Wigan Warriors are still in the process of bedding Bevan French back into their side after his lengthy lay-off with a hamstring injury, however, they’ve got the dilemma of having to accommodate rising star Jack Farrimond, who shone during the Australian’s absence.
It now seems that head coach Matt Peet may have found a solution to the French-Farrimond dilemma with Saturday’s huge win over York Knights being what appeared to be the first test of a new hybrid role for the youngster.
As in every game since his return in the Challenge Cup Final, Bevan French came off the bench with Jack Farrimond the starting six alongside Harry Smith, but rather than replacing Farrimond, the pair played together alongside Smith.
That’s because Farrimond was used as the relief hooker for Brad O’Neill with the hard-tackling number nine afforded some time off, as opposed to playing his customary 80 minutes.
Whilst still early in its experimentation, Wigan may have unearthed a brilliant way to keep all three of French, Farrimond, and Smith on the field, whilst also being able to recharge and protect their all-star number nine.
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Wigan Warriors boss explains Jack Farrimond alternate role
Giving his verdict on Jack Farrimond at nine, Matt Peet explained that the role is an education more than anything, with the youngster’s game set to evolve just from learning a new position.
“The way the game ran, I got the opportunity to look at that for longer than I probably intended,” he admitted when speaking on the Wigan Warriors’ website.
As for the positional aspects and lessons, he added: “It’s a new position to him so it’s going to take learning the technical side of it. In terms of digging his shoulder in and winning collisions, he was good.
“It’ll do him good either as a nine or when he goes back into the halves, and his understanding of the game as he’ll be seeing it from a different angle. It’s only good for his journey as a player.”
With French yet to be unleashed from the start in a match, it’s still to be seen how Wigan navigate their squad selection when the former Man of Steel is fully fit but they’ve unlocked another option, whilst also adding to the development of their young star.
Peet also spoke on another of the club’s youngsters, praising Kian McDermott, who made just his seventh appearance for the club.
“I’ve said it before, we’ve got high hopes for Kian,” Peet admitted, adding: “He’s got a lot of the traits that we want; courageous, fit, and he understands how we want to play. It was a good step for him today.”
