Wigan lose at Semi Final stage

• Match Report as Wigan Warriors season comes to an end against Leeds Rhinos.
• A try either side of half time wasn’t enough for the Warriors.
• FT | Wigan Warriors 8-20 Leeds Rhinos.

Wigan scored a try either side of half time but it was defeat against the Rhinos who proceed to the Betfred Super League Grand Final.

Thomas Leuluai captained the side for the final time at the DW Stadium as Sam Powell returned from injury to make his 250th appearance in Cherry & White.

It was an arm wrestle in the first half, as Wigan broke the deadlock in the 11th minute through Liam Marshall. The Warriors had the better of the chances in the opening forty but with just a penalty goal in response from Leeds, Wigan led 4-2 at the interval.

Wigan sparked a second half comeback, scoring three converted tries. Sam Powell got a consolation effort late in the half but the Rhinos took the 20-8 win.

Report

Wigan came up with the error on the first tackle from the kick off, but they backed it up well to force Liam Tindall into touch on the right wing in response to deny Leeds an early opportunity.

A high shot on Liam Marshall allowed Wigan to gain territory, Sam Powell made a dart for the line before being stopped short and the follow up crossfield kick from Jai Field couldn’t find French on the wing with a clean pair of hands as it remained 0-0 with 10 minutes approaching.

Wigan did open the scoring in the 11th minute, a mistake from Leeds found Morgan Smithies to take in Wigan’s first tackle inside the Rhinos half. The follow up play saw Harry Smith draw in the defence before firing a pass out to Liam Marshall on the left wing who took to the air to dive at the corner and get the ball down. Smith was just wide with the touchline conversion but Wigan had the 4-0 lead.

Wigan had the chance to add some points in the 18th minute as Leeds were penalised from the scrum, Smith opted to kick at goal but the attempt was off target and it remained 4-0.

Wigan had the majority of chances in the following plays but good defence from Leeds denied them a second effort at the whitewash. An interception from Zak Hardaker in the 34th minute saw Leeds get within 20 before a high shot on Blake Austin gifted the visitors a penalty. They opted for the kick at goal which Hardaker slotted over for 4-2.

Leeds got themselves in front for the first time in the match in the 44th minute, as Jarrod O’Connor darted from dummy half to crash over the line, the effort converted by Hardaker for 8-4.

James Bentley extended the advantage just minutes later as he ran onto a grubber kick through from Aidan Sezer to get the ball down, the conversion from Hardaker was on target as the Rhinos went out to 14-4.

The Warriors were reduced to 12 for the final half an hour as a late tackle from John Bateman on Aidan Sezer saw Bateman shown a red card. