Wigan Warriors centre Adam Keighran has been playing ‘really, really well’ all season, having settled into life with the reigning Super League champions, according to his coach Matt Peet.

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Keighran has been impressive throughout the first half of the 2025 campaign, despite having missed a small chunk of action with a knee injury.

The 28-year-old has kicked more goals than anyone in Super League this season so far, with 47 to his name in nine appearances, whilst registering three tries and six assists.

Keighran has also proven to be a hit on the defensive side of the ball, too, producing a number of big hits throughout the first half of the season, with his defensive reads coming to the fore.

Speaking in his post-match press conference after Wigan’s 46-6 win over Salford Red Devils on Friday night, Peet was asked if we were starting to see the best of Keighran now.

“I think it’s been all this season, to be honest,” Peet replied.

“I’ve seen it a few times in my short time here, the second season for a player that comes from overseas, there’s a bit to contend with, moving your family to a new town and new team and getting to know the lads and all of that.

“I think he has settled in really well. His chemistry is great with the group, and I think he’s playing really, really well.”

Keighran arrived at Wigan from Catalans Dragons on a two-year deal ahead of the 2024 season, meaning he is, as things currently stand, off-contract at the end of this year. He has scored 13 tries and kicked 137 goals in 41 appearances for the Warriors so far, whilst helping Peet’s side complete an unprecedented Grand Slam last season.

The former New Zealand Warriors and Sydney Roosters man was asked about his future by Sky Sports after scooping the Player of the Match award in Wigan’s win over Catalans almost a fortnight ago, with Keighran saying: “No decisions have been made yet, the discussions are underway, but I’ll keep that one to myself until we get a bit further into it, so I’ll keep it to myself for now.”

Next up for Keighran and the Warriors is a trip to Dewsbury to face Huddersfield Giants on Saturday, June 14.

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Wigan Warriors will be watching on with interest this weekend as Christian Wade’s Gloucester take on Northampton Saints in the Rugby Premiership.

Gloucester face off against Northampton this afternoon in their final league game of the season and they know a win could take them into the play-off places. The Cherry and Whites are currently fifth in the Premiership table, but just two points separate them and a spot in the final four.

As such, a win might just extend their season by another week at least and that could have an impact on the date Wade links up with Wigan, having agreed to switch codes when Gloucester’s season comes to a conclusion. Defeat this afternoon would open him up to make the move to the Brick Community Stadium whenever he is ready to do so, but that date could be pushed back in accordance with the play-off campaign in victory.

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Wade has been named in the Gloucester line-up to play the Saints and while it could be his final appearance at Kingsholm, it could also be his last outing in the 15-man code with the possibility for him to stay in rugby league should his stint with Wigan go well.

Wigan Warriors set to welcome Wade

Whenever Wade makes the switch to Wigan, he will join in a position to hit the ground running having made 18 appearances this season already. In that time he has scored 10 tries and two hat-tricks, with his last effort coming earlier this month against Harlequins.

He’ll join a Wigan side who are firing on all cylinders having won seven straight games and are focused on chasing down Super League leaders Hull KR. While it seems unlikely that he will be thrown into the side without taking the time required to get to grips with the 13-man code, it’s fair to say his arrival could be well-timed.

Abbas Miski is currently out injured after going under the knife earlier this month and will probably miss another month of action yet. Zach Eckersley has done a fine job in Miski’s absence over the last couple of weeks, but it’s fair to say Wade’s arrival would give Matt Peet some food for thought on the right edge.

Wigan Warriors coach Matt Peet said he was ‘pleased’ with his side’s display in their 46-6 win over Salford Red Devils, whilst being magnanimous in victory.

The reigning Super League champions made it eight wins in a row as they ran in eight tries to ease past the struggling Red Devils, who remain rooted to the bottom of the table.

Wigan were 22-0 up at the half-time interval, with Jai Field and Jacob Douglas scoring two tries each in the first half. Douglas completed his hat-trick in the second half, whilst Zach Eckersley, Adam Keighran and Jack Farrimond also crossed for the Warriors as they wrapped up a comfortable 46-6 victory.

“Pleased to come through with the win in decent fashion,” said Peet. “I thought, defensively, for large parts, we were very good, and I thought we built our win off that.

“Points-wise and attack-wise, we created a lot, there’s no doubt about that, but we could’ve executed better a few times and scored more points, but I think credit goes to Salford for the way they committed to the game, scrambled for one another and I don’t think anyone would begrudge them that try at the end.

“I thought we looked comfortable (in defence) and there’s always a chance something is going to happen and it did, something sparked up and Salford came to life, it’s a little bit for us to learn from but we won’t dwell on it too much.”

