A word to anyone considering writing off Wigan's prospects of winning silverware – don't.
The Warriors have been decimated by injuries again this season and looked way off the pace in recent weeks.
But timing is all and, as we approach the business end of the year, all their big guns are beginning to return.
Consider Saturday’s dramatic Challenge Cup quarter-final win at Warrington when England stars Sam Tomkins, Sean O’Loughlin and John Bateman came back into the fold.
Do not underestimate how significance their presence could be over the coming weeks as Shaun Wane’s side pursue Challenge Cup and Grand Final glory.
When Wigan won last season’s Old Trafford title decider against Warrington, they did so against the backdrop of a major injury crisis.
Never before in his long association with the game had Wane known a year of despair end in such delight.
It explained much; the fervour, the passion, the roar that floated into the Manchester air when the final hooter sounded to confirm one of the greatest triumphs in Wigan’s history.
As Wane, his players and staff celebrated like wild men, half a dozen injured players, some on crutches including Tomkins, hobbled on to the pitch to join them.
The injury jinx has struck again this year, but crucially it is now easing and Wigan have been massively strengthened by the return of the likes of Tomkins and Bateman.
Those two in particular made huge contributions against Warrington on Saturday, when two contrasting images summed up an epic encounter.
The first was of Wolves star Declan Patton morose and flat out on the turf after missing a drop-goal attempt that would have levelled the scores with the last play of the game.
The young stand-off, who was only playing because Kevin Brown pulled out at the last minute with a foot injury, was gradually hauled to his feet by team-mate Ryan Atkins.
The second, equally telling image was that of Wigan’s players celebrating wildly in front of their raucous away supporters.
Tomkins, playing his first game since September after a broken foot, played a key role in the win and Bateman was not far behind him.
Tomkins supplied the pass for Bateman’s superb 65th-minute try which put the visitors 26-20 up before the England full-back then added what proved to be the winning drop-goal in the 73rd minute.
After Wigan moved to within 80 minutes of a first Wembley appearance since beating Hull in the 2013 final, Wane said: “The connection Wigan have with Wembley is special.
“We have won it more times (19) than anyone else and when we beat Hull it was the best four or five days of my life. It’s something we want again.”
Wigan’s kids have done the club proud this season and Liam Marshall scored another crucial try in Saturday’s win at Warrington.
Remarkably, the homegrown winger has now scored eight tries in three matches against the Wolves this year.
With the outstanding conveyor belt of academy products in the first-team squad and all their key men now back fit and firing, Wigan appear well placed for yet another assault on the two major domestic trophies.
Yes, they have plenty of work to do if they are to reach the play-off semi-finals given that they currently lie eighth in the table.
But Wane has fashioned an incredible spirit among his players and, as they showed last season, adversity often brings out the best in his aptly-named Warriors.
