[img:xmtnqjis]https://wiganwarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Squad-News-1920x1080-1-1536x864.webp[/img:xmtnqjis] Here we go first official squad of the year. Strange no Abbas, any news?

Is the game on tv or being streamed anywhere? Thanks

PARKING We would like to confirm the following travel and parking information to all supporters attending the Sheffield Eagles vs Wigan Warriors Betfred Challenge Cup game on Friday evening. With 2 big events happening at the park on Friday evening, we have looked at all options for parking and would like to advise all fans of the following information. Where possible, we would urge all supporters to use public transport or make use of the local park and ride options. A very limited amount of parking will be available for supporters in the Leeds Road Car park. There will also be parking available at The English Institute of Sport, Coleridge Rd, Sheffield S9 5DA, which is a short walk away from the Community Stadium. Both car parks will be £5 per vehicle and available on a first come first served basis. All have limited amounts of disabled parking too, which again will be allocated on a first come first served basis. There is also limited street parking around the ground, which is free of charge.

[quote="hawk-eye":1xwylwo4]PARKING We would like to confirm the following travel and parking information to all supporters attending the Sheffield Eagles vs Wigan Warriors Betfred Challenge Cup game on Friday evening. [b:1xwylwo4]With 2 big events happening at the park on Friday evening[/b:1xwylwo4], we have looked at all options for parking and would like to advise all fans of the following information. Where possible, we would urge all supporters to use public transport or make use of the local park and ride options. A very limited amount of parking will be available for supporters in the Leeds Road Car park. There will also be parking available at The English Institute of Sport, Coleridge Rd, Sheffield S9 5DA, which is a short walk away from the Community Stadium. Both car parks will be £5 per vehicle and available on a first come first served basis. All have limited amounts of disabled parking too, which again will be allocated on a first come first served basis. There is also limited street parking around the ground, which is free of charge.[/quote:1xwylwo4] Then why not play it on another day?

Interesting to see what side we name for this one. No need IMO for French, Faz or Thompson to be playing but maybe they'll want to get some minutes in to everyone.

I’m assuming Eseh is going out on loan or injured given he’s not in the squad.

[quote="Cbr1000rr":1vc168pq]Is the game on tv or being streamed anywhere? Thanks[/quote:1vc168pq] I have seen highlights will be on SETV (Sheffield Eagles TV) which is hosted on YouTube [url:1vc168pq]https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHKXjfkUOTyse1menOg4X_g[/url:1vc168pq] AFAIK its a free site, no idea when it will be on though. If its being recorded there is a chance it could be on WiganTV later?

Bilko tweeted that its not being streamed anywhere but will be shown, on delay, on WiganTV Disappointing to say the least

Peet is absolutely right to emphasise the importance of "community"—re-engaging the fan base, attracting more interest, and building regular support. The club has done fantastic work in this area & should be applauded. However, I sometimes feel that the weekly die-hard fans get the short end of the stick. This fixture, at 19:30 in Sheffield, is a prime example. The official coaches are leaving at 15:30—how does that work for people with jobs? Pushing KO back thirty minutes might not seem like much, but if you finish work at 5, it makes a world of difference. Beyond that, I support the idea of Vegas, but it means one fewer home game with no reduction in my season ticket price. The club is getting it both ways there. Likewise, we don’t have a home Friday kick-off until Good Friday— we've instead got one Thursday night, one in Vegas, and two on a Sunday. That works for some, but it feels like the balance is out. Personally I want a Friday night under the lights and a few beers after to talk about the game. I don't want the "it's work tomorrow" convo going on in the back of my mind whilst I'm watching the game. Tiny things in the grand scheme of things & it all stems from the fact that - I’m excited to get this season started. I’ll still show up, it’s just I can’t shake the feeling that it could have been [i:2udula93]great[/i:2udula93] - a meaningful cup tie or warm-up game on a Saturday in Sheffield, a 20k+ crowd for a big game against Leigh at home on the Friday, and then on to Vegas.

