Adrian Lam was more than happy with his team’s “ugly” 30-16 win against Hull KR as Wigan moved two points clear at the top of Super League.
Tries from Sam Powell and Liam Marshall helped ease the Warriors home after a spirited Rovers side had brought the score back to 18-16 early in the second-half.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Lam was undeterred by the scruffy nature of the victory admitting: “I wasn’t bothered about not playing well.”
He added: “I knew it was going to be tough and I said in the dressing room I was proud of their (the players) resilience.
“You have got to win those ugly games. This time last year we would have lost that game so I was just pleased they got on with it through some of the more difficult times in the match.
“It’s always frustrating when there are lots of stops in a game. it’s hard to get rhythm and momentum, and it gets frustrating, but we got the points.
Jackson Hastings scored two first-half tries for Wigan. Credit: News Images
“That experience of getting through those tough times in a game is important. We’re two points clear at the top, which is nice, but we have a lot of work to do.”
Lam was also full of praise for Hull KR who, despite their lowly league position and well-publicised injury problems, had threatened to pull off a shock victory after scoring either side of half-time.
“I knew they were going to turn up like that,” said the Wigan coach. “When you are under the pump, have got a great coach and a few players coming back from injury, they were going to give it a go.
“When you don’t start well, like that intercept against us, then it’s game on and the minute that happens you know that.
“I thought they were good today. They moved the ball around, they completed their sets pretty highly and they put us under pressure. That’s why the win feels all the better.”
Wigan are now two points clear of the rest in Super League, having won five of their six games so far this season.
Wigan returned to the top of Super League with today’s victory. Credit: News Images
It’s a far cry from this time last year when it took the Warriors until May to register five wins, with Lam joking: “I had forgotten about that.”
He continued: “Obviously it was difficult last year, we lost a lot of experience and we lost Liam Farrell (to injury) so we have recruited some senior players to help out with that.
“We have got a bigger squad and everyone has got 12 months under their belts now to understand the way we want to play.”
Wigan are next in Super League action on Friday when they travel to the AJ Bell Stadium to take on Salford Red Devils.
