Marshall: We are all switched on
- Liam Marshall previews this weekend’s clash against Castleford Tigers at the Halliwell Jones Stadium (K.O 4:15pm).
- The winger talks about the postponement of the Catalans Dragons game, making sacrifices to remain safe and Wigan’s form since the restart.
- Marshall: “It may be a change of opponent but what we want to do as a team will stay the same.”
Liam Marshall says Wigan’s approach will remain the same despite a change of opponent for Saturday’s Betfred Super League Round 10 fixture.
Adrian Lam’s side take on Castleford Tigers at the Halliwell Jones Stadium this weekend (K.O. 4:15pm), in a game that was set to be played in Round 18 before it was rescheduled on Tuesday evening.
Initially, the Warriors were scheduled to face Catalans Dragons on Saturday afternoon, but the fixture was postponed following positive Covid-19 tests in the Perpignan camp.
Winger Marshall believes the work the team have put in this week is still crucial, as their targets remain the same.
He said: “We had to change what we had spoken about and tweak training slightly. We had been preparing for Catalans, but we can use some of the same things. The staff have been working hard to get the video clips ready for us to go through.
“The change came late but we are all switched on, it may be a change of opponent but our plan of how we want to approach things and what we want to do as a team will stay the same.
“Touchwood it won’t happen again because it’s not what we want to see. Hopefully, we can keep safe and there will be no more outbreaks, but if it does happen again, we will just crack on with it.
“It reaffirms the point that there is still a major problem out there and even though we are back to some form of normality things could quite easily change if you don’t do the right things.
“You’ve got to keep yourself and your family safe, making the right decisions when you’re not at the training ground and when it’s not a match day. You have to make those little sacrifices to keep the game going.”
Whilst Catalans are one of the in-form teams in the competition, Marshall is aware of Castleford’s threat, despite their two defeats since the restart.
When the two sides met at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle back in February, it was Daryl Powell’s side who claimed the two points with a 16-12 win.
“They are a quality side,” Marshall said. “We know what they are capable of and they are a very well organised team who play to their strengths.
“It seems like a very long time ago since our Round 2 fixture against them, but it is still something we touched upon – looking at what went wrong and fixing it up.
“No team in the league are to be underestimated, especially not Castleford, so we won’t be taking them lightly. We know what we need to do. We need to turn up with the right attitude to make it three from three.”
The 24-year-old believes Wigan’s opponents on Saturday will also not be affected by the quickly rearranged fixture.
“It can go two ways and will depend on how they react. I’m sure the lads there will go the right way as they seem like a ‘together’ bunch. We’re not expecting a different Cas side to what we usually face.”
After having last weekend off due to the Challenge Cup Sixth Round, Marshall admits his team were pleased to have the chance to rest, following two intense matches since the restart.
“We’ve been lucky because I think all of our bodies were pretty sore. We’ve had some productive days, working on things that we needed to improve on, and now everyone is fresh and ready to go into this week.”
“Getting the wins are most important, as well as making sure we are doing things in the right way in defence and attack. Going forward we need to make sure the performances are good, putting the game to bed and being good in defence when we need to.
“It was almost like the start of the new season coming in after lockdown, so if we keep improving on those steps in the first two weeks, we should hopefully be in a good place.”
Liam Marshall is proudly sponsored by Metro Rod.
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