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* Match report as Wigan Warriors recorded an impressive Betfred Super League victory over Hull FC.

* Bevan French and Junior Nsemba each crossed twice as the Warriors scored seven tries in West Hull.

* FT | Hull FC 12-36 Wigan Warrriors.

WIGAN WARRIORS SCORED SEVEN TRIES IN AN IMPRESSIVE BETFRED SUPER LEAGUE VICTORY OVER HULL FC AT THE MKM STADIUM.

The Warriors travelled to West Hull looking to move back into second place and avenge the Challenge Cup defeat to Hull FC six weeks earlier at The Brick Community Stadium.

An impressive performance from the Warriors saw Bevan French and Junior Nsemba score twice as Jai Field, Jake Wardle and Abbas Miski also crossed in the win.

Report

Wigan had two strong sets in the opening five minutes, which the second resulted in Barron being dragged into touch. The Warriors looked for an opening from the reset as Harry Smith’s grubber kick was acrobatically touched down for an amazing French try. Adam Keighran added the extras for a 6-0 lead.

Herman Ese’ese made one of his trademark runs through the middle before finding the supporting Will Pryce, who was halted by Field. Wigan were penalised for an offside from the play the ball, from which Hull spread the ball wide to Pryce, who dived over in the corner with Aidan Sezer levelling.

Smith’s restart was taken into touch by Lewis, and Wigan made the best of the opportunity when Field touched down on the left side. The video referee took a long look at the build-up before awarding the try which Keighran converted.

Pryce created an opportunity and from Sezer’s measured kick, Barron caught the ball and dived over the line. Sezer added the conversion to level the scores with 24 minutes played.

Wigan scored their third try through Nsemba, who shook off several attempted tackles to power his way over on 33 minutes. Keighran added the extras with his third conversion of the afternoon for an 18-12 lead.

Miski put in a powerful run from which the Warriors gained valuable metres in Hull FC territory. Wigan were awarded a repeat set as Wardle had the easiest of walk in tries to increase the advantage. Despite a missed conversion, Wigan led 22-12 at the break.

Wigan were soon on the attack after the restart which ended with Nsemba being tackled just short of the line on the last tackle. The Warriors crossed on 44 minutes when Keighran cleverly offloaded to Miski, who touched down by the corner flag. After a lengthy video referee check, the try was awarded with the winger excellently grounding despite the pressure of two tacklers.

On the hour the Warriors were on the wrong end of three successive penalty decisions, however, Hull were unable to make the possession count as Wigan defended firmly to force the error.

French scored his second try of the game when Liam Farrell intercepted a Hull FC pass before setting the stand-off away to race more than 80 metres to score. Keighran added the two to put the Warriors 32-12 ahead with 14 minutes remaining.

Keighran left the field on 71 minutes after a great comeback performance, and three minutes later Nsemba touched down his second. Despite consultation with the video referee to check Wardle’s challenge in the build up, the try was awarded after Nsemba took in the pass one-handed to ground.

With three minutes to go Liam Knight was yellow carded for a high challenge on Smith, who was able to play the remaining minutes to see out the 36-12 win.

Hull FC: Will Pryce, Harvey Barron, Tom Briscoe, Davy Litten, Lewis Martin, Cade Cust, Aidan Sezer, Herman Ese’ese Amir Bourouh, Liam Knight, Zak Hardaker, Jack Ashworth, John Asiata.

Interchanges: Ed Chamberlain, Yusuf Aydin, Denive Balmforth, Matty Laidlaw.

18th Player: Will Gardiner.

Tries: Pryce (11′), Barron (24′)

Goals: Sezer (2/2).

Wigan Warriors: Jai Field, Abbas Miski, Adam Keighran, Jake Wardle, Liam Marshall, Bevan French, Harry Smith, Liam Byrne, Brad O’Neill, Sam Walters, Junior Nsemba, Liam Farrell, Kaide Ellis.

Interchanges: Luke Thompson, Kruise Leeming, Harvie Hill, Zach Eckersley.

18th Player: Jack Farrimond.

Tries: French (5′, 65′), Field (14′), Nsemba (34′, 74′), Wardle (39′), Miski (44′).

Goals: Keighran (4/6), Smith (0/1).

https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2025/04/ ... hull-fc-2/

Peet: Connected and prepared

* Matt Peet praised the defensive organisation as Wigan Warriors beat Hull FC at the MKM Stadium.

* Peet: “Hull are a team that throw a lot at you and challenge you, but I thought defensively we looked connected and well prepared.”

* FT | Hull FC 12-36 Wigan Warriors.

MATT PEET PRAISED HIS SIDE’S DEFENSIVE ORGANISATION TO BEAT HULL FC IN AN IMPRESSIVE VICTORY AT THE MKM STADIUM.

The Warriors returned to second in the Betfred Super League table as Bevan French and Junior Nsemba each scored twice with Jai Field, Jake Wardle and Abbas Miski also crossing in West Hull. Wigan stood firm to deny Hull FC points in the second half to claim a second win of the season at the MKM Stadium.

Reflecting on the victory, Peet said: “I’m proud of the lads, no doubt. Hull are a team that throw a lot at you and challenge you, but I thought defensively we looked connected and well prepared.”

