Isa: All on us
- Willie Isa stresses the need for ‘high intensity’ when the Warriors take to the field without any fans for the first time on Sunday.
- Wigan face Wakefield Trinity in their first Betfred Super League game in five months this weekend.
- Isa: “We want to give back to the fans watching at home.”
With games being played behind closed doors due to Covid-19, Willie Isa says his Wigan Warriors side will have to create their own atmosphere on the pitch by being more vocal with each other.
The Cherry and Whites return to Betfred Super League action for the first time in five months on Sunday as they take on Wakefield Trinity in Round 8 at Emerald Headingley Stadium (3:15pm kick off).
And second row Isa wants the Warriors to show fans watching from home the ‘high intensity’ that has been evident in training over the last three weeks at Robin Park Arena.
He said: “We have to put the high intensity we have had in training – into the games. It depends on us. We need to be professional – this is what we all love doing.
“We have to make sure we put ourselves on the line and do what is right for each other. We want to reflect our training standard on to the pitch so everyone can see on TV – we want to give back to the fans watching at home.
“It’ll be a bit different, as our fans have always helped us in the past away from home, but we’ve got to make sure we focus on ourselves.
“We have to be more vocal with each other during games. Hopefully, our fans will support us by watching the games from home and staying safe.”
The 31-year-old forward, who became an NHS volunteer during lockdown, praised the whole Wigan squad for staying fit and healthy after many weeks of individual training at home.
“The boys have done really well individually; you can tell everyone has been working hard during the lockdown.
“It’s been a bit like pre-season but I feel like we’re continuing on from what we were doing last time before lockdown.
“You can tell from the boys they’ve been training away from Robin Park so I can only applaud their effort individually. The main goal now is that we adapt ourselves.”
Isa also commented on this weekend’s opposition – warning his team that they need to be aware of Wakefield’s different style of play.
“We need to be on our game because they play a different game to what we play,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to that challenge where they just come forward at you, it will be a good test for us.”
Fans can watch Sunday’s game either on the Sky Sports Arena channel or via the RFL’s OurLeague app, with Warriors season ticket holders being sent streaming access codes on Thursday via email.
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