There is a leading trio beginning to pull away from the chasing pack as we approach the halfway point of this unpredictable Super League season – and Wigan, the reigning champions, are arguably out in front.
The Warriors, Warrington and St Helens are showing the hallmarks of the three sides that will be front and centre of the race for Old Trafford come October – underlined by the fact that two of those, Wigan and Warrington, will be in the Challenge Cup final in a fortnight’s time, too.
The Warriors had too much quality in key moments for a Salford Red Devils side certainly in playoff contention but, although they battled bravely here, as they always do, they were not quite on Wigan’s level here on Sunday.
The major difference came in the first half, in which Wigan were faultless with their completion rate: 21 sets without a mistake. That laid the platform to forge an 18-0 lead, an advantage that looked even more significant as the second half began and torrential rain and thunderstorms took hold.
“Salford are a team who ask you a lot of questions so it could easily have played out in a different way,” Matt Peet, Wigan’s coach, said. “But our concentration levels were very high in the first half and we did enough early in the game. Then when Salford had their purple patch we managed to ride it out.”
The Warriors took control almost from the off when a break from Abbas Miski was finished by Adam Keighran, who converted to put the visitors 6-0 ahead. Junior Nsemba, one of English rugby league’s genuine breakout stars, then burst through to make it 12-0.
Wigan went 18 points in front when Brad O’Neill forced his way over from close range but that came while the Salford scrum-half Marc Sneyd was off the field having received a green card, which requires a player to leave the game for two minutes for treatment after the officials stop play on the request of a trainer. The Red Devils were adamant that was a mistake.
“We weren’t confused: it wasn’t a green card – we didn’t ask for play to be stopped,” Salford’s coach, Paul Rowley, said. “I think they realised it was wrong.” But even without that moment, there is still a strong argument that Wigan would have pushed on and scored given the superiority they enjoyed in that first half.
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As sunshine made way for a downpour, free-flowing rugby became almost impossible. That meant Wigan’s lead became even more commanding after half-time and, while Salford scored first in the second half with Oli Partington’s effort, the Red Devils could not press home any threat of a comeback.
A penalty from the boot of Keighran then re-established a three-score lead heading into the final quarter before a sublime solo score from Bevan French in the final minutes sealed matters once and for all, moving the Warriors joint‑top alongside the season’s two other heavyweights.
