TONIGHTS GAME

[josie andrews]

Not pretty but gritty: Leuluai

Tommy Leuluai reflects on Wigan Warriors’ 18-12 Betfred Super League Play-Off Qualifier win over Salford Red Devils.

Scrum-half scored a try to help his side progress to the Semi-Final stage where they will face St Helens next Friday.

Leuluai: “I thought they (Salford) played fantastic - you’ve got to give them a lot of credit. It was easily one of the toughest games of the year.”

Tommy Leuluai praised Wigan Warriors’ ‘togetherness’ they dug deep to overcome Salford Red Devils in Friday night’s Betfred Super League Play-Off Qualifier.

The scum-half grabbed a try at the DW Stadium to help Adrian Lam’s side to a 18-12 victory to set up a Semi-Final tie against St Helens next week.

And whilst speaking about his own team, Leuluai gave credit to Salford for playing their part in what was a pulsating Play-Off clash.

Speaking to Wigan TV after the game, he said: “It was a tough game to play and I’d imagine a good game to watch. I thought they (Salford) played fantastic - you’ve got to give them a lot of credit. It was easily one of the toughest games of the year.

“It wasn’t the prettiest game - we’ve got a lot to work on. There’s one thing you can’t work on which is desire and togetherness and we showed that.”

The Kiwi also applauded his half-back partner’s performance as George Williams scored a try in what possibly could have been his final home game for Wigan before heading to the NRL in 2020.

The stand-off also set up Leuluai’s touch down as he put pressure on the Red Devils to force a mess up at the back.

“I thought he had a fantastic game - he played at 9 for most of it (due to Sam Powell’s wrist injury).

“A lot of players in that changing room have played with George for a long time. He’s been a terrific player for this Club, he’s an outstanding talent and he’s playing some really good football at the right end of the year.

“It’s nice as we had similar things last year with Waney (Shaun Wane) and Sam (Tomkins), Batty (John Bateman) and Sutty (Ryan Sutton) leaving. All of it adds to the desire.”

After Friday’s result, the Warriors have won eight games in a row and 13 from their last 14, and will now prepare to face fierce rivals St Helens for a place at Old Trafford in the Betfred Super League Grand Final.

Leuluai commented: “We’ve come a long way but we’re not settled with that at the moment. We’ve put ourselves in a good position and we’re not looking back, we’re looking forward now.”

Watch the rest of the interview with Tommy on Wigan TV as he talks about Wigan’s quest to Old Trafford, the advantage of having players within the squad who have done it all before, the impact the Cherry and White faithful have on the team and the test St Helens will provide in next Friday’s Play-Off Semi-Final.

There is also Adrian Lam’s post-match interview available to watch, as well as highlights from the 18-12 win over Salford.

Wigan Warriors will travel to face St Helens in Semi-Final 1 of the Betfred Super League Play-Offs on Friday 27th September. After beating Salford Red Devils in the Qualifying Round on Friday night, Adrian Lam’s men will now face local rivals Saints at the Totally Wicked Stadium for a place in the Betfred Super League Grand Final. Tickets are on sale NOW! Get yours by clicking HERE.


https://www.wiganwarriors.com/news/2019 ... uc8zRxC.99

[w.thomas]

Id forgot its not allowed on here to criticise. In fairness though saying he was a passenger was a bit harsh as like you said he made a lot of tackles. What I should have said was he offered nothing going forward and hasn't in many of the few games hes played. If we want a LF whos a tackling machine we have that already in smithies. lockers has been a brilliant player for us but should still retire at the end of the season and im sorry if that upsets some of you thats best mates with him but that's my opinion.

[Caboosegg]

Id forgot its not allowed on here to criticise. In fairness though saying he was a passenger was a bit harsh as like you said he made a lot of tackles. What I should have said was he offered nothing going forward and hasn't in many of the few games hes played. If we want a LF whos a tackling machine we have that already in smithies. lockers has been a brilliant player for us but should still retire at the end of the season and im sorry if that upsets some of you thats best mates with him but that's my opinion.

No people just disagreed with you it doesn't mean your not allowed a different view.

Lockers has a habit of sucking in multiple defenders and then releasing a pass just before he hit creating space. If you manage to watch the match on tv again watch how many times he does that and what it adds to our attack.

Gone are the days of him making big busts but he plays like a half in a props body.

[Caboosegg]

Ian Watson moaning about TL being offside all match..... did he not notice how many of his players never made it back the 10?

Apparently hastings lost his vision after the clubb incident and thats why they lost because it was at the point they needed the half to step up.


