Adrian Lam: We need the World Club Challenge concept to continue
Wigan coach Adrian Lam believes the World Club Challenge concept is great for the sport and insists it has got to continue.
The Warriors fell short to a 20-8 defeat to Sydney Roosters in the World Club Challenge at the DW Stadium on Sunday evening.
There were over 21,000 in attendance, and Lam believes the concept is vital to the club game.
He said: “I thought tonight was a massive highlight for rugby league around the world.
“It was at a packed stadium in Wigan in the north of England, right in the heartlands of rugby league in the UK.
“The atmosphere was amazing. Every single one of the Roosters players I spoke to after the game said they had never experienced anything like this before.
“As the stage for rugby league to anyone watching from the outside, they would’ve loved tonight and it’s something we need to continue. It’s great for our game and it’s great for us at this time of season.”
Brett Morris scored two tries for the Roosters inside the opening ten minutes and completed his hat-trick to give his side a 14-4 lead at half-time.
Liam Marshall pulled one back for Wigan in the second half, but Daniel Tupou scored late on to secure the World Club Challenge for Sydney.
On their performance, Lam added: “When you give a team like the Roosters a ten-point start then it is always hard to come back but we rallied, and I was really proud of their efforts in the second half.
“I thought we played pretty good in the second half, but we could’ve been more clinical with our last tackle plays.
“I was frustrated throughout the whole game regarding the momentum of the game and things that were going against us on the back of the poor start.
“I thought Dan Sarginson was pretty good, George [Williams] was good when we had the ball, although we didn’t have too much of it in the first half. Sean [O’Loughlin] was good at times.”
Lam revealed that back-rower Liam Farrell suffered a suspected torn bicep in the game, which could rule him out for six to 12 weeks.
