Wigan Warriors are finding their form for the play-offs and a comfortable win over Catalans Dragons created a number of talking points.
A strong second-half performance with a flurry of points saw Wigan win 40-4 but the scoreline looked cruel on Catalans who were far better than they have been in similar defeats this year.
Bevan French returned last week and it was no coincidence that Wigan looked like a completely different side as they hammered Wakefield 44-2 and whilst the score wasn’t quite the same this week, it was the Warriors’ number six at the heart of everything good.
He and full-back Jai Field linked up well with Field scoring two including one where he broke from his own half after a Zach Eckersley offload, whilst he snagged the other following a smart French kick.
Whilst Wigan were on it and won with ease on the scoreline, Catalans were also much improved with Joel Tomkins having plenty to take from the match.
It’s a win that keeps Wigan Warriors in the driving seat for second and with the slimmest of hopes for the League Leaders Shield, but we’ve picked out several other talking points.
Catalans Dragons v Wigan Warriors talking points
Injury issues
There was a surprise in that Luke Keary and Oliver Partington didn’t start for Catalans but that was confirmed to be a result of both men suffering calf injuries in the final training session.
They might have pulled out late but Fouad Yaha, the club’s all-time top scorer, pulled out later on what would have been his final home appearance. The winger dropped out in the warm-up whilst Wigan also lost Ada Keighran in the warm-up.
The Australian centre came off last week against Wakefield and was named to the squad initially but was a late pull-out so Wigan will be hoping that isn’t too serious. Meanwhile, Patrick Mago failed a HIA within the game meaning he’ll miss the game next week against St Helens.
French-Field connection
Bevan French gets all the plaudits but the combination of him and Jai Field makes Wigan so much more dangerous. Field has at times been excellent this year but having both men on the field makes it impossible for teams to defend them.
The way they linked for Field’s second try as French kicked using the outside of his boot was incredible, whilst French’s support run gave full-back Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet a decision for Field’s first and ultimately ensured that Field could round the Catalans man.
With this pairing starting to tick, every team will be fearful of Wigan heading into the play-offs as Matt Peet’s side look to make it three in a row.
Discipline issues
Wigan Warriors players caught full-back Aispuro-Bichet high on three separate occasions with Jake Wardle, Liam Farrell and later Tyler Dupree all wrapping their arm high on the youngster.
Dupree was the only man to be sin-binned and his was the most blatant offence, however, it does point to a larger discipline issue that the club have with Dupree becoming the seventh Wigan man sin-binned this season.
He will likely escape a ban unless he’s handed a Grade C charge or higher but with penalty points adding up and the play-offs looming large, it’s something that Peet’s men may have to reel in.
Catalans much improved
They’ve made some brilliant signings for 2025 and they’ve confirmed mass exits and now, they’ve strung together two respectable performances. The scoreline did blow out in their last game at the Stade Gilbert Brutus this year but they were competitive for large periods of the game and made Wigan work hard.
That came on the back of their huge win over Castleford Tigers last week so you could argue that the ship is slowly turning at Catalans and with such investment for next year, it’s hard not to be excited about the prospect of their 2026 campaign.
Liam Marshall stakes England claim
Liam Marshall is certainly in the England frame but if anyone needed reminding then tonight helped as he scored a hat-trick and looked brilliant once again, no doubt helped by the fact Wigan focused on their left edge given their right edge lost Adam Keighran.
Joe Burgess and Lewis Martin are prolific left wingers but Liam Marshall has the most miles on the clock and is surely the favourite to replace Matty Ashton in the Ashes.
Teams
Catalans Dragons XIII: Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet, Arthur Romano, Matthieu Laguerre, Reimis Smith, Nick Cotric, Ugo Tison, Cesar Rouge, Tariq Sims, Alrix Da Costa, Romain Navarrete, Bayley Sironen, Benjamin Garcia, Oliver Partington
Interchanges: Chris Satae, Paul Seguier, Jordan Dezaria, Denive Balmforth
Wigan Warriors XIII: Jai Field, Zach Eckersley, Liam Farrell, Jake Wardle, Liam Marshall, Bevan French, Harry Smith, Harvie Hill, Brad O’Neill, Liam Byrne, Sam Walters, Junior Nsemba, Kaide Ellis
Interchanges: Kian McDermott, Patrick Mago, Krusie Leeming, Tyler Dupree
Big win for @WiganWarriorsRL tonight! 🍒#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/FtrveSdQgJ
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) August 30, 2025
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