Warrington Wolves’ ‘big game’ mentality has been questioned by Jon Wilkin with the pundit claiming they “collapsed” against Wigan Warriors in their 48-24 loss.
Whilst Wilkin praised the occasion as Super League saw its first ever game held in Las Vegas, he pulled no punches when it came to assessing Warrington Wolves.
The ex-St Helens man claimed that head coach Sam Burgess, whose visa issues were well-documented, would have wished that some of his players had those such issues with Wilkin launching a scathing attack at Wire’s performance.
They lost 48-24 but all four of Warrington’s tries came in the final 15 minutes when Wigan had taken their foot of the throat of the Wolves, with the score prior to that being an embarrassing 42-0.
Speaking on Sky Sports post-match, Wilkin said: “I really enjoyed it, watching Wigan being so ruthless. I think there was a lot of entertainment in how ruthless they were.
“I don’t think Warrington showed up very well. I think Sam Burgess may well wish that some of his players had had visa issues.”
Warrington Wolves’ ‘big game’ mentality questioned as Jon Wilkin gives scathing review
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Whilst Wigan had several players put in excellent performances, very few Warrington players turned up to the levels that they’re accustomed to with Wilkin claiming the performance of the Wolves was a “collapse”.
Asked by host Jenna Brooks if Sam Burgess will be ‘furious’ with the performance, Wilkin said: “I’d imagine so, it was soft. It was, after an initial five minutes, they threw in the towel, the occasion looked like it was bigger than them.
“They collapsed in a big game, again.”
Catalans Dragons full-back Sam Tomkins was also on punditry and argued thag after 20 minutes of resolute wigan defence, Warrington seemed to abandon their plan and lose their way.
The ex-England captain claimed: “Yeah, it felt like they started the game with the right intent, it looked like they had a game plan to break down the Wigan side. When that didn’t work, pretty early on in the game, after 20 minutes, it looked like they’d thrown everything at the Wigan side, and Wigan’s defence was just so solid.
“Warrington are a good attacking side, they didn’t attack great tonight, but anything they did throw at Wigan, they just dealt with with such ease, that it just felt like Wigan were in the driver’s seat right from the off.”
Warrington ran in 24 points in the final 15 minutes with Tomkins arguing that Wire struggled with a lack of belief for the first 65 minutes before finally taking the shackles off.
Tomkins argued: “I don’t think it’s nerves. I think it’s just, there’s no belief in what they’re doing because Wigan shut it down for so long. But with 15 minutes left, they felt like they could try and risk their hands.”
