Wigan star Adam Keighran can’t wait to face former club Catalans - but mainly to help eradicate last week’s no-show.
In a repeat of last year’s Grand Final, champions Wigan host Les Dracs with Thursday's winners knowing they will reclaim Super League’s top spot. Aussie centre Keighran was in the Catalans team that fell so narrowly in the 2023 Old Trafford decider. Ironically, he then joined the Warriors on a two-year deal and has been ever-present so far in their title defence.
Keighran, 27, also memorably helped Matt Peet’s side claim the World Club Challenge against Penrith and they are just 80 minutes away from Wembley. But they were brought crashing back down to earth by Hull KR last Friday, losing 26-10 against opponents they soon face again in the Challenge Cup semi-finals. Keighran, who scored 13 tries in 25 games during his solitary season in France, admitted: “Of course, I’m looking forward to it.
“Catalans are my previous club. It’ll be exciting for me. But after a performance like that [Hull KR], it’d just be good to turn it around and get back on track. We need to do that.
“They came to play. It was hard when they got a roll on and played off their momentum. They played well and deserved the win. They turned up, defended the shapes and defended the points. They stopped us.”
Wigan are bolstered by the return of Ireland prop Liam Byrne after he completed a four-game ban. But Catalans are out to redress their own balance after they were beaten even more convincingly than Wigan last week. They were hammered 30-2 at Leigh, just down the road from DW Stadium, and are desperate to prove that was just a one-off.
Like with Wigan, it was only a second defeat of the season for Steve McNamara’s squad who welcome back England duo Mike McMeeken and Jordan Abdull on Thursday. And Wigan prop Luke Thompson, who has impressed on his return from the NRL, knows how dangerous Catalans will be. The England international, 29, said: “If you look back over the last few years, they’ve been really competitive and a well-coached side.
“They have been in a couple of Grand Finals so are definitely one of the top teams in the comp’. We’re aware of that and we need to bring our best on Thursday. We have to take it [KR defeat] as a wake-up call for us. It was disappointing. We’re looking forward to getting back out there and bouncing back against Catalans.”
Meanwhile, Hull stand-off Jake Trueman could make his first appearance in more than eight months at Warrington on Friday after recovering from a serious Achilles injury and being named in their 21 man squad. Leigh boss Adrian Lam has played down speculation linking him with the head coach vacancy at South Sydney, isn't his "heart is here" with Leopards and could sign a new deal in the next few weeks.