where we’ve got changed at Robin Park and have walked through to the stadium. It’s something different the club has tried doing and it has gone down really well with the fans.

“Robin Park is a great place for us. It is used as a fanzone before a game, it has done nothing but grow week on week. If you look at the fanzone before a game now, you’ve got half of the town inside! It’s a great facility and hopefully we can keep building on it.”

Liam Farrell opens up on World Cup heartache

The England international was forced to sit out of the World Cup last autumn after picking up an injury towards the back end of the Super League season.

“The injury was just bad timing,” Farrell said. “The injury was 10-12 weeks and it just didn’t fit in the timescale of playing for England.

“As much as it was disappointing for myself, I was a keen watcher. It wasn’t great the way they bowed out but it was really competitive and a lot of fans got behind them. It was just a shame we couldn’t go one step further.

“Course I have (ambitions to still play internationally). But it’s not a focus of ourselves at the moment.

“It sounds cliche but I just want to play the best I can every week and keep the standards high for the lads at the club. If my form is good and I’m selected, then so be it.

“It was really disappointing but it was the right call in the end. I spoke to Waney (Shaun Wane) about it and he agreed. You can’t be limping into international games so this year is just about building my form and doing my job for Wigan.”

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