Wigan ace Dan Sarginson wants to beat Sydney Roosters at the third time of asking
Centre star lost to them in 2014 World Club Challenge and again on his debut in the NRL - now is the time to come out on top
DAN SARGINSON hopes to make it third time lucky against the side that made him miserable as a player on both sides of the world.
The Wigan centre flew back defeated after losing Down Under to Sydney Roosters in the 2014 World Club Challenge.
Then after heading to NRL side Gold Coast Titans he faced them in his debut and the outcome was the same, a precursor to a nightmare stint in Australia where injury ruined his hopes of cracking it.
Now he is facing them again as the Warriors aim for World Club Challenge glory on Sunday and making them feel how he felt is top of his priority list.
Sarginson recalled: “In 2014, I remember Sonny Bill Williams skipped out and threw a little flick pass into the corner, I was gutted with that one.
“It was my first real game for Wigan really as I’d just come from London Broncos, it was pretty surreal. I thought, ‘It can’t get much bigger than this,’ and it told me what playing for Wigan is all about.
“We found our feet a bit in a warm-up against New Zealand Warriors then trained against South Sydney and we carved them and they didn’t know what to do – but we got all the goodness out of us then!
“It was frustrating and a tough journey home. It was a lesson and makes us hungrier this time.
“Then at Gold Coast they won again. I remember it being so intense, like a semi-final or final here, and thinking, ‘I’m in for this every week,’ – maybe it will be third time lucky.
“I’ve won the Grand Final a couple of times now but there’s still a couple of things I want to do in my career – this is a massive one.
“The bragging rights of saying, ‘We’re the best team in the world,’ are unbelievable. It’s pretty much the pinnacle in any sport.”
Centre Sarginson looks set to win his fitness battle after suffering an ankle injury in Friday’s Super League win over Leeds.
And the 25-year-old has been putting in the hours to make sure he recovers – including the hours where he could have enjoyed himself.
“I must’ve stretched the ligaments and it was painful,” he added. “Then at half-time the swelling kicked in but hopefully I’ll be in contention for selection.
“I haven’t had much of a life at the weekend. I got all the ice from the Co-Op and stayed up late doing it every hour!”
