Swapping round ball for oval ball pays off for former Shrimp Josh

The 20-year-old outside-back came off the bench during Saturday afternoon’s 38-14 Super League victory over Bradford Bulls at the Brick Community Stadium, earning heritage number 1,145 for his hometown club.

Cartwright entered the action for the final 20 minutes on the wing after being named among the interchange options by Matt Peet, capping a fairly rapid rise through the Warriors’ youth pathway.

Unlike many players at the club, Cartwright only switched fully to rugby league during his teenage years after previously being on the books with the Shrimps.

Speaking after the game, the youngster described the emotions of finally stepping onto the field in front of 13,000 Wigan fans.

“Pretty surreal to be fair,” Cartwright told our sister paper, Wigan Today.

“I was seeing the time go down, and I didn’t really know if it would happen, but when Bub (Chris Baron, head of strength and conditioning) shouted me over to say I was going on, it was a pretty surreal feeling with the nerves hitting, but also a lot of excitement. I just wanted to get my hands on the ball straight away.”

Cartwright revealed he first sensed an opportunity could come earlier in the week after being asked to spend full days training with the first-team squad rather than remaining solely with the reserves, like he usually does.

“This week was different for me as a reserve,” he explained.

“Normally, I’m just in on the nights, but my head coach, John Duffy, said this week I’d just be in with the first-team for full days.

“I think it was on Tuesday, Matty showed us the 21, and I was in it, and said there were two bench spots open, so you’ve got to graft for them. I knew I had to go hard in training and put my hand up for it.”

The outside-back then received confirmation of his place in the matchday squad during breakfast with the team on Thursday morning.

“It was Thursday morning, we were having breakfast, and Matty told me,” he said.

“All the boys got around me with it. I didn’t know if I was actually going to get on the pitch, so it was kind of a weird game to process and get ready for, but Matty just said if the chance comes, make sure you’re ready for it, and it was just about making sure I was in the right mindset to go out there and play if the chance came.”

Although there were understandable nerves, Cartwright said excitement quickly took over as he waited for his opportunity from the sidelines.

“I’ve only played rugby now for like four years, so I’m still very green to the game,” he said.

“I wasn’t too nervous – I was more excited to get on. I was just champing at the bit to get on, so the nerves were kind of hidden by just how much I wanted to get on the field, to be honest.”

Cartwright’s route into rugby league began after losing enjoyment for football during his academy days with Morecambe.

“From a child, I was always a footballer, so I started playing football when I was about four,” he said.

“I had trials here and there at different clubs, and then when I was about 10 or 11, I signed for Morecambe, and I played at Morecambe until I was about 14, until just before Covid, but I wasn’t really enjoying it, I was getting a bit bored with it.”

During a break from football, Cartwright decided to try rugby league after being invited along by a friend to Orrell St James.

“In the off bit of football, I asked them if I was alright to go play rugby to keep fit, so I went down to Orrell St James,” he said.

“One of my old mates, Cai Seddon, asked if I wanted to come down, so I said ‘yeah, go on’ and then when you pick a rugby ball up, you start training and you kind of catch the bug, don’t you?

“I just said to Morecambe that football’s not for me, and that I just want to play rugby.”

After initially featuring for Orrell, Cartwright later joined Wigan St Patricks before being picked up by the Warriors scholarship system.

“I had a couple of games with Orrell, then Covid hit, and then at about Under-15s, I joined Pats, did a season there and then signed here on scholarship with Wigan, and I’ve been here ever since,” he said.

Cartwright also detailed how his rugby league position has changed several times since entering the sport.

“I was a right-back in football, and when I went to Orrell, they put me on the wing initially,” he explained.

“But then my dad said I wasn’t getting involved too much, so he said, ‘you need to go in the middle’.

“I was actually a back-rower for a lot of it, and when I first came here, I was in the back-row in scholarship and then towards the academy here, Duff said they are going to put me in the centres.

“I got injured, but since I’ve come back, I’ve been on the wing. To be honest, I’ll play anywhere in the back five now, but I started in the back-row.

“I play predominantly wing, but I’ve played centre and fullback for the reserves this year.”

The youngster has also gained valuable senior experience away from Wigan over the last 12 months through loan spells with Championship clubs Salford and Oldham.

“I’ve had a couple of games at Salford, played against Hull FC in the Challenge Cup at the start of the year, and then I’ve played against London Broncos,” Cartwright said.

“I played against London as well for Oldham last year, and then I think it was against Doncaster. I’ve had some good spells on loan.”

Cartwright also had plenty of support inside the Brick Community Stadium to witness his first-team bow.

“I don’t actually know!” he laughed when asked how many friends and family attended.

“I think there were about 10 people I saw after the game, and there were a couple of people away, but I had a couple of my mates from the reserves in the South Stand, so I think overall, I had about 15 or 16 people here today.”