Warriors win in the Capital

[josie andrews]

Match Report as Wigan Warriors win away to London Broncos on Saturday afternoon.
Wigan scored ten tries through nine different scorers in a confident win on the road.

FT | London Broncos 22-60 Wigan Warriors.

WIGAN WARRIORS MADE FOUR CHANGES FOR THEIR TRIP TO LONDON BRONCOS, WHERE TEN TRIES FROM NINE DIFFERENT SCORERS SAW WIGAN TO A GREAT WIN ON THE ROAD.

Young half-back Jack Farrimond made his Club debut as Matt Peet made four changes to the side that beat Huddersfield in Round 3 at the DW Stadium, with Eckersley and Hampshire returning to the starting line-up, alongside Junior Nsemba on his return from knee surgery.

Wigan ran in four first half tries in the capital as they built up a good 22-10 lead before the break. Wardle opened the proceedings before Abbas Miski, Tyler Dupree and Harvie Hill all crossed the whitewash.

London reduced the deficit immediately from kick-off but the Warriors responded with tries from Brad O’Neill, Patrick Mago, Ryan Hampshire and a first Super League try for Zach Eckersley. Harvie Hill added his second score of the game before Adam Keighran rounded off proceedings with his first score for the Club.

Report

A scrappy start in the Capital saw London with the best of the opening opportunities but an error from the Broncos in the 5th minute allowed Farrimond, on debut, to send Jake Wardle into space to ease over for the opening score of the game. Adam Keighran converted for 6-0 to the Warriors.

Matt Peet’s men extended their lead just a few minutes later as Abbas Miski scored against his former side. Good work on the right edge allowed the winger to power towards the line and sneak over under defensive pressure. Keighran was unable to convert as Wigan had the 10-0 advantage.

The Broncos responded 5 minutes later. Wigan were penalised for shepharding as London kicked to the corner and the resulting set allowed Jacob Jones to crash over for the hosts, Oli Leyland converted the effort to reduce the score to 10-6 in Wigan’s favour.

Wigan responded well though and it was Tyler Dupree who added to the scoresheet shortly afterwards. The forward looked like he was going to be held up over the line before managing to wrestle his arm over the whitewash to confirm a third score for the Warriors. Adam Keighran converted his second of the afternoon for 16-6.

The Broncos thought they’d snatched one back in the 22nd minute but Lee Kershaw’s diving effort in the right hand corner was referred to the Video Referee, who adjudged the effort to have been knocked on before the ball was grounded and it remained 16-6 in Wigan’s favour.

The Cherry & Whites added a fourth try just before the half hour as Harvie Hill crashed over for his first try for Wigan after some great build-up play from Farrimond and Dupree. Keighran added the extras once more for 22-6.

An error from Wigan allowed London a great opportunity just before the half-time break, and they took full advantage as a pass from Reiss Butterworth out of the tackle found Lee Kershaw, who grounded the ball this time to cut the deficit. Leyland was wide with the conversion attempt and it was 22-10 to Wigan at the interval.

From the restart, a testing kick saw Iliess Macani bat the ball down for Kennedy to send Jordan Williams over for the first effort of the second half. Oli Leyland added a second conversion of the afternoon and it was 22-16 to the Warriors.

With 46 minutes on the clock, London were penalised for a dangerous throw on Tyler Dupree and Adam Keighran called for the kicking tee, adding the penalty goal successfully to put Wigan out to a two-score lead as Rob Butler was sent to the sin bin for the challenge.

With the man advantage, the Warriors extended their lead on 50 minutes. Jai Field made the initial break downfield to get Wigan into good field position before a six again call was made. Brad O’Neill crashed over for his first try of the season with some good footwork, as Adam Keighran knocked over the conversion to put Wigan 30-16 to the good.

Patrick Mago crashed over for Wigan’s sixth try of the afternoon just moments later, collecting a great inside pass from Farrimond and the forward had the power to crash over under the sticks. Keighran added another conversion for 36-16.

Zach Eckersley became the seventh different scorer on the hour mark as the winger supported Abbas Miski in the middle to receive the ball and race 70m to dive under the uprights, Keighran converted once more as Wigan were out to 42-16 with 20 minutes to play.

Ryan Hampshire then added to the scoreline, feeding into the scrum before getting the ball from Tom Forber to race through a gap and stretch a hand over the goal line. Keighran knocked over another two-point score from the tee to take Wigan to 48-16.

Refusing to back down, London crossed in the 70th minute, as Lee Kershaw registered his second of the afternoon with another acrobatic effort in the right hand corner. The video referee was called into action to check the grounding, which was good and Oli Leyland converted the score as it stood 48-22 to the Warriors going into the final 10 minutes.

Harvie Hill crashed over for his second of the afternoon on 72 minutes but it was Adam Keighran who had the final say, supporting Jai Field who unselfishly passed to his team mate to cross for his first score since joining the Club. Keighran converted the effort to complete the 60-22 victory for the Warriors.

London Broncos: Hakim Miloudi, Lee Kershaw, Robbie Storey, Jarred Bassett, Iliess Macani, Oli Leyland, James Meadows, Rhys Kennedy, Sam Davis, Fenton Rodgers, Will Lovell, Jacob Jones, Marcus Stock.

