NORTH WALES CRUSADERS 34 WIGAN WARRIORS 22
DAVID KUZIO, Stadiwm Eirias, Saturday
NORTH WALES warmed up for their Championship opener against Widnes next month with a hard-fought and well-deserved win over a youthful Wigan side.
The Crusaders dominated the opening 40 minutes as they outscored the Warriors five tries to two with winger Ollie Brookes grabbing a brace.
Brookes completed his hat-trick in the second half as it looked like the Welsh side would complete a convincing victory, but tries from Dayon Sambou and Noah Hodkinson set up a tense last 20 minutes for the home side.
A try from Luke Forber secured the win for the Crusaders and they look in good shape for the start of the new season.
The hosts got off to a dream start with a try on their opening set of six. A towering bomb was misjudged by Hodkinson and winger Brookes was on hand to pick up and touch down. Jordy Gibson was off target, but Crusaders led 4-0.
Wigan finally got hold of the ball and had two sets after a penalty. Taylor Kerr was held up over the line before Tiaki Chan burst on to a short ball from Tom Forber to score. Nathan Lowe converted and the Super League side had hit the front.
Back-to-back penalties then put the Crusaders on Wigan’s line and they took full advantage as Brad England drove hard to the line before the ball went out wide for Brookes to grab his second of the afternoon. Gibson hit an upright with the conversion attempt but they led by two points.
The Crusaders were not overawed with who they were up against and registered their third try of the first half with a well taken try after they had forced the Warriors to turn over possession on the last. A neat kick through from Gibson towards the posts was collected by Junior Westwood to score. Gibson converted for a 14-6 advantage.
The Welsh side was having a lot of success down Wigan’s left-hand side as Jayden Hatton forced his way to score in the corner – the third of their four tries to come on that side. Gibson converted from the touchline to extend their lead to 14 points.
It was Westwood’s turn to torment Wigan with his kicking game as he lofted one over to the corner and Sambou was caught ball watching as Luke Forber managed to hack the ball over the line before touching town. Gibson was off target but they held a handsome 24-6 lead after 27 minutes.
Shea O’Connor was held up over the line before George Hirst then dropped the ball close to the line. Wigan looked dangerous at times with ball in hand and they gave themselves hope before the break as another short ball from Forber sent Leo Wadsworth over. Lowe converted and the Crusaders led 24-12 at the break.
An error from Sambou under a high ball at the start of the second half put Wigan under pressure but some strong defending kept the Crusaders out.
The first points of the second half were always going to be crucial, and it was the home side who struck first. Wigan again dropped the ball deep in their own half; from the scrum the Crusaders went right and Brookes was on hand to grab his hat-trick.
Tempers flared for a brief moment with England dismissed for ten minutes for the Crusaders with O’Connor following him for fighting.
The Crusaders looked to be losing their heads and Wigan capitalised with Sambou touching down in the corner after good work from Charlie Yeomans. Lowe was way off target with his conversion attempt as they trailed 30-16.
The Crusaders wasted a great opportunity to put the game to bed as a long ball to the left created an overlap, but Luke Forber dropped the ball as he attempted to ground it to give Wigan a glimmer of hope.
And it was more than a glimmer of hope as less than 30 seconds later Hodkinson threw a big dummy and raced through the gap to score. Lowe converted and the deficit was now only eight points.
Both teams ended the game with twelve players, with Wigan’s Kian McDermott and Crusaders’ Josh Eaves both sinbinned for fighting.
And it was the Crusaders who ended the scoring and completed victory with Luke Forber grabbing his second.
GAMESTAR: Jordy Gibson tormented Wigan with his kicking and passing game that saw the Crusaders outplay the Warriors in the first half.
GAMEBREAKER: The game was in the balance until Luke Forber grabbed his second just before the final hooter.
MATCHFACTS
CRUSADERS
1 Lloyd Roby
5 Luke Forber
3 Jayden Hatton
4 Jake Spedding
2 Ollie Brookes
18 Junior Westwood
7 Jordy Gibson
8 Anthony Walker
9 Josh Eaves
10 Chris Barratt
13 Brad England
12 Cole Oakley
17 Ashton Robinson
Subs
14 Joe Baldwin
19 Shaun Costello
22 Tom Bridge
23 Greg Eden
24 Kian Fishwick
Tries: Brookes (2, 11, 49), Westwood (15), Hatton (18), Forber (27, 78)
Goals: Gibson 3/7
Sin bin: England – fighting (51); Eaves – fighting (71)
WARRIORS
1 Noah Hodkinson
2 Josh Cartwright
3 Nathan Lowe
4 Jonny Vaughan
5 Dayon Sambou
6 Charlie Yeomans
7 Jack Purtill
8 Kian McDermott
9 Tom Forber
10 Tiaki Chan
11 Lukas Mason
12 George Hirst
13 Taylor Kerr
Subs
– Jaiden Drachenberg
15 Finn McMillan
16 Shea O’Connor
– Mike Porter
17 Kalum Rathbone
– Harlen Smith
19 Leo Wadsworth
20 Riley Dervan
Tries: Chan (5), Wadsworth (33), Sambou (56), Hodkinson (61)
Goals: Lowe 3/4
Sin bin: O’Connor – fighting (51); McDermott – fighting (71)
SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 4-6, 8-6, 14-6, 20-6, 24-6, 24-12; 30-12, 30-16, 30-22, 34-22
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Crusaders: Jordy Gibson; Warriors: Tom Forber
Penalty count: 7-9
Half-time: 24-12
Referee: Liam Rush
Attendance: 1,509