Wigan Warriors 32-6 Warrington Wolves: Highlights, player ratings and talking points

Wigan Warriors took on the Warrington Wolves tonight at the DW Stadium live on Sky Sports.

Wigan thought they had scored first when Bevan French appeared to finish off a superb pass from Jai Field, but it was chalked off with French in touch.

As such, Warrington went up the other end and broke the deadlock when Ben Currie rose highest to claim a George Williams kick. There was controversy about the matter with Currie appearing to lose the ball over the line but video referee Liam Moore awarded the effort.

The Wolves almost had another before half-time but George Williams’ pass went miles forward with Josh Thewlis on the inside.

And, to punish Warrington, Wigan right up the other end and scored a scorcher on the stroke of half-time with an incredible Sam Halsall try.

Jake Bibby dotted down just after the break to send Wigan into the lead for the first time at 10-6.

Wigan began to turn the screw and Liam Marshall’s effort just before the hour sent Wigan up to 16-6, but Warrington threatened to hit back when George Williams ran away only for Josh Thewlis’ pass to hit the deck for yet another mistake.

French was able to provide the assist for Marshall to dot down in the corner after taking a massive Harry Smith kick, with Marshall then able to grab a hat-trick from another Smith kick as the Warriors’ lead was extended to 26-6.

Field had just enough time to weave through a massive gap with a minute left as Smith added the extras to finish the game off at 32-6.

Highlights

Sam Halsall’s try was a beauty; it involved a stunning Jai Field break and great work by Bevan French.

Jai Field’s chase on Matty Ashton as the latter intercepted was incredible to watch.

Talking points

1. Wigan clunky

Wigan looked extremely disjointed for most of the game and had to rely on the brilliance of Jai Field to get them over the line. The Warriors’ attack looked flat at times with head coach Matt Peet likely to have been frustrated with his side.

2. Warrington’s passion

There was so much passion and determination from the Warrington players that if they had shown that all season, they would not be in the position they currently find themselves in. Daryl Powell’s men were the best team for most of the match and will have taken a great deal of heart from this performance in the grand scheme of things.

3. On-field referee decision

Get rid of the on-field referee call! Ben Currie’s try was controversial to say the least with the ball appearing to come out of his grasp as he went to dot down. However, because referee Jack Smith had given a try on the field, video referee Liam Moore didn’t really have a choice but to award the four-pointer.

Player ratings

Wigan Warriors

23 Jai Field – 9
1 Bevan French – 9
25 Sam Halsall – 8
2 Jake Bibby – 7
5 Liam Marshall – 9
6 Cade Cust – 7
16 Harry Smith – 6
36 Mike Cooper – 6
22 Joe Shorrocks – 5
20 Liam Byrne – 6
11 Willie Isa – 7
21 Kai Pearce-Paul – 7
14 Morgan Smithies – 9
Substitutes
8 Brad Singleton – 9
10 Patrick Mago – 8
15 Kaide Ellis – 7
17 Oliver Partington – 7

Warrington Wolves

22 Josh Thewlis – 8
23 Connor Wrench – 6
3 Peter Mata’utia – 6
34 Jake Wardle – 6
5 Matty Ashton – 6
1 Stefan Ratchford – 7
7 George Williams – 7
19 Robbie Mulhern – 5
9 Daryl Clark – 6
20 James Harrison – 6
11 Ben Currie – 7
Matty Nicholson – 6
12 Oliver Holmes – 6
Substitutes
14 Jason Clark – 6
15 Joe Bullock – 7
16 Danny Walker – 7
Thomas Mikaele – 6