Interchange: Reiss Butterworth, Rob Butler, Jordan Williams, Alex Walker.

18th Player: Jack Campagnolo

Tries: Jones (15′), Kershaw (38′, 69′), Williams (41′)

Goals: Leyland 3/4

Sin Bin: Rob Butler (47′)

Wigan Warriors: Jai Field, Abbas Miski, Adam Keighran, Jake Wardle, Zach Eckersley, Ryan Hampshire, Jack Farrimond, Luke Thompson, Brad O’Neill, Tyler Dupree, Willie Isa, Liam Farrell, Patrick Mago.

Interchange: Harvie Hill, Junior Nsemba, Tiaki Chan, Tom Forber.

18th Player: Kaide Ellis.

Tries: Wardle (5′), Miski (9′), Dupree (18′), Hill (28′, 72′), O’Neill (50′), Mago (54′), Eckersley (60′), Hampshire (65′), Keighran (79′)

Goals: Keighran 10/11

Referee: James Vella

Attendance: 4,116

https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2024/03/ ... e-capital/

[josie andrews]

Peet: I’m pleased

* Matt Peet praised the execution of the game plan as the Warriors recorded a dominant victory over London Broncos.

* Peet: “Our middles as a whole were a really pleasing part of the game plan in which Thomas Leuluai does a great job at looking at other teams.”

* FT | London Broncos 22-60 Wigan Warriors.

MATT PEET PRAISED THE EXECUTION OF THE GAME PLAN AS THE WARRIORS BEAT LONDON BRONCOS 60-22 AT THE CHERRY RED RECORDS STADIUM.

The Warriors scored 10 tries through nine different scorers in the capital to continue their perfect start to the Betfred Super League season.

Reflecting on the victory, Peet said: “I’m pleased with lots of aspects of it – such as the commitment to the play. There was some lovey play in what was a hard working display against a spirited team who certainly made it a contest. There were times in the game where things weren’t straightforward but Ryan Hampshire and Jack Farrimond were decisive in the way they managed those periods.”

On the execution of the game plan, Peet added: “Our middles as a whole were a really pleasing part of the game plan in which Thomas Leuluai does a great job at looking at other teams – sometimes it’s not about coming up with the big plays, but more the attention to detail on the simple ones.

“We played some good, direct stuff with the ball and chose to go through London rather than around them – that’s why our front rowers and dummy halves got on the scoresheet this afternoon.”

Jack Farrimond made his debut for the Club in the victory, and on the 18-year-olds performance, Peet said: “We think highly of Jack who is another good advertisement for our Academy. The main thing you look at for a young player is whether they are ready for the physical side of the game but I thought Jack was excellent in the way he stood up.”

On Farrimond, Peet added: “He showed he was there to compete from minute one, and we know that he has the ability and the skill set. It’s important we nurture him the right way but we look forward to seeing him continue to work hard and getting more opportunities.”

Peet made four changes to the side which beat Huddersfield Giants in Round 3, and on the absences of Bevan French, Harry Smith, Liam Marshall and Kaide Ellis, the Warriors head coach said: “We’ve just come out the back of an intense few matches so we rested them ahead of a short turn around against Salford. We also rotated to give the opportunities to other players as we have a squad which we intend to use.

“It’s important that all players are ready if they’re required as we want to get to a stage where it’s really hard to pick the first team, but even harder to pick the 17.”

https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2024/03/ ... m-pleased/

[josie andrews]

Thompson: Keep building momentum

* Luke Thompson reflected after Wigan’s 60-22 victory over London Broncos on Saturday afternoon.
Thompson: “Hopefully we can keep building that momentum and keep going.”

* Watch match highlights and reactions on Wigan TV HERE.

LUKE THOMPSON GAVE HIS THOUGHTS AT THE FULL TIME HOOTER AS WIGAN CONTINUED THEIR STELLAR START TO THE 2024 BETFRED SUPER LEAGUE WITH A 60-22 VICTORY OVER LONDON BRONCOS AT THE CHERRY RED RECORDS STADIUM.

“We’re really pleased to get the two points,” Thompson said, “It’s always a tough place to come, somewhere like London. It was a bit of a scrappy game in parts but overall we’re pleased to get the two points and the win in the end following a big second half, we’re really pleased with that.”

The Warriors saw four changes ahead of the game with Ryan Hampshire, Zach Eckersley and Junior Nsemba getting the nod, along with Jack Farrimond who made his senior debut for the Club.

On the squad rotation, Thompson said: “We’ve got some great depth in the squad, the young boys are awesome. Whoever steps in to do the job at the minute works really hard and we’re happy to keep ticking the wins off.

“Hopefully we can keep building that momentum and keep going.”

The forward made his third consecutive Betfred Super League appearance since joining Wigan ahead of the 2024 campaign, as he said: “I’m loving it [being back in Betfred Super League]. I’m back at my house in Wigan, I’ve settled back in with my family and friends around me.”

He added: “I’m really enjoying my Rugby at the minute, Wigan is a great Club – good people, good lads and I couldn’t be enjoying it more.”

The Warriors quickly turn their attention to Round 5 as Wigan face Salford Red Devils on Thursday night. Full ticket information is available HERE. https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2024/03/ ... lford-a-3/


https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2024/03/ ... -momentum/