The Battle of the Borough between Wigan Warriors and Challenge Cup finalists Leigh Leopards has got off to a tasty start on Saturday afternoon, much in similar fashion to the St Helens against Leeds Rhinos game last night.
In an eagerly anticipated contest at the DW Stadium, both sides flew out of the traps with the game showcasing an excellent intensity early on in the live Channel 4 match.
After an end-to-end opening 10 minutes, it was Leigh who opened the scoring through rampaging close range run from prop forward Tom Amone – with the visitor’s field position coming from a penalty.
That came about after Wigan stalwart Liam Farrell gave away a penalty at the play-the-ball for interference, slapping the top of the head of Leigh centre Zak Hardaker after taking offence to something that happened during the tackle.
Replays failed to show Hardaker doing anything wrong, and Channel 4 co-commentator Kyle Amor took aim at Farrell for the act of “ill-discipline”.
Responding to main commentator Mark Wilson, Amor said: “I really like Liam Farrell but there is no need for that. He’s better than that. That’s a real out-of-character moment.
After the penalty resulted in Amone’s try, Amor added: “It all comes from the penalty. It’s really needless from Liam Farrell and it has ended up costing his team a try.”
Farrell responded in positive fashion quickly though, as he played a big part in the Warriors hitting back with a try of their own 10 minutes later, finding a crucial pass in the build up to Bevan French’s try – a score that levelled the game up at 6-6.
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