Wigan were mightily impressive today in defeating Warrington Wolves 38-10 in the Magic Weekend at St James’ Park in Newcastle.
The Warriors gave a ferociously competitive performance, particularly in defence in a crucial period in the first half, and they gradually squeezed the spirit out of the Wolves.
And yet after Sam Tomkins had kicked an early penalty, it was Warrington, through Harvey Livett, who scored the first try on twelve minutes when he took a nice inside pass from Tom Lineham and twisted in the tackle to touch down.
The Warriors replied with tries by Sam Powell and Sam Tomkins to take a 14-4 lead, but the Wolves replied late in the half when Stefan Ratchford touched down grubber from Kevin Brown. A Sam Tomkins penalty made the score 16-10 at half-time.
But the second half was all Wigan, as they added tries from Bateman, Williams, Marshall and Davies, with Tomkins’ goals taking the final score to 38-10 in a massive statement from Shaun Wane’s side as Warrington’s ten-match unbeaten run came to an end.
Wigan: Sam Tomkins, Tom Davies, John Bateman, Oliver Gildart, Liam Marshall, George Williams, Sam Powell, Tony Clubb, Thomas Leuluai, Ben Flower, Willie Isa, Liam Farrell, Joel Tomkins; Subs: Ryan Sutton, Taulima Tautai, Morgan Escaré, Romain Naverrete
Tries: Powell, S Tomkins, Bateman, Williams, Marshall, Davies; Goals: S Tomkins 7
Warrington: Stefan Ratchford, Tom Lineham, Bryson Goodwin, Ryan Atkins, Josh Charnley, Kevin Brown, Tyrone Roberts, Chris Hill, Daryl Clark, Sitaleki Akauola, Harvey Livett, Jack Hughes, Ben Westwood; Subs: Ben Murdoch-Masila, Dec Patton, Joe Philbin, George King
Tries: Livett, Ratchford; Goal: Goodwin
A full report, photos and analysis of this game will feature in Monday’s edition of League Express, which will include reports from all the Magic Weekend matches.