Lam previews Wakefield
- Adrian Lam looks ahead to Wigan’s Betfred Super League fixture against Wakefield.
- Lam: “Get back up off the canvas from the last two weeks, go to Wakefield and get the job done.”
- Wakefield Trinity v Wigan Warriors, Thurs 24th June, Mobile Rocket Stadium, K.O. 7:45pm.
Adrian Lam is hoping to get an immediate response from his squad following last week’s defeat to Hull KR when his side face Wakefield on Thursday night.
The Cherry and Whites will travel to the Mobile Rocket Stadium for the first time in 2021 to face Chris Chester’s men in the hope of getting back to winning ways (7:45pm K.O.).
Speaking to the media in his weekly press conference on Monday afternoon, Lam begun by discussing the task of travelling away to Wakefield.
“It’s a difficult place to go to, we’ve had trouble there in the past. That’s the challenge ahead of us.
“We want to respond quickly to the defeat last week. We are disappointed, so we need to move on quickly and get our heads around the opposition on Thursday.”
Despite having a streched squad for a number of reasons, Lam explained how he still won’t be looking for excuses come game day.
“It’s one of those, with our small squad available, to get back up off the canvas from the last two weeks, go to Wakefield and get the job done.”
A further challenge to all of the sides competing this weekend in the Betfred Super League is the loss of some players to the England v All Stars international fixture, taking place on Friday.
Discussing how it has impacted the Warriors, Lam said: “We’ve got three out, as we speak, due to international commitments. There’s [Jackson] Hastings with the All Stars, and both England players in Liam Farrell and John Bateman.
“We are very proud in the representation that we have in those three.”
The head coach admitted their absence would open doors to others: “Where there’s moments like this, it creates opportunities in your squad for players to come in, who may not have otherwise.”
Lam also provided some updates on players who will be missing on Thursday.
“Brad Singleton has a Grade C two-week suspension (head-butting), so that’s going to throw another spanner in the works for us.”
On Dom Manfredi, who was a late withdrawal from last week’s squad: “He’s got a lot of fluid on the knee and a loose bone fragment in there. It’s a week-to-week thing and he’ll likely not feature this week.”
On Bevan French, who the club are awaiting specialist guidance on the length of his recovery: “Still nothing yet. It’s frustrating not knowing, but it’s obviously not a one or two week thing.”
In a positive turn, Lam did also outline that forward Morgan Smithies would be back in contention after struggling with an ankle injury in recent weeks.
