JAI FIELD’S performance on Friday night might have done enough for him to be crowned the 2025 Steve Prescott Man of Steel.
The Australian is up against defending Man of Steel Mikey Lewis and Jake Connor from Leeds Rhinos. But Field once again proved his skills are not just limited to his pace, but his defensive skills are also top quality.
Fans pay money to see Field race 60-70 metres to score wonderful tries, but his most important contribution may have come when he did not have possession of the ball.
Heading into the final 15 minutes of their play-off semi-final, Wigan led 14-6 and it looked like Leigh were about to reduce the deficit as Owen Trout was put through a massive gap with what seemed like only the try line in front of him.
The England Ashes hopeful looked certain to score, but Field weighed up his options and held off until the final second before executing a perfectly timed tackle to stop the second row forward from scoring.
The length-of-the-field tries and weaving runs across the field are great to watch, but it is individual moments like that from Field that wins matches of this magnitude.
If Trout had scored in that moment, the Leopards could have been within two points and it could have been a different game, but he failed to score and Wigan managed to do enough to book a place in the Grand Final next Saturday.
Whether or not Field walks away with the Man of Steel award on Tuesday evening remains to be seen, but he has had an amazing campaign and is one of the reasons they the Warriors are heading to Old Trafford once again.
That Field cover tackle just epitomised how defensive minded the Warriors were against Leigh. And that is not a negative. Matt Peet and his coaching staff knew it would be a hard battle in the middle and the team with the strongest defence would come out on top.
That ended up being Wigan. They set their stall out in the first half, with Harry Smith producing an outstanding tackle to stop Trout from scoring. The Warriors’ scrum-half managed to get his arms and body under Trout to hold him up.
Liam Farrell and Liam Byrne then combined with a monster hit on Bailey Hodgson that saw him spill the ball to allow Bevan French to scoop up the loose ball for the opening try.
There was one little blip in Wigan’s defensive line when Robbie Mulhern was allowed to sail through a massive gap to score Leigh’s only points of the game.
You have to give Leigh a lot of credit, as they did have several chances to score points, but the Warriors were solid as a unit, and they were not willing to allow Leigh to post any more points.
Leigh’s defensive effort was impressive as well. There were a number of times in the second half where they managed to get back to prevent more Warriors points. It was a hard-fought win for the Warriors, and it will put them in good stead for Saturday’s Grand Final.
Wigan’s defence has been outstanding for the past couple of months. In their last six matches they have won all six and conceded just 28 points.
There is an old adage in Rugby League that defence wins you matches.
Judging from this game and Wigan’s recent performances, it could well win silverware as well.