Wigan Warriors forward Junior Nsemba is definitely one to watch in 2025 following a breakthrough 2024 season, picking up the Young Player of the Year award at the Man of Steel awards last year.
Many pundits and journalists have him going one better as one of the favourites to lift the Man of Steel trophy in October.
Nsemba might only be 20 years old but he’s committed his long-term future to the Warriors and fought off offers from the NRL and rugby union.
In an interview with TalkSport, the Wigan Warriors forward discussed his experience in Vegas, going into the season as the top dogs and rollercoaster rides.
Reflecting on his time in Vegas and the travelling Wigan fans, he said: “We definitely enjoyed it. It’s just a change of scenery, especially when we’re going to Vegas and we bring as many fans as we did supporting us.
“That gives us an extra 10% when we’re playing on the pitch, just because we can hear the noise that Wigan are bringing.
“If we could go to Vegas again, we definitely would do it again. I’d go on the rollercoaster again and prove to people that I can handle it.”
The rollercoaster in question was the brainchild of Sky Sports’ Brian Carney, who invited Nsemba and fellow Wigan player Kruise Leeming.
It’s safe to say that none of the trio enjoyed that experience, with Nsemba pointing out that it definitely wasn’t his idea.
He said of his reaction: “It wasn’t the best from me, I don’t like heights, I don’t like rollercoasters.
“It was Brian’s idea but if you’ve seen him on the video as well, I think he was worse than me. I swear Kruise (Leeming), he turned green.”
With their feet safely back on the ground, Nsemba shared the aftermath of Vegas, admitting it’s been a struggle to readjust.
He added:Â “It’s been a weird two weeks and I’m still recovering from the jet lag.
“I feel like the boys are all feeling it when you come off a time difference like that.
“We’ve just got to get the sleep right, get our food right and get back on routine as quickly as possible.”
However, those adjustments won’t slow Wigan down as they next face Huddersfield at home on Sunday afternoon.
He admitted that it’s not even Wigan’s best start to the season but that it’s a long way to go to Old Trafford in October.
He said: “At the start of the season, points will be posted but we’ve got a full season for other teams to compete.
“Right now, the table might look a bit different now to what it might look like at the end.
“At the moment, we are the top dogs and people are going to come for us but it’s just how we handle the pressure.
“We just need to stay composed and not dwell too much on what we did last year.
“Obviously, we did get everything but it’s a new season now, anything can happen so we just need to stay concentrated.”
He finished by talking about the exposure of playing in the USA and was hopeful that it has introduced new people to watch rugby league.
He added: “What we were trying to do was get the points but we were also trying to entertain the fans.
“People might’ve been there that haven’t watched rugby league before and we want to let them know that the sport is interesting and entertaining and we want to get more people to join the sport.”
The Wigan Warriors forward and his side play Huddersfield on Sunday before a Challenge Cup tie against Hull FC on 15th March.
