1 month ago
18
Betfred Super League
Wigan (18) 38
Tries: Marshall (2), Walters (2), French, Field Goals: Keighran (7)
Leigh (0) 0
Wigan swept speech Leigh to acceptable up a tantalising Grand Final against Hull Kingston Rovers adjacent week.
Super League apical try-scorer Liam Marshall and 2nd rower Sam Walters scored 2 tries apiece and Bevan French and Jai Field added superb showpiece efforts to emphasise the Warriors’ superiority.
It means the Super League's apical 2 volition conscionable astatine Old Trafford adjacent Saturday, with the Warriors aiming to underline their dominance by winning each 4 trophies successful the calendar twelvemonth aft lifting the World Club Challenge, the Challenge Cup and the League Leaders Shield.
Defeat meant a Leigh broadside which volition interruption up this winter, with cardinal players leaving, missed retired connected a archetypal Grand Final appearance.
Wigan had beaten Leigh successful the erstwhile 15 meetings astatine the Brick Community Stadium, and the effect was ne'er successful uncertainty erstwhile speedy hands stretched the visitors’ defence and Field fed 2023 Grand Final matchwinner Marshall to people successful the corner.
Wigan fans had been acrophobic astir the lack of the iconic Liam Farrell from the matchday squad but that handed an accidental to 23-year-old Walters, and helium stretched retired his 6ft 7in framework to adhd different effort erstwhile helium seemed to person been held up.
Adam Keighran added a punishment arsenic Wigan crushed the beingness retired of a beleaguered Leigh side, and Marshall recovered much abstraction to springiness Wigan an 18-point pb astatine half-time.
Walters raced done a spread created by French’s delightfully delicate abbreviated walk 2 minutes aft the interval to region immoderate doubts astir the outcome, and Wigan’s ruthless attack was illustrated erstwhile Keighran took different footwear astatine the posts arsenic Leigh continues to leak penalties.
With the crippled won, Wigan turned connected the style, with their Australian stars French and Field taking centre stage.
Another sweeping onslaught seemed to person breached down but French, the 2023 Man of Steel, pirouetted connected the spot, seeking an option, and erstwhile helium recovered nary helium cheekily dinked a grubber footwear and raced done to people himself, successful his 100th quality for the club.
Coach Matt Peet is usually poker-faced but laughed uproariously successful the basal astatine the sheer impertinence and invention.
Field rounded it each disconnected by turning connected the after-burners to tally astir a flagging Leigh defence to alteration Keighran to adhd his seventh palmy kick.
Wigan caput manager Matt Peet told BBC TV:
“Unbelievable - that's wherefore helium (Bevan French) is special. He's an unbelievable talent. He's a peculiar subordinate and a pleasance to coach.
“Coaches tin instrumentality nary recognition for that whatsoever. It's conscionable instinct and it's Bevan knowing his teammates privation to backmost him
“The biggest happening for coaches is we springiness the players the keys to play. It was a fantastic nighttime for Super League, for Leigh arsenic well.£
Leigh caput manager Adrian Lam told BBC Radio Manchester:
“They’ve travel retired caller aft a week disconnected and were physical. We made excessively galore errors and compounded the issue, That’s the bottommost line.
“I’m highly arrogant (of his players). They’ve worked truly hard to enactment distant into this presumption tonight, the furthest the nine has got successful Super League.
“We’re not delighted with the effect but we’re building. We won the Championship 2 years ago, the Challenge Cup and finished 5th past twelvemonth and present we’ve finished fourth, truthful we’re heading successful the close direction."
Wigan: Field, Miski, Keighran, Wardle, Marshall, French, Smith, Havard, Leeming, Thompson, Nsemba, Walters, Ellis
Interchanges: Byrne, Mago, Dupree, Forber
Leigh: Moylan, Hardaker, Leutele, Hanley, McIntosh, O'Brien, Lam, Amone, Ipape, Mulhern, Holmes, Hughes, Asiata
Interchanges: Trout, Pene, Dwyer, Davis
Referee: Chris Kendall
English (US)