Wigan Warriors have been taking advantage of the combat skills of their new prop Ramon Silva, according to Liam Farrell.
The youngster is one of six off-season signings at the Warriors, alongside fellow London Broncos arrival Abbas Miski, the returning Iain Thornley, and NRL imports Cade Cust, Kaide Elis and Patrick Mago.
Silva, who was born in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, has competed in mixed martial arts (MMA) and boxing and recently became a black belt in jiu-jitsu.
That wrestling knowledge appears to be benefitting his new Wigan team-mates, helping them sharpen up some elements of their defence alongside assistant coach and club legend Sean O’Loughlin.
“Lockers has completely taken over the defensive side of things,” said Farrell.
“He had a great background defensively, so he’s got a lot of knowledge there and Ramon has got a great wrestling background, so he’s been helpful with a lot of the lads there.”
Farrell has explained how Wigan’s new coaching structure is working in practice on the training field, with O’Loughlin focusing on defence and Lee Briers implementing his ideas on the attacking side of the game following his move from Warrington Wolves to be an assistant at the DW Stadium.
They are both working under head coach Matty Peet, who last week put the squad through a two-day British Army camp.
“He’s put a big emphasis on the culture around the squad,” Farrell said of Peet. “That’s not just necessarily on the field, he wants great standards off the field too.
“He wants new players in the team to know the heritage of the club, past players and people who have gone before them.
“Briersy has come in as a new lease of life in terms of his attacking style of rugby and how he wants us to play.
“He’s added his philosophies in there and it’s really shining through in the lads with their skills, so that’s going really well.”
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