Powell: Focused on ourselves
- Sam Powell talks self preparation for Wigan Warriors’ opening restart fixture against Wakefield Trinity on Sunday.
- This week marks exactly eight years since the hooker made his debut for the Club.
- Powell: “Everyone is dying to get going again. I can’t wait to get back out there.”
In the week that marked eight years since he made his debut for the Club, Sam Powell says Wigan Warriors’ preparation for their first restart fixture has been based on themselves.
Wigan take on Wakefield Trinity at Emerald Headingley Stadium on Sunday afternoon (3:15pm) as they return to Betfred Super League action for the first time in five months.
And despite being aware of the threat the opposition poses, hooker Powell admits the last three weeks of training have focused on his own team.
“It is a tough one to prepare for,” he said. “We have to go in to it thinking how do we want to play, focusing on ourselves and making sure we put our best foot forward.
“At a club like Wigan – if we play as we should do, we should win the game. Wakefield have always had quite a big team and their middle pack is something we have to be wary of.
“When you look at their backs – it’s as good as any with a lot of threat – we will have to deal with that if we’re going to have any success.
“When we started training together three weeks ago – it was about preparing our bodies for what is to come, and we understand that the games will come thick and fast. It’s been three weeks of hard training and preparation.
“You can tell the boys are excited because we are rugby players and that was something we couldn’t do during lockdown. It’s back now and we get to compete again. Everyone is dying to get going again. I can’t wait to get back out there.”
Monday marked exactly eight years since Powell made his debut for the Warriors – where he scored against Hull FC in a 48-10 win at the DW Stadium.
With six games to go until he reaches 200 appearances, the 28-year-old expressed how proud he is to have played for his hometown club since 2012.
He said: “It’s ridiculous how fast it goes! I’m really proud of it.
“In parts of my career, I probably wasn’t 100 percent sure if I fitted in here at Wigan because I had to wait for a starting spot, but I was grateful that I had the chance to stay on and now I’m able to cement my place in the team.
“Hopefully, I go injury-free and get to 200 soon, which will be a big achievement for me and my family.”
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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