Friday 30th July 10

Stand-in Wigan Warriors coach Shaun Wane is not shy in admitting he has revenge on his mind as he takes the Engage Super League leaders to Leeds Rhinos this evening.

The Warriors are odds-on to land a first League Leaders’ Shield in a decade and a win at Headingley Carnegie will not only all-but secure that, but further underline their credentials as the favourites to end Leeds’ three-year dominance of the Grand Final in October.

But despite their success in the Super League, Wane is still hurting from his side’s narrow 12-10 defeat to the Rhinos in the Carnegie Challenge Cup in May.

On a rain-sodden day in West Yorkshire, five goals from Pat Richards looked to have put the Cherry and Whites through, until they were stung by a Lee Smith try with just seconds left on the clock.

And Wane, covering for head coach Michael Maguire, who is back in Australia following the death of his father, is desperate to put the record straight.

“Revenge is on my mind,” he said. “We really didn’t want to lose that game and could have quite easily won. Leeds played for 80 minutes that day and showed us what to do.

“I’ll be showing videos of them celebrating and how they won that game and how the errors we made put them back in the game.

“The players have been hurting and I need them to come up with a performance. It’s not a bad thing to have that feeling of revenge and I’ve made sure the players have got that feeling.”

A win over Brian McClennan’s men will put Wigan six points ahead of second-placed Warrington Wolves – who play St Helens tomorrow.

And, although the eight-team play-off format does not mean the first-placed side gets an easy route to the Old Trafford Grand Final, Wane is focused on securing top spot as quickly as possible.

“Winning the minor premiership doesn’t get you a trophy but in our player’s minds it’s a massive thing, because we perform week in, week out, and have been the most consistent team,” he told Wigan’s official website.

“I think the players deserve it because of how hard they’ve worked, but at the end of the day we’re walking towards a Grand Final and we want to finish the season as strong as we can, picking up every point we can and restricting the opposition to as little as possible.”