Move to Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium Boosts Magic Weekend
Rival derby coaches Matt Peet of Wigan Warriors and Paul Rowley of St Helens have both expressed strong approval for relocating the Magic Weekend to Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Wigan Warriors, currently in excellent form, will face their arch-rivals St Helens in the highlight match concluding two days of Super League fixtures at the new venue.
Both coaches welcomed the change to Merseyside, noting that the event had been held at Newcastle United's St James' Park for four of the last five seasons.
Matt Peet, whose team is third in the Super League standings and won the Challenge Cup in May, told BBC Radio Manchester:
"This one feels particularly exciting and fresh. New venue, ticket sales through the roof. It's always been a good concept but it's been re-energised. We tend to be in the headline games and wouldn't have it any other way. I can see exactly why the organisers would fix that up and it's sure to deliver."
Saints coach Paul Rowley highlighted that his club, geographically the closest to Everton's ground at approximately 15 miles away, has sold more tickets than the other 13 participating teams.
He told BBC Radio Merseyside:
"It's an opportunity for our sport to showcase itself in the best light, in a new part of the world. We're all looking forward to it, and we get the pleasure of the last game on the last day. Saints fans are happy because we've outnumbered everyone in ticket sales, voting with their feet."
Injury Challenges Ahead of the Derby
Both teams face significant injury concerns. Rowley reported having 12 players unavailable but noted the return of hooker Daryl Clark as a substantial boost.
Matt Peet's squad has also been affected by injuries to key players. Captain Liam Farrell is sidelined with a shoulder injury, Noah Hodgkinson requires surgery for a skull and eye socket fracture, playmaker Bevan French is out for another month due to a hamstring issue, and Luke Thompson has damaged foot ligaments.
Wigan previously defeated St Helens 32-0 in their last encounter during the Challenge Cup semi-final in May. Peet remarked that he felt Saints had "lost their identity," a statement Rowley chose not to comment on.
Peet later reaffirmed his opinion but clarified it was expressed in the heat of the moment and also praised Rowley's team:
"You look at the quality. David Klemmer is an outstanding front rower, [along with] Alex Walmsley, and Daryl Clark's the current England nine, then Jackson [Hastings], Tristan [Sailor] and Jack Welsby are probably as good a three ball-players as you are going to get. They have plenty of threat. I know they've had challenges with injuries but when you look at the team it looks rock-solid. That right edge with [Owen] Dagnall and [Harry] Robertson is exciting, not just for the present but for the future as well."
Rowley was equally complimentary about Wigan, who have won four consecutive league games, scoring 180 points in total, and convincingly defeated Hull KR 40-10 in the Challenge Cup final.
He said:
"Since the semi against us they've been absolutely on fire, credit where it's due. I'm always quick to give credit when it's deserved and I think they've been fantastic and had some huge results, none more so than the Wembley one. You prepare to play against a champion team, so you have to be good in every sense of the word. You have to keep your feet moving, because as we've seen in the opening 65 to 70 minutes against York they were pretty much untouchable. We were really good against Bradford, at a tough venue. I really enjoyed that performance, there were some green shoots in there. We've probably not moved forward in terms of how I'd like our team to look as quickly as we could have done, but we've got some mitigation regarding all our injuries. It's a journey we're on, and we're happy and confident."
