EAGER Wigan back Zach Eckersley is ready for pre-season training to move up a notch as coach Matt Peet fine-tunes his squad for their bid to reclaim the Super League crown.
Last year was the 22-year-old’s busiest yet as he played 24 first-team games and ran in 15 tries to take his overall club tallies to 41 and 22 respectively.
But the campaign ended in major disappointment for Wigan as they lost out to Hull KR in the Super League Grand Final, so ending it trophyless for the first time since Peet took the reins ahead of 2022.
The son of former Oldham and Warrington winger Chris Eckersley has yet to taste play-off rugby, although he did memorably make his mark in the 2024 Challenge Cup final, when Adam Keighran’s suspension gave him a chance in the centres and he claimed the opening try in the 18-8 Wembley win over Warrington.
That was only his fifth Wigan appearance, with his debut coming in the 38-28 loss at Hull KR in August 2022 and the following year spent gaining experienced through being farmed out to London Broncos, Widnes and Barrow.
With a solid 2025 under his belt, Eckersley, who emerged from Oldham club Waterhead Warriors as a junior and worked his way through Wigan’s development system, is keen to kick on – and help Peet’s charges return to title-winning ways after their successes of 2023 and 2024.
“We were disappointed with how last season finished, but it’s a new one now. Personally, there were positives as it was the most I’d been involved in a season and the main thing was getting used to playing week in, week out.”
Reviewing pre-season so far, he added: “Everyone has trained hard and there’s been a different focus. We’ve smashed gym and wrestle, which have been tough days, but all the lads have taken the benefits from the sessions.
“We had a few days away over Christmas but we’ve since continued our work and everyone is focused on the current block.
“We have the England (internationals) and Aussie boys back so we’ll be able to work on our 13 against 13 and the bigger picture.”
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