Ive never taken Watson as one to moan and make excuses and i always liked him for it... his comments are disappointing.

Maybe he should stop coaching his team to throw the ball away to milk pens before he tries shining the light elsewhere.

[josie andrews]

Wigan Warriors 18 Salford Red Devils 12: Five things we learned

Five things we learned from Wigan's 18-12 win against Salford

1. Wigan are poised for a fourth derby against St Helens this year - and what a derby it should be.
From hovering above the relegation zone to moving to within 80 minutes of a Grand Final, it has been an astonishing turnaround.

Their reward for beating Salford was a trip to Saints on Friday night, with a place at Old Trafford awaiting the winners and a second-chance - against either Salford or Castleford - the week later. Wigan haven't beaten Saints in three attempts this year and it appears they will head to the Totally Wicked Stadium without Sam Powell, who suffered a wrist injury which is threatening his involvement in the rest of the series.

2. Adrian Lam's side were scratchy with the ball, but the defensive effort was incredible - in a game described by Oliver Gildart as the toughest of the year.

Locked 6-6 at half-time, a two-try burst put them in front and they clung on, scrambling tirelessly to repel Salford's attacks.

The game became more engrossing as it went on, with drama, twists, controversy and great plays delivered thick and fast.

3. On a night when Wigan's Under-19s won the academy Grand Final, a player who was eligible to play appeared in the first-team - and broke a Super League record!

According to official statistics, Morgan Smithies motored through 72 tackles against Salford, breaking the previous high set of 66 set by Steele Retchless in 1998... two years before the Wigan forward was born!


4. Will Tony Clubb be in hot-water with the judiciary?

The prop brought energy and aggression to the Wigan defence and was involved in a bizarre head-to-head with Jackson Hastings off-the-ball - while Salford were attacking Wigan's line!

But Red Devils coach Ian Watson was disappointed no action was taken against the prop for a late challenge as Hastings went over for his try, and believes the judiciary may need to examine how the Australian playmaker sustained an eye injury during another clash with him.

The RFL's match review panel will view the game on Monday before issuing any charges.

5. The crowd of 9,247 was the lowest attendance for a Wigan home game this year - and came just 24 hours after 5,000-plus watched Warrington's play-offs match with Castleford.

There's a certain irony that the biggest games of the season get the lower attendances, but this is not a new play-offs problem.

It's not unlikely Wigan could play on four successive weekends in the post-season, in matches not covered by season tickets, making it an expensive period for fans.

Wigan offered £5 discount to season ticket holders but if Super League want more fans at these games, maybe they should consider bolder action - bigger price reductions, perhaps.

https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/wigan- ... 1-10008813

[The Yonner]

Very exciting game to watch, but I think there were some distress signals which suggest the team may have gone "over the top", to use a horse racing analogy.

In the modern game it's surely obvious to all, regardless of experience, that in a tight game like that conceding cheap penalties is a cardinal sin. And yet numerous times Wigan let Salford off the hook by infringing, thereby facilitating the onslaught in the final quarter.

I always think players conceding cheap penalties is a sure indicator that they are under more pressure than we spectators can appreciate, and they do it because they feel they are not fully in control. The penalties conceded by Williams and O'Loughlin were particularly damaging.

If we are a full stretch and almost at breaking point against Salford, it must be a worry that we won't have enough in the tank for Saints twice, or even Salford again?

[The Yonner]

The linesman makes more tackles than Clubb. I believe he’s a really nice guy, but that shouldn’t have earned him a 2 year contract. The guy is shot. If we are talking about passengers then look no further.
Trundles the ball in at a snails pace, and easier to run past than a bollard.
I’m sorry but it’s time to hang the boots up Tony.

This is an area where we will surely suffer in comparison with the Saints forwards.

Not only Clubb, but also Greenwood looks as slow as a tortoise - it seems to my eyes he has got slower as the season has gone on - or is he carrying an injury?

[josie andrews]

The linesman makes more tackles than Clubb. I believe he’s a really nice guy, but that shouldn’t have earned him a 2 year contract. The guy is shot. If we are talking about passengers then look no further.
Trundles the ball in at a snails pace, and easier to run past than a bollard.
I’m sorry but it’s time to hang the boots up Tony.

This is an area where we will surely suffer in comparison with the Saints forwards.

Not only Clubb, but also Greenwood looks as slow as a tortoise - it seems to my eyes he has got slower as the season has gone on - or is he carrying an injury?

I’ve said before, and it’s just my opinion about Joe Greenwood, he needs to start the game as he seems to take ages to get into the game off the bench.

[moto748]

He has always looked like he's running through treacle to me, even in his *better* games.