Praising the defensive preparation, Peet said: “Our defence were intelligent at times against some great attacking shape. Sean O’Loughlin did a great job this week. The players buy into him and he has coached a great week.”

On Adam Keighran and Luke Thompson returning from injuries, Peet said: “With Adam it was always an injury that would be guided from when he took his brace off. He’s been fantastic and against the smart bodies Hull FC have, his seniority was important.”

“[Thompson] had a scan earlier in the week to check the healing. He’s pushed himself hard to put himself ahead of schedule, which is a credit to his professionalism and dedication. He’s proving to be an outstanding acquisition for the Club, as he’s someone that keeps us all moving.”

On the rotation in the middle, Peet said: “We look at the weapons we’ve got and the skill set players bring. We’re good when Kruise [Leeming] is on the field, so with Brad [O’Neill] being a great defender, that made sense.”

The Warriors take on Warrington Wolves at Magic Weekend next Sunday afternoon. Tickets for the Super League clash at Newcastle’s St James’ Park remain available to purchase online HERE.

https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2025/04/ ... -prepared/

'They're the benchmark' - Hull FC coach delivers verdict on 'well-drilled' Wigan Warriors

Hull FC coach John Cartwright believes Wigan Warriors are still the benchmark in Super League after the Black and Whites’ defeat to the reigning champions.

The Warriors regained second spot in the Super League table thanks to a 36-12 win over Hull FC at the MKM Stadium on Sunday afternoon, with Matt Peet’s side proving to be too strong for Cartwright’s outfit, who have made a much-improved start to the season compared to last, winning five from nine.

“I still think they're the benchmark – they're the side that you really hate to play,” Cartwright said in his post-match press conference.

They make you nervous because they’re so dangerous. You saw it today, we switched off and made some errors, and they're really hard to defend. You've got to pay them credit. They're a very well-drilled and well-coached team, and that's where we want to get to.

“They got the game that really suits them. There were a lot of errors from us, and that makes you miss tackles. When you're missing tackles, that's when they really make you pay. I thought we did a fair job on (Jai) Field, but we missed him too often because our line was staggered, but (Bevan) French and (Harry) Smith are big guns.

They were very good with their line speed, and the wrestle on the ground, they were better at that than us, and that’s a big foundation for everything you do. They’ve been together a while, and I watch them every week, and they do that very well. They smother you, it makes it hard to get out of your end, and they don’t make errors, that’s why they’re a very good team.”

Wigan were 22-12 ahead at the half-time interval before scoring three unanswered tries in the second half to take the two points back over the Pennines, with Cartwright admitting his Hull side were the engineers of their own downfall.

It was really disappointing, to be honest," Cartwright said. “There were patches of the game where we were pretty good, but we also made too many fundamental errors.

"You might get thrown over the sideline once, but four times we ended up getting thrown over, that's just unacceptable. They should have kicked out on the full, but for whatever reason, we didn't have our foot on the sideline; they got the scrum and scored when it should have been a penalty on the halfway line. That's in our hands, so I'm really disappointed with the result and some of the things that happened on the back of our fundamental errors.

"But I still felt at 26-12 that we were still in the game – we had a lot of ball on their try line, and they stopped us. They really slowed the ruck down and made it hard to attack. We came up with some errors, and then they intercepted and scored again.”

https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby- ... rs-5101661

Wigan Warriors boss hails returning pair with Ethan Havard injury update provided

Wigan Warriors coach Matt Peet hailed Luke Thompson and Adam Keighran, who both returned from the treatment room to help his side claim a 36-12 win over Hull FC.

Prop Thompson had missed the last two games with a calf issue, whilst goal-kicking centre Keighran had missed the last four with a knee injury. However, they both returned to hand Peet’s side a boost on Sunday afternoon, with Keighran starting and playing 70 minutes before being taken off for young gun Zach Eckersley with 10 minutes remaining.

Keighran was initially given a timeframe of around eight to ten weeks after sustaining an MCL injury in their Challenge Cup defeat to Hull last month, but he has recovered much quicker than first feared.

On Keighran, Peet said: “It was always an injury where it can be guided by how he felt when he took his brace off, he’s been fantastic, which is big in a game like that. Hull have got some big bodies and some smart players, so I think that bit of seniority proved to be important.”

Meanwhile, powerhouse Thompson returned to the team, featuring from the bench to add some power and aggression to Peet’s forward pack, with the England international also returning slightly earlier than planned.

"He had a scan earlier in the week just to check the healing, and he pushed really hard to put himself forward ahead of schedule, and it’s a credit to him, his professionalism and dedication,” Peet added.

“He’s 30 today, and I think he’s proving to be an outstanding acquisition for this club. He keeps us all on our toes and improving, and he’s a good man.”

Peet also provided the latest on prop Ethan Havard, who has yet to feature this season due to a hamstring injury he suffered during pre-season training.

The England international has been earmarked to make his eagerly anticipated return on May 24 when the Warriors travel to the south of France to face Catalans Dragons in Round 12.

“I think we’re looking at Catalans away,” Peet said when asked about Havard’s potential return. “He’s still a few weeks away. He’s not back training with the team yet, I’ve had that in my head for him for a while, give or take.”

https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby- ... ed-5101625