BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Exclusive: Wigan Warriors CEO Kris Radlinski is comfortable where his team is at heading into the business end of the season and is confident they will “be in the right place” at the end of the year.
Wigan won a double in 2023, won a historic quadruple trophies on offer last year and are seeking to defend their crown in 2025.
After 21 rounds the Warriors sit in second place with 32 points, with 16 wins and five losses, four points below league leaders Hull KR.
Wigan host the Robins in an epic top-of-the-table clash at The Brick Community Stadium this Friday.
“It’s not just this year, it’s the year before as well. The challenge we’ve got is creating hunger in paradise,” Radlinksi told rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads.
“Which is players, once you’ve achieved something, it’s almost the pinnacle and then to take yourself down and to go again is difficult. It’s not so much technical but more psychological, really.
“But I see a lot in our players. Friday night [against Warrington] was a huge step for us because effort areas, and things which are in our DNA, won us that game.
“Kruise Leeming scrapping to get us that ball. Throwing people over the sideline, real unselfish plays is what we’re all about. So coming into this last bit of the season I’m comfortable where we’re at, really.
“Listen, I’d like to win every game but it’s not always possible. There’s some good teams in this competition. So I accept the criticism, we’ve got to better.
“There are some players who have not reached their target this year but I remain confident come the end of the season we’ll be in the right place.
Wigan have suffered a number of significant injuries this season, including to Bevan French and Abbas Miski, and went through a five-game period in June and July where they lost matches to Wakefield, Leigh and Hull FC.
The club has come under some criticism for their results and performances recently, but Radlinksi refutes any claims that the Warriors have suffered from a lack of motivation.
“I don’t sense any kind of feeling around the place that the commitment is not there,” he said.
“It’s human nature. This team here is an absolute dream. The players, the work they do in the community, probably the best I’ve ever worked with.
“They’re tight and they’re committed to each other. They trust each other, they trust Matt [Peet, coach], so we’ll be ok.”
Hull KR head to Wigan on Friday knowing victory may secure them the League Leader’s Shield.
The Warriors did a number on the Robins at Craven Park in April, winning 28-12, and also knocked them off in last year’s grand final.
Radlinksi is expecting a crowd of close to 20,000 for this weekend’s match.
“They’ve [Hull KR] got a monkey on their back, there’s no doubt about that,” he admitted.
“But, again, this is what the sport needs. There’s a good chance we’ll get to 20,000 here for Wigan vs Hull KR, and we’ve not had many of them in our history.
“So the place will be rocking. We played some good stuff last week and I’m confident.”