Peet admitted he and his side won’t be able to take too much away from the game in terms of learnings, but paid credit to Salford, who are doing it tough at the moment after being blighted by off-field financial issues since before a ball was kicked this year.

“Probably not,” Peet replied when asked if they could take anything away from the game, with all due respect to Salford.

“There’ll be things in there for individual players, particularly for the younger players. We rotated and that probably showed at times, we weren’t as cohesive as you’d like to be when you rotate, but Salford are a well-coached team and as much as they’ve got their challenges this year, Paul (Rowley) does a good job in getting them to play with commitment, so fair play to them.”

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Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet explained the absence of several key men following their win over Salford Red Devils and why he opted to rotate his squad, with a number of youngsters having ‘earned’ the right to play.

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Peet made a total of five changes to his side that won away at Catalans Dragons for their 46-6 win over Salford Red Devils at the Salford Community Stadium on Friday evening.

Jacob Douglas, Jack Farrimond, Tyler Dupree, Harvie Hill and Kian McDermott came into the matchday 17, with the latter making his first-team debut for his hometown club. The quintet replaced Jake Wardle, Kruise Leeming (illness), Sam Walters (fibula), Luke Thompson (ribs) and Liam Farrell (knock) in Peet’s side.

There are a couple of positional changes too, with prop Ethan Havard moving into the back-row. Farrimond and Harry Smith started in the halves and on the bench was superstar Bevan French, who was an unused sub in the end.

Explaining the decision to start Havard in the back-row, Peet explained: “To be honest, Faz (Liam Farrell) has been carrying a bit of a knock for a while, so we wanted to rest him, but then obviously we also lost Sam Walters and Luke Thompson, who would be our next back-row choices, so I did have to give it some thought, and that’s why Kian (McDermott) came onto the bench, because he trains in the back-row a bit, but we just thought Ethan to start the game, with a bit more experience and physicality, and I thought he acquitted himself well.

“Ethan was really excited about the challenge when I spoke to him in the week, and I don’t see why he couldn’t do it again, to be honest.”

England international hooker Brad O’Neill played his first full 80 minutes of the year in his eighth appearance following his return of his ACL injury back in March.

“Kruise (Leeming) was supposed to be on the bench, but he was poorly,” Peet explained. “We weren’t going to play Bev, but Kruise has been struggling with a bit of illness.

“Brad’s always keen to stay on the field anyway, so it was a good opportunity for him, and I thought he acquitted himself well, particularly defensively.”

Apart from the aforementioned Leeming (illness) and Farrell (knock), the likes of Wardle and French were rested, but Peet was keen to give a chance to academy products Farrimond and Douglas, who both got on the scoresheet and put in stellar performances.

Asked if the others were just rested, Peet replied: “A bit of that, and just odd bangs and bruises that we know lads are carrying, which won’t do them any harm to take a week off them.

“And more so, the lads who got an opportunity, the likes of Jack (Farrimond) and Jacob (Douglas), they’ve earned it, they’ve been working hard, and we’re going to need them later in the year, so it was a good opportunity to get them out there.”

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Wigan Warriors coach Matt Peet has made two changes to his 21-man squad ahead of their trip to Salford Red Devils on Friday evening.

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The Warriors will be without key duo Sam Walters and Luke Thompson, with the front-rowers suffering injury blows in their 48-0 win over Catalans Dragons in the south of France last Saturday.

Walters is facing around three months in the treatment room with a broken fibula, whilst England international Thompson sustained two broken ribs, which are expected to sideline him for a short-term spell.

Walters and Thompson are replaced in Peet’s 21-man squad by homegrown props Harvey Makin and Kian McDermott.

Makin has actually spent time on loan with Salford this season, making four appearances for Paul Rowley’s Red Devils. Meanwhile, McDermott has played seven times for London Broncos in the Championship this season via dual-registration. Should either Makin or McDermott feature against Salford on Friday night, it would mark their first-team debuts for Wigan.

Meanwhile, Tyler Dupree is likely to return for Wigan against his former club Salford, with the England international having been 18th man in Perpignan last weekend. Harvie Hill could also come back into the fold, with the young Cumbrian prop having scored a hat-trick for the reserves last weekend.

Academy products Jack Farrimond and Jacob Douglas could also feature, having been part of Peet’s 21 that travelled to the south of France, but didn’t feature in the matchday 17.

As for Salford, coach Rowley has only named an 18-man squad. Makin has, of course, come out of their squad and returned to parent club Wigan, whilst young forward Tiaki Chan, who is on loan from Wigan, has been allowed to face his parent club this weekend.

