Jackson Hastings is set to link up with Wigan in the coming days, and the Warriors aren’t planning to waste any time in getting him up to speed.
The Man of Steel met up with head coach Adrian Lam last week ahead of his move to the club for 2020.
He will have just four weeks to get ready for the season, but speaking to the club’s website, physio Tom O’Malley said they were ready to prepare him.
“When he comes in, we won’t have time to go through the runs we’ve done with the rest of the squad as it will only be four weeks until the start of the season,” he said.
“We’re having that conversation to make sure he’s coming in – in a good spot so we can accelerate that even more quickly. For George (Burgess), for example, and the rest of the new players we’ve had that more time to tick some of those boxes off and spend more time in those areas, which will hopefully pay dividend as we move through the season.
“It is a different approach – the principles are the same, it’s about how much time you have to cover all those bases.”
It’s a similar case for Zak Hardaker, who arrived late following his involvement in the Great Britain tour.
“With Zak, the approach is slightly different. He’s not behind the lads as such – he’s just rested at a different time. You have to factor in a longer season and his recovery from that.
“In a pre-season it tends to be in blocks in terms of focusing on building muscle, building strength, building power and fitness, as well as the different energy systems alongside that.
“We still have to go through those stages with Zak, as he’s not been part of it, so it’s about laying that foundation to build on. We know we have to give him a bit more time at these certain points and he’ll catch up. It’s an accelerated return but he’s coming in – in a good position.
“He’s joining in the rugby side but the more gym-based and on the field stuff, as well as some of the conditioning – he’s still got some of the more horrible bits to do!”
