Super League is blessed with superb talent on the wings these days, but the burgeoning reputation of Wigan’s Dominic Manfredi means he is beginning to establish himself as one of the competition’s best after an incredible rise to the top, with his latest performance a man of the match effort during the Warriors’ 24-12 win against St Helens.
Manfredi’s story is, quite frankly, astonishing. He was handed a chance by the Wigan coach, Shaun Wane, last year after loan spells at Salford and in the lower leagues at Workington and South Wales as his career began to stall – but he took it with both hands, finishing with 20 tries in 2015.
But going back even further, Manfredi reveals how his career almost ended before it began. “When I was 16 I was out of rugby league until I was 19,” he explains. “I spent three years not playing at all as I had a fracture in my knee. I actually got told I would never play again by a surgeon, which was the worst thing to hear as a player.”
Fearing his days were over, Manfredi began work as a labourer– but Wigan did not give up on him. “I was working with my stepdad for three years and just doing the odd bit of physiotherapy and weights with the club, but Wigan stuck by me.
“They sent me to another surgeon who said I had a chance of playing again, and thankfully we are where we are today. They’ve supported me really well so I’ve got to thank them for that.”
The 22-year-old is as quiet and unassuming off the field as he is impressive on it, but he has vocally identified a crucial period for Wigan’s title hopes in the coming days. They face Hull KR on Monday night before a game against unbeaten Warrington on Friday, and Manfredi is targeting maximum points after the win against St Helens.
He says: “It’s a real intense week, we’ve got a weekend of recovery to get ourselves right for Hull KR and then after that we’ve got little time to get ready for a massive game against Warrington, so this is a big period for us, without doubt.”
