Shaun Wane insists that his Wigan Warriors outfit must hit their peak form if they are to claim victory in their World Club Series clash with Brisbane Broncos.
The Warriors will host the Broncos in the second match of the inaugural new-format World Club Series – which sees three Super League teams face off against three NRL clubs over the weekend.
Warrington Wolves and St George-Illawarra Dragons kick-off the series on Friday, with Super League champions St Helens facing NRL winners South Sydney Rabbitohs on Sunday evening.
And Wigan head coach Wane believes that his side is more than capable of beating the Broncos, but must play to the best of their abilities.
“In my mind it’s a huge game and in their coach’s mind it will be a huge game too, they’ve not come all of this way for nothing,” he said.
“I think you’ll get three fantastic games (this weekend) and ours will be one of the best because both teams like playing a good brand of rugby league and it’ll be a good hit out.
“I’ve seen enough this past two weeks to make sure that if we put enough consistent sets together and go set for set with Brisbane we will trouble them, there is no doubt about that.
“It’s easier said than done though, they’re a good defensive team and they’re athletic. We just need to make sure that we get to the end of our sets and if we do that we’ll be in a good position to win.”
Wigan have had an indifferent start to the 2015 Super League campaign, drawing at Widnes Vikings before comfortably dispatching Huddersfield Giants at the DW Stadium last time out.
The Warriors have twice face NRL opposition in the last five seasons, losing on both occasions to the Sydney Roosters and St George-Illawarra respectively.
But Wane is confident that they can buck the trend this time round, but stressed that a consistent performance will be key.
“We didn’t play well at all last year,” he added.
“We played for 15 minutes and scored two tries. We need to play for all 80 minutes as that’s what you need to do against good teams.
“The Australians think that their competition is the best and we think that our competition is the best, this is our chance to show them how good we are and hopefully every team takes that opportunity.”
Warriors’ second-rower Joel Tomkins has reinforced Wane’s point, emphasising the vital importance of scoring early to settle any nerves.
“It’s going to be good. We’ve got a score to settle after the Sydney Roosters and St George games so it’s a big one for the fans, I think they deserve a result from us,” the 28-year-old said.
“It’ll be a great night in Wigan if we get a result against Brisbane. It’ll bring back memories of when the team went over there and got a result.
“I think the boys really learnt from the Sydney Roosters game, I think that hit them hard, we’re desperate to put those wrongs right.”
Main image courtesy of Rugby League Week via YouTube, with thanks.
