WIGAN WARRIORS forward Mary Coleman has credited a switch in position for her positive start to the season.
In previous seasons the 27-year-old, who represented Kent County in both rugby union and athletics before switching sports, featured predominantly in the second row.
But 2025 has seen a switch to prop where Coleman is again proving herself to be one of the best in the game, continually putting in powerful performances and playing for big minutes, with coach Denis Betts choosing her as his player of the match in the Challenge Cup Final win against St Helens in early June.
“I was a bit reticent at first when Denis first talked about me switching to prop because I enjoy having that bit more space and running those hard lines,” said Coleman.
“But once he’d explained his thought process and why it would be better for me I just thought I’d give to a go and commit to it.
“I’m loving it. I’m think of myself as a bit of a work horse and I get more of an opportunity to play like that in the middle of the field. I enjoy taking the hard carries and tackling in the middle.
“I pride myself on being fit and if I needed to do 80 minutes at prop, I probably could do, but it’s a long season and we have great depth in our squad, so I don’t need to push myself too far and risk injury.
“The recruitment we did this season has also helped my game this year, as I am playing alongside bigger girls. I like to play fast, quick rugby in the middle, and with Meg (Williams), Shaniah (Power) and Eva (Hunter) we can all play quick together.
“The backline hasn’t really changed, but now we’ve got a bigger and faster pack, it allows a quicker play-the-ball and we can be a bit more dominant in tackles and carries, which gives backs the platform to shine on.”