Why Willie Isa is optimistic about Wigan Warriors' future

Willie Isa says Wigan’s Grand Final defeat hasn’t knocked his belief that the club is on the brink of an exciting future.

The Warriors squad have spent the last few days resting and reflecting on their dramatic 8-4 defeat against St Helens last Friday night.

Isa believes their charge towards the title-decider showed they were on the right track.

And he believes the addition – and retention – of some talented players will help them grow and improve as they look towards 2021.

The forward said: “We’ve got a new badge, new signings, John Bateman’s coming back, players choosing to stay on here, players coming back from injury, young players to come through too – there’s plenty to look forward to.

“We need the fans’ support too to support us going through this new stage of the club going forward, because it’s exciting and it’s the new Wigan, 2.0.

“I think since the return from lockdown, we’ve been really good, and we stepped it up another level there in the Grand Final. We’ve just got to take it forward I reckon.

“We’ve got to bring that intensity and togetherness as a team and take it forward. We’ve then got to add five or 10 per cent to it. We’ve got to put it all together and I know we can step it up another two, three or four levels above what we just did.”

With limited crowds returning to games in some areas of the country, and some promising news on the vaccinations, Isa is hoping fans will be allowed back into matches when the new season starts in March.

And he wouldn’t be surprised if the dramatic Grand Final has won over some new supporters.

“It’s weird because if I was a spectator, I’d be thinking ‘Jeez, that’s beautiful’,” he smiled.

“But I love our sport and hopefully new fans get into it, back our sport and know Wigan Warriors and become fans. With crowds coming back in, players will enjoy it more and fans will bring another level to our intensity.

“We’ve been doing all we can to satisfy the people watching on TV, which is obviously important in these times.”

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