Wigan Warriors strike first blow of derby week with massive win over St Helens reserves as former Hull FC loanee figures

This week St Helens could wrap up the League Leaders’ Shield with a win over Wigan on Friday.

A win for Wigan would keep them just about in the running with just two games to go and would vitally keep them at least three points ahead of Huddersfield in the race for second place.

All these plot lines aren’t necessary when it comes to the story of the original derby and perhaps the biggest derby in rugby league given the vicious rivalry between the two that has existed for decades.

So, a massive week ahead for both teams both in terms of the season and in terms of the rivalry between the two and Wigan have landed the first blow today with a thumping win at reserve level as they defeated the Saints 50-12.

The Saints led 6-0 early on and only trailed 24-12 at the break but a second half blitz from the Warriors as they won the second half 26-0 lead them to a comprehensive win over their rivals in this big week for both clubs.

The Champions did have a touch of Super League experience in the side but mainly in the shape of players like young Shay Martyn who has a handful of appearances to his name though they did include Josh Simm who recently returned to the club after an impressive try laden spell with Hull FC only for injuries to see the Saints recall him but he couldn’t change things for the Saints reserves today.

Wigan also included very little Super League experience in their side though Roman Silva who joined the club ahead of this season started at prop whilst young halfback Logan Astley who made his Super League debut earlier this year against Huddersfield shone in the halves.

He crossed for a delightful double and played a role in some other tries including a lovely team try finished off by Alex Sutton who also grabbed a brace as did Junior Nsemba.