The Red Devils are without halfback Kai Morgan and hooker Sam Davis from their side that lost 72-10 at Wakefield Trinity last time out. Meanwhile, Joe Bullock returns for the Red Devils following a short loan stint at Barrow Raiders in the Championship, with youngsters Charlie Glover and Sam Hill available for selection.

Salford: Ryan Brierley, Nene Macdonald, Sam Stone, Joe Shorrocks, Esan Marsters, Jack Ormondroyd, Justin Sangare, Joe Bullock, Matty Foster, Chris Hankinson, Harvey Wilson, Kai Morgan, Nathan Connell, Charlie Glover, Tiaki Chan, Jonny Vaughan, Toby Warren, Sam Hill.

Wigan: Jai Field, Adam Keighran, Jake Wardle, Liam Marshall, Bevan French, Harry Smith, Ethan Havard, Brad O’Neill, Junior Nsemba, Liam Farrell, Kaide Ellis, Patrick Mago, Liam Byrne, Kruise Leeming, Tyler Dupree, Harvie Hill, Zach Eckersley, Jack Farrimond, Jacob Douglas, Harvey Makin, Kian McDermott.

The Round 13 Super League clash takes place at the Salford Community Stadium on Friday evening, 8pm kick-off. For those not in attendance, the game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports+ Red Button and Super League+.

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Sam Walters thanks the Wigan Warriors fans for their support following a game in 2025

Peet‘s side, who are on a seven-game winning streak, head to struggling Salford Red Devils on Friday night.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday afternoon, the Cherry and Whites head coach confirmed the prognoses for both Walters and Thompson.

The 41-year-old explained: “Sam’s fractured his fibula, so he’ll be out for an extended period. You’re probably looking at it being around the 12-week mark.

“He’s disappointed. He’s quickly tried to turn it into a positive about getting some work done on his body during this period.

“It should also mean he comes back in at the end of the year fresh and up and running.

“In one way, it protects him for the back end so he can come in and lift us again, and I think he can take a lot of confidence from his form this season. He’s been excellent.

“Luke’s broken a couple of ribs. With him, it’s going to be guided by his own pain and his recovery from that.

“We might take the chance to allow them (the broken ribs) to heal, but we’ll see how he is tomorrow.

“Tyler (Dupree) travelled to France and didn’t play and Harvie Hill performed really well in our reserves, so we are well stocked.”

Wigan’s 21-man squad for the trip to Salford will be announced on Wednesday, and Peet is still mulling over his options, with next week bringing a break in the Super League fixture schedule for the Challenge Cup final.

He said: “We’ve picked up a few knocks. We haven’t named the team yet, but it’ll certainly come into my reckoning if we can freshen lads up or if we have a few that are simply not able to play.

“We’ve not been on the field yet this week, so it might be an opportunity to allow lads to rest any injuries, but we won’t be rotating for the sake of it.”

SUPER LEAGUE legend James Graham believes Perth Bears should target Luke Thompson and Junior Nsemba as part of their first squad for the 2027 NRL season.

The Bears were given the green light to enter the prized competition for 2027 earlier this month and talk is already circulating about who the new NRL club could target as part of the coaching and playing staff.

Leeds Rhinos boss Brad Arthur is said to be the number one target for the head coaching position, whilst Warrington Wolves’ Sam Burgess and Hull KR supremo Willie Peters have also been linked.

In terms of the playing roster, former St Helens stalwart Graham feels that the Bears could take advantage of the instability over Super League’s future at present to bring stars to Australia.

On his own podcast, The Bye Round, Graham believes that Thompson and Nsemba should be looked at by Perth: “You exploit the current situation of the Super League and in terms of the dollar that we can offer and the situation that Super League finds itself in, I think no player would be off limits there.

“Even with players under contract, I think that money would talk and every player would be available for a transfer fee which the NRL would be willing to front up and pay.

“I’m looking at players like Luke Thompson who came over here and played with the Dogs then went back to England. That Wigan team that is so successful now, Junior Nsemba who has got a ridiculously long-term deal is somebody that I think we could attract.”

Leeds Rhinos reserves delivered a commanding performance as they dismantled Wigan Warriors with a dominant display that ended in a convincing scoreline. The highlight of the match came courtesy of an on-loan Super League talent who made an immediate impact, grabbing a try and playing a pivotal role in the emphatic win.

