BEVAN French admits Carol Kirkwood may be as big a part of Wigan’s season as coach Matt Peet.
But a message has been sounded – the Warriors can do the business, whatever the weather.
The Aussie star admits the forecast – and whether it turns out correct or not – plays a huge part in how they play.
They experienced summer heat and the rain normally associated with Super League’s Grand Final while seeing off Salford 26-6 on Sunday.
And French believes showing they can cope with two different ways of playing was a message to their rivals as the run to the play-offs starts.
“We do look at the weather forecast when putting a gameplan together but it can change in the click of a finger,” he said as their next step sees them face struggling Huddersfield tonight.
“We do plan for what we think it’s going to be like but at Salford we had to change on the run. I’m really impressed with everyone’s ability to adapt.
“It was going back to how we played at the start of the season but we hadn’t practiced like that for a month or so.
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“For Salford, we had a gameplan where there was a lot of ball movement to get the points but once the rain set in, it took a lot of our speed away and we had to change angles.
“So for us to fall back into it, remember it and do those things easily was a real bonus for us. It shows we can adapt on the run and there are exciting times ahead.
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“We’re working towards the finals, when it’s more likely to be wet. Over the past few years, we’ve blown teams off the park then come the finals, it’s a whole different game.
“So it’s important we learn the style now.”
With weather worries solved, Wigan showed what it takes, whatever the season, to move into third in Super League.
That meant no taking chances, no pushing the play, no backing individual skill over team glory.
And even though he is more than capable of personal brilliance, French believes sacrificing that can see them in the big games when it matters – even though he has to rein himself in.
The 27-year-old added: “There have been games this year we’ve won purely on composure and trying to grind things out.
“Look at our squad and we’ve a lot of strike power everywhere. We want to score a lot of points, so the hardest part is knowing the squad we have but playing to try and achieve what we want to achieve.
“That’s what can get us to the big games and help us win them. We have to stick to it now, that’s the next challenge.”
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