LEIGH LEOPARDS 0 WIGAN WARRIORS 72
LORRAINE MARSDEN, Leigh Sports Village, Sunday
GRACE BANKS once again showed her brilliance with four well-taken tries as Wigan kept up their unbeaten run at the top of the table.
Tiana Power, Anna Davies and Eva Hunter all scored twice as Denis Betts’ side ran in 14 tries in all against a Leigh side that have found the going tough since their promotion to the top flight this season.
It took just two minutes for Wigan to open the scoring when Meg Williams, Jenna Foubister and Molly Jones combined to send Tiana Power over for her first. That lead was doubled just four minutes later when Davies opened her account, with Shaniah Power adding a third within the opening ten minutes.
Isabel Rowe missed all three conversions but was on target for four of the final five tries of the first half.
Three of these game from Banks in a 13-minute spell that also saw Cerys Jones cross, before Davies added her second for a 40-0 lead at the break.
There was no let up in the second half with Hunter crossing just two minutes after the restart. Her second followed nine minutes later before Mia Atherton, Tiana Power, Banks and Kaitlin Hilton all touched down to complete the scoring. Rowe added another four conversions in the second half.
The final act of the half saw a coming together of players from both sides on the halfway line, that ultimately saw Shaniah Power spend the final three minutes of the game in the sin bin.
LEOPARDS: 1 Hattie Dogus, 2 Toryn Blackwood, 3 Mackenzie Taylor, 5 Becky Greenfield, 22 Freya Turner, 6 Rhianna Burke, 7 Leah Morris, 10 Alice Fisher, 9 Kate Howard, 16 Lucy Johnson, 20 Keli Morris, 27 Abby Latchford, 11 Storm Cobain. Subs (all used): 15 Sam Brazier, 14 Abi Gordon, 13 Grace Hill, 31 Macy McDermott
WARRIORS: 1 Grace Banks, 2 Anna Davies, 23 Kaitlin Hilton, 4 Molly Jones, 26 Tiana Power, 6 Jenna Foubister, 7 Isabel Rowe, 20 Holly Speakman, 19 Remi Wilton, 10 Shaniah Power, 11 Eva Hunter, 15 Cerys Jones, 13 Megan Williams. Subs (all used): 9 Carys Marsh, 16 Rease Casey, 21 Jade Gregory-Haselden, 22 Mia Atherton
Tries: T Power (2, 60), Davies (6, 38), S Power (10), Banks (20, 30, 33, 63), C Jones (27), E Hunter (42, 51), Atherton (56), Hilton (70); Goals: Rowe 8/14; Sin bin: S Power (77) – running in
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 0-8, 0-12, 0-18, 0-24, 0-30, 0-36, 0-40; 0-44, 0-48, 0-54, 0-60, 0-66, 0-72
Half-time: 0-40