There's a daily routine to Wigan Warriors’ pre-season training and it’s not just around sweat and toil.
Every day since starting work in November towards next month’s big Super League kick-off, young hooker Brad O’Neill has opened their practice sessions with a motivational quote. It’s become a thing. So that’s why the 20-year-old was sitting high astride a load of plyo bags in Wigan’s gym on Friday, ready to deliver his pearls of wisdom to his waiting audience.
It wasn’t just the Warriors squad and staff hanging on his every word, though. Head coach Matt Peet, always a firm believer in transparency and ideas sharing, had opened the doors of their impressive Robin Park training facility to the media to give an insight into how the Challenge Cup holders roll. O’Neill waited for hush and then declared: “Today’s quote is…… the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack!”
Cue loud cheers. And Everything But The Girls’ Missing blazing out of the stereo system. Another day was up and running.
O’Neill explains: “There can be tough, long days in pre-season, some tougher than others.
“We use quote of the day as a pick-me up for the boys. Matty’s really invested in it. He even ordered a book off Amazon with a year’s worth of quotes. But we don’t use it! I pick them or the lads come to me with them. And then I deliver!”
There’s also a new addition to the squad. Peet announced the signing of Ryan ‘Rocky’ Hampshire on a one-year deal.
The utility back - who left Wigan in 2016 - is recovering from an ACL injury suffered playing for Castleford and had nervously been still looking for a new deal.
Hampshire admitted: "At one point I thought it was over. But this has all happened in the last 18 hours. I never thought I’d be back here. It’s great.”
It’s easy to see why the 28-year-old is grinning from ear to ear; Wigan - whose long-serving executive director Kris Radlinski was also announced as chief executive on Friday - remain one of the sport’s biggest clubs and one look at their training facilities shows that.
They don’t want for anything and no stone is left unturned in their chase of perfection. A darkened yoga room is used for “focus” sessions where players concentrate on their breathing and self-awareness.
They learn to be in the moment although Kai Pearce-Paul admits he sometimes gets too chilled and needs to be reminded to head home.
A mechanical moving tackle bag is the latest new training device, Sean O’Loughlin and co having great fun remotely operating it around the skills area to irritate players as they’re being interviewed.
But then the ex-Wigan and England captain gets down to the serious business, taking the squad through aerial clips of the previous day’s training in a team meeting before their field session.
In charge of defence, assistant coach O’Loughlin highlights areas he’s pleased with, defenders being ‘poised’ and not offering clues to their opponents.
Tommy Leuluai does likewise with the attack while everybody is offered the chance to add their say, Jai Field and Sam Powell, in particular, giving player insight.
The messages are clear throughout the day; this Wigan squad, who finished second last term, have every intention of finishing higher in 2023.
