Wigan coach Adrian Lam left confused but encouraged after St Helens defeat
Thursday 31 January 2019 23:16, UK
New Wigan coach Adrian Lam was left confused but encouraged by his team's 22-12 defeat by St Helens in the opening match of the 2019 Betfred Super League season.
Saints made a dream start against a sluggish Wigan by racing into 12-0 lead with tries from debutant centre Kevin Naiqama and stand-off Jonny Lomax, both converted by Mark Percival.
Scores from prop Ben Flower and winger Liam Marshall brought the reigning champions level by half-time but flier Regan Grace restored Saints' lead early in the second half and skipper James Roby clinched the win seven minutes from the end.
"I'm a little bit confused to be honest," Lam said. "We didn't play the way we trained.
"I knew we needed a good start and dropping the ball in the first set and being on the defensive for the first 20 minutes took the gas out of us.
"The courage of the side to get back into the game was positive but I knew at the back end we would run out of legs."
Lam, whose side lost prop Tony Clubb early on with a cut mouth that required 12 stitches, was delighted with the debuts of full-back Zak Hardaker and former Barrow prop Joe Bullock.
"That was the highlight for me, especially Joe Bullock who I thought was sensational," he said. "I'm just happy Zak got through the game."
Lam revealed he found out about the club's points deduction for a salary cap breach in 2017 the day before the game but does not believe it played a part in the outcome of the match.
"We talked about it but I don't think it would have played a role," he said. "The timing from the club perspective is not good but I don't think it had an effect on the result."
St Helens coach Justin Holbrook was pleased with his club's new signings, Naiqama, who scored the opening try of the season after under two minutes, Lachlan Coote and Joseph Paulo. He was also delighted with the return from a 10-month injury lay-off by England prop Alex Walmsley.
"I thought all the new guys were good," he said. "For Kev to score so early was great and Lachlan is such a calming influence who reads the game really well.
"To get big Al back was fantastic and I thought for Robes to come up with the play for the try at the end was a massive effort.
"It was always going to be a tough game and to come away with a win was the most pleasing thing.
"Obviously we started really well and I thought we were unlucky to be 12-12 at half-time. I thought we could have skipped away, but the second half was a great defensive effort."
Holbrook sprung something of a surprise by selecting Theo Fages at scrum-half ahead of last year's Dream Team member Danny Richardson but he says last season's leading points scorer will still have an important role to play this term.
"Danny had a disrupted pre-season and he was in rehab until Christmas," he said, "Theo worked really hard.
"There wasn't much in it but that was the way we wanted to go. They are two different styles of players and Danny will play a big part this year."
