Higham: It Should Be A Special One
#extraordinaryrugby
(Photo courtesy of George Thornton)
Wolves' hooker and former Warrior Micky Higham looks ahead to tonight's derby clash with Wigan and to the year ahead.
"Last season we improved again on the year before and this year we are looking to go that couple of steps further. We weren't far off last year; a couple of hiccoughs in the league and 20 minutes at the back of the Grand Final cost us and I'm sure if we improve on those little things it could be a special year this year.
"We know in-house what targets we've set and we know the squad's good enough. We'll take it week by week and hopefully we can build on last year and there's no better way to start than this week in front of our neighbours at the DW. It should be a special one. It will be a good test for us early in the year to see where we are at. Wigan had a good start and we did too so hopefully it will be a great game come tonight. This game is a great derby. Two very well supported teams and I'm sure it'll be a packed house again. It's a great atmosphere and stadium, and I like playing there."
Despite some off-season changes the Wigan side is still full of talent across the board.
"Obviously there's Sam Tomkins out the back, he's a match winner for them. He's elusive and you've got to do a job on him because if you give him half an inch he'll race through that gap. I rate Sean O'Loughlin too, he's a real linchpin for them, a real leader and a lot of the young lads will look up to him this year. They've got a lot of strike all over the park. They've got a big, physical pack. People say they've lost Finch, Leuluai, Carmont.....but they are still looking as good as ever with a 42-0 win in the first game against Salford is a pretty good start by anyone's standards. It'll be a tough game tonight with two teams who will be up there challenging again."
Reflecting on Sunday's home opener Micky and the team are aware of the areas to look at but were pleased with the opening win.
"We really fired out of the blocks with a strong start on Sunday. It was a little bit disappointing with the tries we conceded and the 24 points after the start we had, but we've looked at it to rectify it ofr this week. It's a short turnaround Sunday to Friday so not much time to think about it, just get in there and get going again."
It is not just a big year for Warrington but for the sport as a whole. Having been involved in the game for a number of years Micky is excited ahead of this World Cup year and the effect it may also have on the quality of the league.
"Our sport's one of the best in the world and we could really send it up a few notches with this tournament. I think England can win it, which would make it even better if we can be a World Cup winning team. It's been a long time overdue. On the whole if everyone gets behind it and make it a special tournament it will put us back on the map and put rugby up where it belongs. I think it might raise the standard, like Steve McNamara said we've got our ETS squad but everyone is playing for a World Cup spot. Hopefully it can help set the standard for Super League and kick on from there and make our regular season stronger as well."
Wigan Warriors v Warrington Wolves, TONIGHT, DW Stadium, kick-off 8pm. Tickets are still on sale in WolfWare and on 08448 11 11 76 (for collection from WolfWare only)
Can't get to the game? You can follow the match with regular updates on Twitter: @wolvesrl and quarterly updates on the Official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/warringtonwolvesrugby
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This week's Touchline.........At Wigan ahead of tonight's visit of Warrington. Sam Tomkins joins George Riley at the DW, Shaun Wane and Tony Smith prepare to lock horns, there's the Top 5 tries from the first round of Super League and Steph Elmore grabs lunch with two of London's rising stars.
08, Feb, 2013
