Byrne: Fight For Shirt

• Liam Byrne spoke with the press ahead of Friday’s Betfred Super League game against Salford.
• Byrne: “I feel like last year was a decent season for me and I’m just trying to keep doing the same things that I’m doing and keep doing more of those things.”
• Wigan Warriors vs Salford Red Devils, Friday 24th March 2023, 8pm K.O. at the DW Stadium. Tickets are available HERE.

Liam Byrne says he’s ready to fight to keep his spot in the team following his return to the side in Friday’s win at Huddersfield.

Byrne had featured only in Round 1 at Hull KR before last week, with a slight knee injury keeping him out of contention for a spot in the starting 13 up until Friday, having featured as an unused designated 18th man for games against Castleford and Catalans.

“It was a tough game, bit of a slog, bit of a grind. Especially for the first game coming back its good to get the win.” he said

“I think I needed that tough kind of game to come back to. We’ve not had a tough game like that where its been close for a while so it stands us in good stead.

“It was a tough few weeks being out. I was dying to get back in but I didn’t have the best luck with my knee after the first game. After that it was just a matter of trying to get back into the squad. The middles were playing well and a lot of hard work went into getting back. I just kept chipping away at it in training and fortunately I got back into the team. Hopefully I can try and stay there now.”

The Irishman’s return starts a selection headache for Head Coach Matt Peet, who now has a quality depth of fully fit middles at his disposal – something Byrne sees as healthy competition and an opportunity to learn.

He said: “I don’t think you can be complacent just because you’ve got a starting number. It doesn’t mean you’ll come straight back in, the lads were playing well and I had to fight back for that shirt. It means a lot having that number 10 so I’ll keep working hard in training and on the pitch to try and keep it.

“There’s some great experienced players like Brad Singleton, Mike Cooper, Sam Powell in that front row. I’m learning all the time. We’ve got so many middles so there’s a lot of competition and everyone’s fighting to get a place in the squad.

“Everyday in training it’s always competitive, so there’s plenty of healthy competition. You got learn a lot of them, they’ve won a lot of trophies. They’re really experienced players so I’m always listening and trying to get bits of information.

“I’m trying to build on the foundations that I built from last year. I feel like last year was a decent season for me and I’m just trying to keep doing the same things that I’m doing and keep doing more of those things.”

Friday sees The Warriors host Salford Red Devils at the DW Stadium, who will be looking to build on a 14-13 win over Wakefield last week, which saw them make it three wins out of their opening five Betfred Super League fixtures.

On Salford, Byrne said: “We always a tough game against Salford. They always bring a tough game every time we play them so we’re expecting another tough one. They’ve got some big middles and they work hard so i’m looking forward to going up against them.”

Join us back to the DW Stadium on Friday! Tickets available in-store, on the day and online HERE.