The player in question, currently on loan from a fellow Super League club, brought a touch of class and experience to the Rhinos’ reserve setup. Despite being in the early stages of his spell with Leeds, he wasted no time in settling in, showing his quality both in attack and defense. His try came midway through the first half, a powerful line break followed by a clean finish under the posts. The try not only extended Leeds’ lead but also lifted the intensity of the team, who rallied around the experienced figure to pile further misery on their rivals.

The final scoreline was a testament to Leeds’ total control over the game. From the outset, the Rhinos set the tempo, dominating possession and territory. Their forwards laid the platform with aggressive carries and solid defense, while the backs capitalized with speed and precision. Wigan, usually known for their depth and youth development, looked second-best for much of the afternoon, struggling to cope with the pace and physicality Leeds brought to the field.

Coach Tony Smith (or insert reserve team coach if applicable) praised the effort of his young squad, noting that the presence of the on-loan Super League player gave the team added confidence. “He’s a quality player and having him around this group has raised standards,” the coach said. “But more importantly, he’s slotted in seamlessly and showed great professionalism. The boys fed off his energy and it really lifted the whole side.”

Several of Leeds’ rising stars also caught the eye. The halves pairing orchestrated the game superbly, creating space and managing the tempo with maturity beyond their years. Out wide, the wingers finished clinically, and the defensive line rarely faltered even under sustained pressure from Wigan in the second half.

As for the Warriors, the match served as a stark reminder of the challenges that come with player rotation and development games. While there were moments of individual quality, including some impressive carries from their middle forwards, cohesion was lacking, and too many errors stifled any momentum they tried to build.

This result bodes well for the Rhinos’ wider squad depth. The reserves have now strung together a series of promising performances, and the inclusion of experienced Super League-caliber players on loan continues to strengthen the group and provide invaluable leadership for the club’s younger talents.

For the on-loan star, the match not only allowed him valuable game time but also an opportunity to influence a team hungry for development and success. Whether he returns to his parent club or continues his journey with the Rhinos, his impact is already being felt.

With the reserves’ season still ongoing, Leeds will be keen to maintain this momentum. If they continue to blend youth with experience as effectively as they did against Wigan, they’ll remain a formidable force throughout the campaign.

Wigan Warriors coach Matt Peet admits he doesn’t believe the familiar pattern that has emerged is a coincidence, but insists they are keen to kick the habit into touch sooner rather than later.

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The reigning Super League champions are the form team in the competition at the moment, having won their last six matches, and looking to make it seven on Saturday against Catalans Dragons in Perpignan.

But there is a familiar pattern that has emerged in recent months that the Warriors coach is aware of and keen to eradicate, which is taking a relatively healthy lead in games before allowing the opposition to come back into the contest in the second half.

It has happened several times so far this season – Las Vegas against Warrington Wolves (W 48-24), the Challenge Cup defeat to Hull FC (L 26-22), Magic Weekend against Warrington (W 22-20) and last time out versus Leigh Leopards (W 36-28).

Peet acknowledged that that the familiar pattern isn’t an anomaly, but it is a habit that they are keen to work on and get rid of as the season unfolds.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s game against Catalans, Peet opened up on the honest conversations between the playing group, who are learn from it and be better for it.

“We speak about everything, so we just have a conversation like this,” Peet said. “I don’t believe it’s a coincidence, I probably don’t believe in things like that, it’s a pattern, isn’t it?

“It’s our job to explore why it’s happened and learn from it, and see where the improvement is, what we need to adjust to change the habit or pattern. I’ve said it many times, that’s the fun part of the job.

“If every game was the same or if somebody cracked it, then you’d just be worried about becoming complacent but we’re certainly not in a position where we can be complacent, we’ve got so much to improve on and I think that’s the exciting part of it, but there is certainly a determination to change that.”

Peet admits there are little side quests which he can challenge his playing group with to help curb the pattern from continuing and to keep them more focused in matches, but it is this aspect of the game which is why Peet loves coaching: getting the best out of his players and helping them learn lessons along the way.

“I think a lot of it comes down to that, to find things to challenge the players, to motivate the players,” Peet continued. “Sometimes it’s collectively and sometimes it’s individually, but there are all sorts you can do and talk about.

“Some things really click with the players and get a reaction and response, and some don’t, but we do most things just by having open conversations about where we can improve and when I say ‘we’, it’s not just the players, it’s maybe the coaches, the way we’re delivering and practicing, what we’re accepting and what we’re not accepting, and I love that part of the job to be honest.”

Wigan’s Round 12 clash with Catalans takes place at the Stade Gilbert Brutus on Saturday evening, 5:30pm kick-off (UK time). For those not in attendance in Perpignan, the game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Action.

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