Tigers defeated at Wigan

It was a tough night for the Fords who are safe in Super League after results elsewhere.

The Tigers had the first opportunity of the contest with their first set. A break down the left from Broadbent with just Field to beat and Mellor on his inside. The Tigers centre opted to go alone and was caught by Field and the attack stopped.

However it was the hosts who struck first. 6 minutes in, Liam Horne spilled the ball forwards and Wigan had possession 20m out. On the fourth play of the set, they shifted left through Smith and French, only to find Miski alone out wide to dive in at the corner for the first points.

Just 3 minutes later, Miski had another. Just five metres out on the last tackle, French launched a kick towards the left corner. Miski unchallenged caught and grounded to extend Wigan’s lead.

Wigan had another on the board halfway through the first 40. A ball to the Tigers right edge was played back inside by Marshall to Wardle. He caught it and crashed over.

The Tigers were off the mark with 18 to play before the break. A Blake Austin kick through was spilled by Field and Cas had head and feed from 20m out. They shifted right to left and Eden found a gap. He offloaded to Qareqare who secured his third try in just two games. Austin in the absence of Widdop added the extras.

Wigan had their fourth as Miski completed his hat trick. Braodbent was taken into touch and the hosts regained possession on the last tackle. They moved into within range and shifted towards Miski again to get his third of the night in the corner.

It was Miski again who rounded off the scoring just before the hooter sounded. A carbon copy of the try before shifting to the Wigan right edge and he dived in at the corner.

Smith missed for the fourth time in the evening meaning the Fords went in at the break 22-6 down.

It took less than 2 minutes for Wigan to add another after the restart. Patrick Mago made a break through the middle and offloaded to Powell. He pushed over and despite Cas’ best efforts.

Less than a minute later, Pearce-Paul got in on the action. A break from Field allowed Wigan to get up the field once again before a retreating Qareqare brough him down. French played a simple pass to Pearce-Paul who hit his line well to power over.

Austin saw a yellow card produced with 23 minutes left to play for a dangerous tackle. This allowed Field to add four more points. He used footwork to skip through two Cas players on the left to make the most of their man advantage immediately.

With 10 minutes remaining, Bevan French struck to add more points to the scoreline. A loose ball was picked up by the Wigan number 2 and he raced away to score under the sticks.

Miski had a 5th before time was up. Another shift to the right edge for an easy score.

Full Time: Wigan Warriors 48-6 Castleford Tigers

Teams:

Wigan Warriors: Field, Miski, King, Wardle, Marshall, French, Smith, Ellis, Powell, Dupree, Pearce-Paul, Nsemba, Smithies

Interchanges: Shorrocks, Mago, Hill, Hampshire

18th Man: Cust

Castleford Tigers: Eden, Wallis, Broadbent, Turner, Qareqare, Austin, Miller, Watts, Horne, Mustapha, Lawler, Hall

Interchanges: Johnstone, Griffin, Martin, Massey

18th man: Matagi

Scores:

Wigan Warriors:

Tries: Miski 5, Wardle, Powell, Pearce-Paul, Field, French

Goals: Smith 1 from 4

Hampshire 3 from 4

Castleford Tigers:

Tries: Qareqare

Goals: Austin 1/1

Sin Bin: Austin