[quote="TKOR":3i4vmsk2]Peet is absolutely right to emphasise the importance of "community"—re-engaging the fan base, attracting more interest, and building regular support. The club has done fantastic work in this area & should be applauded. However, I sometimes feel that the weekly die-hard fans get the short end of the stick. This fixture, at 19:30 in Sheffield, is a prime example. The official coaches are leaving at 15:30—how does that work for people with jobs? Pushing KO back thirty minutes might not seem like much, but if you finish work at 5, it makes a world of difference. Beyond that, I support the idea of Vegas, but it means one fewer home game with no reduction in my season ticket price. The club is getting it both ways there. Likewise, we don’t have a home Friday kick-off until Good Friday— we've instead got one Thursday night, one in Vegas, and two on a Sunday. That works for some, but it feels like the balance is out. Personally I want a Friday night under the lights and a few beers after to talk about the game. I don't want the "it's work tomorrow" convo going on in the back of my mind whilst I'm watching the game. Tiny things in the grand scheme of things & it all stems from the fact that - I’m excited to get this season started. I’ll still show up, it’s just I can’t shake the feeling that it could have been [i:3i4vmsk2]great[/i:3i4vmsk2] - a meaningful cup tie or warm-up game on a Saturday in Sheffield, a 20k+ crowd for a big game against Leigh at home on the Friday, and then on to Vegas.[/quote:3i4vmsk2] With all due respect I do wonder sometimes if people's arguments or opinions about what they perceive to be bad decisions comes more from a place of what works best for that individual and leaves the decision makers in a dammed of you do dammed of you don't position? This conversation stemmed from the question of would this game be Streamed I believe? Well of it isn't then some people would be unhappy because they want to watch every game on their sofa's at a cheap price, but if it was it would create other issues (People not going to games and sitting at home watching it on TV, people complaining about attendances etc etc There were only X tickets available, the people that bought them, if the conditions were different and it was a later ko or a different day then slightly different people may have bought them. The KO being 7.30, I didn't realise till yesterday it was 7.30, but it takes 3hrs from Wigan approx to get there, park up etc and build in abiy of slack for delays, and whether it was 7.30 or 8 it wouldn't make that much difference to getting on a coach, or of your driving etc, whilst at the same time Ive seen people previously complain about 8pm kick offs for various reasons like "Too late for kids", hard work to get home from x,y,z at that time etc. So it works both ways Your saying you get 1 less game and your season ticket costs the same price, you aren't. The Season tickets would have been 15/20 or whatever dearer if this game wasn't going to Vegas, Guaranteed You say you wanted the game in Sheffield in Saturday, but how do you,me or anyone else know the logistics for that? Why it could ormcoudlnt have happened, and what people would have complained about a Saturday game compared to a Friday game (I can't go Saturday because of x,y or z). You say 20k plus for a leigh game on Friday if it wasn't Thursday, yet we only got 16k on a Friday last year and 13k on a Saturday the year before That's before we get into the argument that Sky pay the Bucks and can choose their games, and even though we can argue they may underpay for the contract it's still in the most part is the thing keeping the game alive. I'm sure that if the game was on Friday some would say it should be 3pm Sunday etc I'm sure there will be valid responses to all my points I'm just saying that unfortunately any decision made by Wigan, opponents, the RFL will never suit 100% of the people 100% of the time, and what some see as strange/bad decisions imo olare.often done so from a personal perspective of what was best for them

PS I don't understand how these AI/Chat gpt Things work, looked for a minute like I was talking to Kryton from Red Dwarf

Oh and from the sneak preview of your mail, yes I know we would get more on a Friday than a Thursday, but again as I said Sky pay the Bucks and we have to go with what game they choose, yes There's a whole other argument around that but you tried to make your starting point we would get 20k plus on a Friday when evidence shows last year we got 16k on a Friday Use that as a starting point for the argument not 20k Anyway I'm out of here before the Robots get me

[quote="Jukesays":2shl3pnq]PS I don't understand how these AI/Chat gpt Things work, looked for a minute like I was talking to Kryton from Red Dwarf [/quote:2shl3pnq] Haha sorry, I deleted the post. I always use ChatGPT to proof stuff and make sure it reads right, especially when I've done it on my phone. I copied too much of the text over. FWIW this was my reply... --- Fair enough—you think one way, others think differently. That’s the beauty of a forum, is it not? What I will say is that the majority of our fanbase—i.e., those with season tickets—won’t get to watch the game live tomorrow. All SL games are shown live in one way or another. Not doing this for a CC game just doesn’t make sense. The tech is there, they’ve done it plenty of times before, etc. You could probably argue that it paints the CC as a second-tier competition as well. SL games are deemed worthy of streaming, but CC games aren’t. That’s probably not true, but the perception is there. Regarding the fixtures—I just feel like it’s an own goal. And it’s not a new issue either. Last year, we cancelled the Leigh game for the WCC and then followed a historic night with a damp squib of a game against Huddersfield and their excellent, energising fanbase. How about a bit of foresight? Someone could have said, "Hang about, why not just swap those two home games around and move the Huddersfield game instead?" How good would it be for Rugby League if Wigan beat Penrith with 25k in attendance and then followed it up with a big game against a massive rival with an eccentric owner who'd have plenty to say? Extra TV views, a better atmosphere in the ground—everyone wins. Personal experience again—my missus came to the WCC and loved the whole atmosphere and pomp. Then she came to the Huddersfield game, and let’s just say it balanced out her excitement. Looking ahead to next week’s Leigh game, I can guarantee that a Thursday night fixture suits a smaller percentage of our fanbase than a Friday or Sunday would.

