Leigh were the better side for most of the first half, and deservedly led 8-0 through Innes Senior’s outstanding try and two Adam Cook goals. Wigan, who arrived on a run of nine consecutive wins stretching back to their Challenge Cup triumph at Wembley in May, were outplayed and fortunate to be only eight points behind.
The game turned two minutes before half-time. After Leigh conceded a penalty, their players turned their backs on Jai Field expecting Wigan to kick for touch. Instead, Field tapped the ball and raced 90 metres to score, reducing the deficit to 8-6 at the interval.
Three minutes after the restart, another Leigh error let Bevan French in to put Wigan ahead. Two more Leigh knock-ons followed, and the Warriors capitalised on both – Zach Eckersley and Noah Hodkinson touching down to make it 20-8.
Wigan climb to second
Had Leigh held on, victory would have put them in the conversation for the top two. Instead, they sit sixth and are looking nervously over their shoulders. Wigan’s win lifted them to second, two points behind Super League leaders Leeds.
Their coach, Matt Peet, acknowledged how close they came to dropping points. “We needed to improve because in that first half we were second best,” he said. “We’ve managed our way out of a situation there. There was nothing wrong with our effort but they were very good. You don’t want to win this way every week but it’s good to know it’s in the locker.”
Leigh’s costly implosion
Leigh coach Adrian Lam said the turning point hurt. “I went in and tried to lift them at half-time but it felt like that moment was a bit of an implosion,” he said. “It was hard to watch in the second half but we were awesome in that first half. It was unbelievably good, and we are very close to being very good. A bit of negativity crept in and our gameplan just fell apart.”
With the NRL’s bid for control of Super League expected to land in the coming days, this sold-out derby was an advertisement for the competition – a local rivalry decided by star quality. Yet for all the change potentially coming Super League’s way off the field, one constant is that it would take a brave man to back against Wigan prevailing at Old Trafford again in October.
