Wigan Warriors forwards outlines 2025 goals after ‘shock’ debut

The Wigan Warriors production line of young players is the envy of many clubs in Super League, and another prospect has been handed his first-team debut.

Kian McDermott is the latest youngster in a long line of academy players to make their debut at the Warriors as he came off the bench in their 46-6 win over Salford Red Devils.

McDermott has been at the club since 2021, having previously played for Wigan St Patricks, and was selected for his debut game due to injuries within the Wigan pack as of late.

Speaking to Wigan’s media team after the Salford match, he said: “Playing for Wigan is something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little kid.

“When I started watching Wigan when I was six or seven, I said then I wanted to do it, so to go on and make my debut means a lot.”

The 19-year-old has been on loan at Championship side London Broncos this season, featuring seven times for them and starting in the front row on five of those occasions.

McDermott was preparing to head down to play for the Broncos again this weekend until he was told otherwise by Wigan reserves head coach John Duffy.

He added: “Originally I was asking Duffs about going down to London because I wanted to play.

“He kept saying he’d ‘let me know’ until breakfast on Wednesday. I can’t remember exactly how I was told, but it was a shock really.”

What’s next for the young Wigan Warriors prop in 2025?

Like all young players, McDermott is hoping to feature as many times as he can in the second half of the season and is hoping to be called upon again.

He finished: “Making my debut is something I’ve been working towards all year, it’s a goal I set out when I originally signed full-time, so it’s good to be able to say I got it done.

“The aim now is to get as many minutes under my belt as possible.”