The Debrief: Wigan Warriors’ strength in depth, Huddersfield Giants jigsaw, Liam Marshall for England?

Wigan Warriors backed up their World Club Challenge triumph with a comfortable 30-16 victory over Huddersfield Giants at the DW Stadium.

The world champions showed no signs of a hangover from last weekend’s historic win over Penrith Panthers as they won their 13th match in a row.

Wigan’s clash with Huddersfield wasn’t short of talking points, from two cards being shown, Tiaki Chan’s debut to Liam Marshall’s hat-trick, Love Rugby League has picked out a few in The Debrief.

Liam Marshall shows his class

Liam Marshall has been one of the leading wingers in Super League for a number of years now, and you think his form in the early rounds may have caught the eye of England boss Shaun Wane.

He epitomises everything what a modern winger is about. His game isn’t just based around scoring tries (which he’s very good at!), but the work he gets through in back field is remarkable. He’s constantly taking carries in to help out his middles and he makes some decent metres from it, too.

England are blessed for wingers at the moment aren’t they? Ryan Hall, Tommy Makinson, Ash Handley, Tom Davies, Tom Johnstone etc – but you can certainly put Marshall in the mix now.

Sky Sports pundit Sam Tomkins even said after the game that hat-trick hero Marshall doesn’t get the credit he deserves. A proper modern day winger.

READ MORE: Liam Byrne absence explained by Wigan Warriors coach as Matt Peet praises debutant

Huddersfield just need to piece the puzzle together

It was a poor first half from the Giants, who were 18-4 down at the break, and at one point it looked like Wigan were in for a Field day (pardon the pun, it’s terrible).

But they were much improved in the second half and they showed glimpses of their potential. With there being quite a few new recruits over the off-season, it might just need to gel before we see the best of Ian Watson’s side this season.

The Giants enjoyed an impressive win at Leigh in the opening round but lost heavily to St Helens in the second round, and were beaten at Wigan. It’s been a mixed start for them, but the signs of promise are there, so it’s just about being that little more consistent.

A special mention must go to Leroy Cudjoe by the way. He has transitioned into a loose forward over the off-season, and at 35, he is absolutely killing it in the middle! Fair play to him.

Wigan’s depth the best in the comp?

Wigan were without experienced hooker Kruise Leeming and veteran prop Mike Cooper for the game – but you’d suspect coach Matt Peet wasn’t too worried about it given the strength in depth he has at his disposal.

Peet was able to give off-season recruit Tiaki Chan his Warriors debut, with the 23-year-old forward having arrived on a three-year contract from Catalans Dragons. Chan made some decent carries and it was a good first hit out for him.. You can see him becoming a fan favourite with the Warriors faithful.

Academy product Tom Forber also made his first appearance for Wigan since 2022, with the hooker filling the void of the injured Leeming. Forber spent time on loan at Wakefield, Widnes, Whitehaven and Oldham last season, so he’s worked hard for the opportunity to get back into Peet’s first team.

Wigan’s conveyer belt of talent coming through the academy, coupled with their impressive recruitment drive, makes Peet’s side have enormous strength in depth.

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