Prior to the 2026 season, Noah Hodkinson had just three senior appearances, none of which had come for Wigan Warriors, but the 20-year-old has now established himself as the next off the block in terms of exciting youngsters at the club.
Hodkinson had made pre-season appearances previously, standing out against Leeds Rhinos in 2025, but his first competitive game for Wigan came in the Challenge Cup earlier this year against Bradford.
That was the first of 11 appearances that he’s made so far in cherry and white, during which time he has scored an impressive 12 tries, including seven in the past two weeks.
Hodkinson’s try-scoring has been a result of a shift to play on the wing, a position that the youngster has now revealed he never played growing up.
“My rugby league background is mainly at full-back with a little bit of centre and half-back when younger, but never wing,” Hodkinson explained when speaking on the Wigan Warriors’ website.
Parachuted in to replace the injured Liam Marshall, Hodkinson has flourished and he’s admitted: “When Matty told me I had a chance on the wing I was just happy to be playing. If it means I’m playing then I’m happy to play anywhere where Matty puts me.”
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Wigan Warriors boss on ‘leap of faith’ that paid dividends
Because of Marshall’s injury and just how well Hodkinson has taken to playing on the wing, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind ascent into becoming a key cog in the team.
On that, Hodkinson said: “It’s all very fast paced but I’m definitely conscious of what I’ve done. I’ve still got a lot of things to learn, but at the moment I’m enjoying playing and scoring tries as well.”
His comments come shortly after Matt Peet praised the back when speaking in his own pre-match presser earlier in the week, as the head coach praised the 20-year-old’s adaptability.
Peet said: “He’s working hard, he’s level, and he’s just focused on trying to learn and get better.
“It was a leap of faith to try him there, but he’s embraced it and he’s doing great. He’s got some abilities from playing full-back – he’s good at dealing with kicks, his positional play is excellent, and he’s always been elusive and agile. He’s got some improvements, but he’s doing well.”
Hodkinson will once again start on the wing against Hull FC on Saturday in a game where Wigan are heavily favoured to win, but the Warriors’ back remains fully focused: “We’ve been going into recent games with a narrow focus on keeping things simple, and it’s our job then to go out and execute the plan on the pitch.”
