Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves brought the first day of the Magic Weekend to a close with a hard fought 24-24 draw at St James’ Park in Newcastle today.
And the result was determined by a superb try by Wigan winger Joe Burgess in the final minute of the game, when he caught a high kick by his skipper Sean O’Loughlin and touched down in the corner. That levelled the scores, but George Williams was unable to convert from the touchline.
Wigan had led for most of the match, going in at the interval 12-6 ahead after two tries by Liam Marshall, the second of which was a 90-metre interception try. His first was converted by Josh Woods and the second by Williams.
Warrington, playing in their Captain Marvel kit, had scored one first-half try from Daryl Clark, with Stefan Ratchford goaling.
Marshall had another first-half try disallowed for having a foot in touch, while Wigan’s Lewis Tierney was sinbinned on 37 minutes for holding down Matty Russell.
In the second half Wigan extended their lead when Marshall scored his hat-trick try and Williams converted.
But the Wolves struck back with a brilliant try by Ratchford after he collected a Kevin Brown kick. He couldn’t convert his own try, but the Wolves moved to within two points when Tom Lineham scored a converted try on 57 minutes.
A Ratchford penalty for a high tackle levelled the scores, but Williams then kicked a penalty for Wigan before Jack Hughes went over on 75 minutes and Ratchford converted for a 24-20 lead.
But Wigan showed their never-say-die attitude, and it was their skipper who kicked superbly for Burgess to touch down almost unchallenged. But it was too far out for Williams to convert.
A full report, photos and analysis will feature in Monday’s League Express.
