Wigan Warriors face selection dilemma as injuries force fullback choice uncertain
Peet has adjusted his 21-man squad after Bevan French suffered a hamstring injury and was replaced by off-season signing Dayon Sambou, leaving another injured player, Jai Field, also sidelined. This creates a clear selection tension for wigan warriors: whether to hand a potential fullback debut to homegrown Hodkinson or to reshuffle Zach Eckersley from the wing.
Peet’s confirmed squad moves and injury facts involving Bevan French and Dayon Sambou
Confirmed: Peet made one change to the side that beat Toulouse Olympique 36-16 in the south of France last weekend by naming Dayon Sambou in French’s place. Confirmed: Bevan French faces around four months out with a hamstring injury, and Jai Field is sidelined with an appendix issue. Documented: the squad named is 21 players, reflecting immediate depth decisions prompted by those injuries.
Wigan Warriors fullback question: Hodkinson’s readiness versus Zach Eckersley’s form
Documented: with both Jai Field and Bevan French unavailable, Peet is weighing options at fullback that include Hodkinson, a specialist fullback and homegrown 20-year-old in his second first-team season, or shifting Zach Eckersley from his right wing spot. Documented: Eckersley has made a prolific start to 2026, with 10 tries in five appearances in all competitions, and has developed a notable partnership on the right with Adam Keighran. Documented: the club has a recent temporary centre solution in Farrell, who has filled in for the injured Jake Wardle, showing the squad is already adjusting lines to cover absences.
Ryan Sutton’s return with Bradford Bulls frames the Round 4 Betfred Challenge Cup tie
Confirmed: Ryan Sutton will return to face his hometown club and former team, Wigan Warriors, when Bradford Bulls travel for the Round 4 Betfred Challenge Cup tie. Documented: Sutton serves as vice-captain at Bradford, brings leadership and experience from five seasons at Wigan and past Grand Final involvement, and has described his role at Bradford as a leadership position late in his career. Documented: Sutton highlighted strong early-season fan support for Bradford, citing 10, 000 at one home game and 8, 500 at another, and stressed that Bradford go to Wigan to perform and try to win.
Documented: the match pits Sutton and a motivated Bradford side against a Wigan squad that recently recorded a win in France and carries a long Challenge Cup history, with the club cited as record holders of the competition with 21 titles and the most recent of those in 2024. What remains unclear is how Peet will balance preserving Eckersley’s prolific attacking output on the wing against the perceived need to place a specialist at fullback for defensive assurance.
Open question: the context does not confirm which starting fullback Peet will name for the cup tie, nor does it confirm whether Dayon Sambou will be involved on match day beyond being included in the 21-man squad. Documented: there is a published prediction favouring Hodkinson to get the nod, but that prediction is not the same as the official team announcement.
What the documented pattern reveals is a club simultaneously managing short-term injury cover and longer-term squad development. Confirmed facts show both injuries to senior backline players and strong form from Eckersley, while the documented prediction that Hodkinson might start signals a willingness to promote youth from the club’s development pathway rather than reshuffle a successful wing pairing.
Closing — the decisive evidence that would resolve the selection question is the official match-day starting XV for the Round 4 Betfred Challenge Cup tie. If Peet names Hodkinson at fullback, it would establish that the coaching team prefers a specialist homegrown fullback over moving Eckersley and disrupting the established right-edge combination; if Eckersley remains on the wing and a different option is chosen at fullback, it would confirm the coaching priority to preserve Eckersley’s scoring partnership with Adam Keighran.
