Why Wigan Warriors star is relishing being the 'hunted' now instead of the 'hunters'

Warriors have established themselves as top dogs in the last couple of years, winning the Challenge Cup in 2022 before adding the League Leaders' Shield and Super League title last term.

They completed the set in February by beating NRL premiers Penrith Panthers in the World Club Challenge, to cement their place at the top of the rugby league tree.

And Marshall - who scored the winning tries in both the Challenge Cup and Grand Final victories - admits they are now there to be shot at.

"On the back of winning the Grand Final last year, we spoke a lot about being the hunted as opposed to the hunter," he said.

"We've had a few years of being in the pack chasing the top, and now we became champions we know we have a target on our back.

"I think we've started relatively well, we handled the distraction of the World Club Challenge very well, and I think we've built a nice foundation for the season.

"Obviously the Good Friday defeat was disappointing, that was probably the toughest test we've had on paper this year, and we came up a bit short.

"But we learned quite a few lessons that day, and overall we're quite happy with where we're sitting - while knowing there's always room for improvement."

While other clubs will be raising their game even more to take on the champions, Marshall says the mentality inside the camp hasn't changed at all.

"It took us five years to win a Grand Final since the last one, and so much hard work on and off the field...working on the culture and what that means," he said.

"Even though we're champions, and it's spoken about everywhere we go, we still need to have the mindset that we're still striving to be the best team.

"(The) Good Friday (defeat at St Helens) showed we're not there yet, there's still plenty of room for improvement, and still lots of things to work on.

"If we can keep working hard week in week, hopefully we can be in a position to be there or thereabouts at the business end of the season again."

Wigan signalled their intention to stay at the top by bringing in a host of new signings – including Luke Thompson, Kruise Leeming, Adam Keighran and Sam Walters – over the off-season to bolster the squad even further.

"It's probably very difficult for a player to come into an environment where a team has just won a Grand Final," added Marshall.

"But all the new players have been brought in for a reason, they're quality people and quality players, and they've all brought something extra, something different, to the team.

"And I'd like to think the rest of the players have tried to make it as easy a transition as possible for them to do that."