Wigan Warriors avoided a shock defeat as they hit back from 14-0 down to defeat York Knights 23-22 in round five of Super League.
The Knights had raced into a 14-0 lead but an Ata Hingao sin bin saw the game turn with Wigan scoring ten points in just two minutes as they set the platform for their narrow win at the Brick Community Stadium.
Full-back Noah Hodkinson scored his first Super League try with that being the score to put Wigan in front as Matt Peet’s side managed to see out a tough-earned victory, despite a late Ata Hingano try, to keep up their 100% win rate in 2026.
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Wigan Warriors v York Knights talking points
Early errors hammer Wigan
York Knights were up 12-0 inside 20 minutes but both tries came as a result of errors in attack from Harry Smith. His kick went long and granted the Knights a seven-tackle set, from which York marched down the field and scored with a Paul McShane kick not dealt with leading to a David Nofoaluma score in the corner.
A Ben Jones-Bishop disallowed try should have been the warning shot but it wasn’t and after a Harry Smith pass went to ground inside York’s 20, Jones-Bishop scooped up the ball and raced away 50 metres. From there the Knights earned another six again that eventually led to Paul Vaughan powering under the posts to make it 12-0 inside 20 minutes.
It was uncharacteristic from Wigan but also jumped upon masterfully by York who took it to Wigan physically down the middle, making massive metres to compound Wigan’s errors before eventually scoring. A prime example of that was the penalty York earned, off the back of a previous penalty, to allow Danny Richardson to kick two from in front of the posts making it 14-0 after just 25 minutes. Unfortunately for the Knights, just eight more points would follow in the final 55 minutes.
Sin bin turning point
The major turning point in the first half was Ata Hingano’s sin bin with the York playmaker shown yellow by Marcus Griffiths for ruck infringement. As an isolated incident, it was just a penalty but Hingano’s holding down of his opponent came after a string of York penalties for similar.
The half trudged off the field slowly to allow his team a breather but as soon as play restarted Wigan shifted it wide with Liam Marshall scoring in the corner to make it 14-6 and they’d get another very soon after.
Wigan scored on their first possession after the restart with Junior Nsemba breaking a line and making a spectacular offload to the supporting Liam Farrell, who himself had Liam Marshall queuing up to score his second and put Wigan right back in the game – all off the back of Hingano’s sin bin.
Noah Hodkinson
He’s been the talk of the pre-season for a couple of years but he’s had to wait until this season to actually get a senior competitive debut, replacing Jai Field at full-back and he has not missed a beat.
York began an early aerial assault that didn’t phase him but it was Hodkinson’s work in attack that was so impressive with his assist for Liam Marshall’s first try being a brilliant pass, although not quite as good as the pass for Marshall’s disallowed try.
Just seconds after that disallowed try was when Hodkinson truly announced himself though with the youngster seemingly wrapped up on the fifth tackle, however, he managed to squirm free from Jesse Dee and broke another tackle to score and put Wigan in front for the first time all night.
Can York make the play-offs?
It’s not a question many were asking at the start of the season but even in defeat tonight, it’s a question that has to be asked. Mark Applegarth has got his side playing some exceptional stuff and what is massively impressive is how strong their goal-line defence is, with the Knights soaking up so much pressure and still being able to hit back.
They were inches away from a Ben Jones-Bishop try in the first half and they shipped 12-0 of their points whilst down a man, with discipline ultimately what cost them in their bid to knock off an unbeaten Wigan. They have just four points from a possible ten but they certainly have the quality to make the top six if they can sustain performances across a full season.
Six Again
It was a call that was heard plenty tonight and perhaps too much with the game becoming farcical at times with just how often it was called. Fans are all for a quicker game with a faster ruck but tonight seemed to make a mockery of that, with both teams going through periods where they were constantly penalised.
Teams
Wigan Warriors XIII: Noah Hodkinson, Zach Eckersley, Adam Keighran, Liam Farrell, Liam Marshall, Jack Farrimond, Harry Smith, Ethan Havard, Brad O’Neill, Luke Thompson, Junior Nsemba, Sam Walters, Kaide Ellis
Interchanges: Patrick Mago, Oliver Partington, Sam Eseh Jr, Nathan Lowe
York Knights XIII: Toa Mata’afa, Ben Jones-Bishop, Sam Wood, Nikau Williams, David Nofoaluma, Mafoa’aeata Hingano, Danny Richardson, Xavier Va’a, Paul McShane, Paul Vaughan, Josh Griffin, Jesse Dee, Sam Cook
Interchanges: Denive Balmforth, Jack Martin, Justin Sangare, Oli Field
