Last season, Wigan Warriors went trophyless in a season for the first time since 2021, a stat they will have full focus on avoiding in 2026.
Matt Peet, in his time as head coach has won two Challenge Cups, two Grand Finals, a League Leaders Shield and a World Club Challenge, however none of those came in the last 12 months, a drought that the club are unfamiliar with in recent times.
The Cherry and Whites will be the hunters rather than the hunted this year, and they will have to overcome Hull KR, and all the other silverware contenders, if they are to achieve success.
Their squad is arguably one of the best in the league, with quality across all areas of the pitch. In some cases, there is arguably too much talent, and it is those decisions that we have analysed to see what selection dilemmas Peet will be facing.
The key Wigan Warriors selection headaches for 2026
Wing
The Warriors’ 2026 squad numbers suggest that there will be a change in the starting wingers this year, with Zach Eckersely taking the number two jersey, demoting Abbas Miski to number 16
The young outside back has done more than enough to warrant that starting jersey, scoring 22 tries in his 41 Wigan appearances. In 2025, he scored 15 in 24, and has developed to become one of the best young wingers in the competition.
However, Miski oozes quality himself, with the Lebanese international always having an eye for the scoresheet. Injury has hampered his time on the field as of late, but in his career at the Warriors, has crossed 64 times in 78 games.
Still only 30, Miski will have plenty left to give and if he can stay fit will be pushing each week to return to the starting back five.
Second Row
Warriors captain Liam Farrell is entering his seventeenth season at the club, whilst the likes of Sam Walters and Junior Nsemba are still relatively young in their Wigan careers.
All three players have huge talent, with Farrell being one of the most experienced men still playing in Super League, but only two players can start in the back row, meaning one of them will have to miss out or feature from the bench.
It was a problem that Peet had last year, and he opted to rotate Walters and Nsemba, whilst Farrell played the majority of matches to their completion.
However, six-time Grand Final winner Farrell will be 36 in July, and the club need to start preparing for when he inevitably hangs up the boots.
Front Row
Sticking with the forward pack, the front row positions are another spot that Peet will be working out who works better from minute one and who is more effective from the bench.
Ethan Havard and Luke Thompson have retained the eight and 10 jersey respectively, but Havard especially has been used off the bench on a number of occasions.
Oliver Wilson was due to come in and bolster the pack options, but he will be out for the entire campaign. Sam Eseh and Tiaki Chan are back from their respective loan deals, whilst Patrick Mago will be almost certainly on the bench, having played 24 matches in 2025 and not started a single one.
With Oliver Partington now arriving from Catalans Dragons in a deal that saw Kruise Leeming head the other way on loan, it means Kaide Ellis could be shuffled to prop and therefore be an option.
Halves
Wigan have one of the best young half-backs in Jack Farrimond at the club, but given their riches in the playmaking department, the 19-year-old will find it hard to get game time if the star men stay fit.
Bevan French and Harry Smith are two of the first names on the team sheet, and are so crucial to the Warriors’ success, however it means that Farrimond is limited to the senior minutes he gets.
A loan move to a Super League or high-end Championship club would be perfect for the youngster, and whilst he does feature in the reserves, he needs to be playing above that in order to reach his potential.
He has 12 tries in 16 matches for the club, so when he does feature, he impresses, and his performances are something we need to see more of in 2026.
