Wigan Warriors have been dealt a major blow ahead of the new Super League season.
The Warriors defeated Hull FC 40-0 in a pre-season friendly but during the fixture they lost star signing Sam Walters after just a few moments when he replaced Willie Isa.
The forward suffered a suspected broken collar bone. Now that injury has been confirmed ahead of the new season by Wigan Today.
This is a massive blow to Walters and the Warriors especially with the World Club Challenge looming.
Wigan Warriors star speaks ahead of new season
Wigan Warriors v Hull KR Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com – 07/10/2023 – Rugby League – Betfred Super League Semi Final – Wigan Warriors v Hull KR – DW Stadium, Wigan, England – Wigan s Harry Smith. Wigan DW Stadium England
After laying down a marker against Hull FC in a pre-season friendly, Harry Smith said on the club’s website: “Hull FC brought a tough challenge at the start due to our ill-discipline and errors which pinned us in our own half. It presented a good opportunity to practice our goal line defence and keeping them out, which we were able to do in keeping them to zero points.
“Part of friendlies is about getting those combinations and flows right between players ready for when the start of the season comes. We were a bit sloppy in the first half and produced a few too many errors, but we showed in the second that things will come with some nice tries scored.
“It’s been a bit different as everything has been zero to a hundred but I’ve really enjoyed it. The new players have brought a lot and the lads that played last year still have that belief and energy that got us a Grand Final. If we can take that into these first few games of the season then it will put us in good stead.”
He also addressed who will be the goal kicker in 2024 after the arrival of Adam Keighran, Smith said: “Adam’s a good lad and I’ve enjoyed working alongside him. I know I need to be on my game week in week out if I want to keep the cone, but it was nice to kick a few over and hopefully I can take that into Round One.”
He also looked ahead to Round One against Castleford Tigers: “Pre-season’s been tough but we’ve been working towards this first game. We’ll rest up and review this game before going straight back into training to look at building on this performance.”
“We’ll put together a tough week of training so that we can take it to Castleford as we know it’s a tough ground to go to and that they will be flying.”