Ethan Havard torn a hamstring in training.

[quote="MadDogg":xc2ss0uj]Ethan Havard torn a hamstring in training.[/quote:xc2ss0uj] A real shame. Any word on how bad it is? He's obviously had those issues before, so hopefully it's not as bad as a couple of them.

Imagine it depends on the severity of the tear, could be weeks to months. Hopefully nothing major and he’s back on the field in no time. I’m sure Harvie Hill ready to step in, be good to see him have a good run of games

Really is a shame how many pre season injuries there has been across the clubs before a competitive game has started. Read today that Nikotemo and Scott are out long term for Wakefield, Huddersfield have a ton missing, Sivo for Leeds etc. I guess it can't be helped as you're treading a fine line between protecting the players and going in underprepared.

[quote="MadDogg":25nx7b1y]Ethan Havard torn a hamstring in training.[/quote:25nx7b1y] Will be a big miss. I didn't really rate him massively until the end of last year (thought his defence was sometimes sloppy and didn't run the ball in with enough aggression), I thought he was superb - him and Thompson doing 60-70+ minutes every game is a huge advantage for us.

Saw the interview now where Peet mentions it and calls it a massive blow for him and us. Didn't leave me feeling it's a minor one but we'll see. Every cloud and all that, it at least means we should be able to fit Harvie Hill in the side and I think he deserves that.

[quote="NickyKiss":e4qq7d09]Saw the interview now where Peet mentions it and calls it a massive blow for him and us. Didn't leave me feeling it's a minor one but we'll see. Every cloud and all that, it at least means we should be able to fit Harvie Hill in the side and I think he deserves that.[/quote:e4qq7d09] Agree, it could be a sort of blessing in one way. Keeps Byrne interested / motivated (not that i am saying he isnt)in the early part of the season, and hopefully gives Hill game time too. So when Havard is fit, we'll hopefully have both Byrne and Hill still fit and can rotate them around off the bench

[quote="Mark_P1973":2smj7hup]Agree, it could be a sort of blessing in one way. Keeps Byrne interested / motivated (not that i am saying he isnt)in the early part of the season, and hopefully gives Hill game time too. So when Havard is fit, we'll hopefully have both Byrne and Hill still fit and can rotate them around off the bench[/quote:2smj7hup] It will be interesting to see who Peet goes with as a starting prop alongside Thompson out of Byrne, Dupree or perhaps even Hill. Suspect it will be Byrne.

[quote="MadDogg":37lrrjtj]It will be interesting to see who Peet goes with as a starting prop alongside Thompson out of Byrne, Dupree or perhaps even Hill. Suspect it will be Byrne.[/quote:37lrrjtj] Yes, think it will be Byrne as he would be 3rd choice prop normally IMO, and can do big minutes. Then Dupree, Hill and Mago used as we did last season. I would think Matty Peet will be looking at giving Thompson and Byrne about 50 minutes in this game in preparation for next week, plus Dupree and Hill get a good run out too

Could we go with Walters for the time being not sure about how long he can do

Byrne and Thommo starting with Dupree, Mago and Hill on the bench. Walters next in line for the bench spot should one of them miss.

[quote="NickyKiss":2g1eb04p]Saw the interview now where Peet mentions it and calls it a massive blow for him and us. Didn't leave me feeling it's a minor one but we'll see. Every cloud and all that, it at least means we should be able to fit Harvie Hill in the side and I think he deserves that.[/quote:2g1eb04p] Did he say torn or pulled hamstring? I think the massive blow might be in relation to missing vegas