Wheelchair win against Hull

• Wigan Warriors Wheelchair took the win over Hull at Robin Park Leisure Centre on Sunday afternoon.
• Declan Roberts was instrumental on the day with 7 tries and 15 conversions.
• FT | Wigan Warriors Wheelchair 90-36 Hull FC Wheelchair.

The Warriors scored 15 tries on the day as they eased to victory over Hull FC in Round 6 of the Betfred Wheelchair Super League in front of the home crowd at Robin Park Leisure Centre.

Two quick fire tries by Declan Roberts gave the Warriors an early lead before Hull FC hit back with a score of their own. It took less that 10 minutes for D.Roberts to complete his hat-trick after Martin Norris put him in at the corner to take the score to 18-6.

D.Roberts made it four with another try in the corner after fending off a would be tackler. With all four tries converted, Wigan had made a scintillating start to the game. 

Off the back of some uncharacteristic errors from the home side, Hull FC punished them with back-to-back tries. Both tries were scored by Billy Swainger, and converted by Mike Swainger, helping reduce the deficit to just 6 points.

The Warriors regained control when Chris Greenhalgh set up Martin Norris with a neat switch play. Following this, Nathan Roberts chimed in with a try after Phil Roberts released him down the left wing.

The final try of the first half came when Billy Swainger completed his hat-trick with a touch down in the left corner for Hull. Attacking the blindside, a reverse pass caught out the Wigan defence and allowed Hull FC to finish the first 40 minutes strongly. With the conversion missing the target, the score now stood at 36-22 to Wigan.

Replacing Nathan Roberts at the start of the second half, Matt Wooloff was quick to make an impact when he was played in at the corner by Phil Roberts. Adding to this, Norris doubled his tally when Declan Roberts returned the ball to him on the blind side after a quick play the ball. Two more conversions for D.Roberts gave Wigan a 48-22 lead.

What followed next was a sustained period of pressure by Wigan, with three converted tries increasing the lead even further. Norris took his tally to three as he caught the defence retreating, then, a looping pass from Declan Roberts put Wooloff in for his second, before D.Roberts waltzed through the middle himself to score his fifth of the afternoon.

With a 40 point lead, it looked like the Cherry & Whites had already done enough to take the win, but with points difference potentially deciding league positions prior to the top 4 split, they weren’t prepared to take the foot off the pedal just yet.

Becoming the fourth player to score three tries in the game, Wooloff was on the end of an unselfish Greenhalgh pass after he had bamboozled the defenders with his chair skills and a dummy pass.

Going one better, Norris bagged his fourth try in the left corner before taking a well earned break, Ste Mort coming on to replace him midway through the second half. The scoreline now sat at 78-26 in Wigan’s favour.

Also coming off the bench, Reece Duddle was close to scoring his first try of the season when a Declan Roberts seemed to put him in open space, however, the pass was juggled by Reece as it appeared to be just too far out of his reach to take it cleanly.

Capping off a fine display, Declan Roberts went in for two further tries. Adding to that, he made it 15 from 15 with two more successful conversions and a 58 point haul.

Just like the first half, Hull FC finished off the scoring with a try apiece for Mike and Billy Swainger respectively. With just one of the kicks slotted over, the final score was 90-36 to the Warriors.

After the game, Head Coach Phil Roberts said, “I’m very happy with the result and with some key players missing it showed the true strength in depth within the squad. Hull FC took their chances well and the first 40 minutes was an even tussle. We were much more composed after the break and we now look forward to second half of the season”.

Wigan Warriors: Chris Greenhalgh, Martin Norris, Nathan Roberts, Declan Roberts, Phil Roberts.

Interchanges: Reece Duddle, Ste Mort, Matt Wooloff.

Tries: Declan Roberts (7), Martin Norris (4), Nathan Roberts, Matt Wooloff (3)

Goals: Declan Roberts 15/15

Hull FC: Mike Swainger, Nathan Sherwood, Billy Swainger, Tristan Norfolk, Dave Gill.

Interchanges: Mike Midgley.

Tries: Tristan Norfolk (2), Billy Swainger (4), Mike Swainger

Goals: Mike Swainger 4/6, Tristan Norfolk 0/1