WARRINGTON WOLVES 23 WIGAN WARRIORS 6
KASEY SMITH, Halliwell Jones Stadium, Friday

WARRINGTON saw off a late Wigan comeback to inflict a fourth straight league defeat on the Warriors.

Three Wolves tries in the second half saw off spirited Wigan, who ultimately couldn’t match the intensity and fitness shown by the home side.

With both sides carrying well-documented concerns in the halves – George Williams set to undergo surgery and Bevan French having not featured for Wigan since March – there was a slight lack of cutting edge from either team in the final third in the first half.

The contest – much of it a ferocious affair, with both sides engaged in a blow-for-blow battle, roared on by a packed-out Halliwell Jones – fully sparked into life in the second half thanks to some eye-catching Warrington moves, with Wigan offering no response.

After a strong start to their campaign, Wigan have seen their form collapse, and this fourth straight loss marks their worst run since 2021.

It was Wigan’s own indiscipline which resulted in many of Warrington’s points, coming directly following Marc Sneyd’s high kicks. Having found no way through in the first quarter, Warrington wasted no time in bringing on the kicking tee for a slender 2-0 lead when given a kickable penalty.

Wigan were left to rue another lapse when a further penalty was awarded in the Wolves’ favour. Ewan Irwin, shaping to go one way, caught everyone off guard — even his own team-mate — with a sudden switch of play, sending a pass to Josh Thewlis. At full stretch, in the opposite direction, he gathered superbly and powered over the line to give Warrington a two-score cushion.

Wigan nearly hit back just before the hooter, but the pass for returning Jake Wardle was adjudged to have been forward. Another try was ruled out when Adam Keighan, on the video review, was spotted to have pushed a Warrington man with Zach Eckersley’s try chalked off.

The Wolves struck another blow when Albert Hopoate, who somehow squeezed through the tightest of spaces in the corner, shrugged off the onrushing Jack Farrimond to stretch Warrington’s lead to twelve points.

Credit must also go to James Bentley, whose superb offload set up his centre to score – a move he executed to perfection throughout the evening.

Out of nowhere, Wigan got right back in the contest. Eckersley suddenly sparked into life, accelerating down the wing before a sharp step inside completely wrong-footed Thewlis. From there, he tore through the defence, outpacing everyone to cut Warrington’s lead by six with Keighran’s goal.

The comeback, though, was short-lived. Thewlis put the game to bed, having two options to his left before selling the dummy, opening up space for himself to break through and restore the lead for Warrington.

Sneyd got his second conversion, then slotted a drop-goal eleven minutes from time before Hopoate also scored another, sending the Warrington supporters home delighted.

GAMESTAR: Marc Sneyd was a calm head in the halves and he was key to Warrington staying comfortably ahead of Wigan.

GAMEBREAKER: Josh Thewlis’ second try gave Warrington enough breathing room heading into the final stages of the game.

HIGHLIGHT REEL: Ewan Irwin’s pass for Warrington’s try, as well as the catch from Josh Thewlis, was a first-class move that caught Wigan off guard.

ALBERT GOLDTHORPE POINTS
3 pts Marc Sneyd (Warrington)
2 pts James Bentley (Warrington)
1 pt Albert Hopoate (Warrington)

MATCHFACTS

WOLVES
1 Cai Taylor-Wray
2 Josh Thewlis
3 Toby King
4 Albert Hopoate
5 Matty Ashton
18 Ewan Irwin
7 Marc Sneyd
21 Luke Thomas
9 Danny Walker
16 Liam Byrne
12 Sam Stone
20 James Bentley
13 Ben Currie
Subs (all used)
17 Jordy Crowther
22 Joe Philbin
25 Max Wood
34 Kelepi Tanginoa
18th man (not used)
32 Ewan Smith
Also in 21-man squad
14 Sam Powell
15 Toafofoa Sipley
27 Jake Thewlis

Tries: Josh Thewlis (35, 67), Hopoate (54, 75)
Goals: Sneyd 3/5
Field-goals: Sneyd (72)

WARRIORS
1 Jai Field
2 Zach Eckersley
12 Liam Farrell
4 Jake Wardle
5 Liam Marshall
3 Adam Keighran
19 Jack Farrimond
8 Ethan Havard
9 Brad O’Neill
10 Luke Thompson
11 Junior Nsemba
17 Oliver Partington
13 Kaide Ellis
Subs (all used)
15 Patrick Mago
20 Sam Eseh
23 Kian McDermott
25 Taylor Kerr
18th man (not used)
28 Noah Hodkinson
Also in 21-man squad
22 Tom Forber
27 Lukas Mason
31 Jonny Vaughan

Tries: Eckersley (60)
Goals: Keighran 1/1

SCORING SEQUENCE: 2-0, 8-0; 12-0, 12-6, 18-6, 19-6, 23-6

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Wolves: Marc Sneyd; Warriors: Brad O’Neill

Penalty count: 6-2
Half-time: 8-0
Referee: Aaron Moore
Attendance: 13,218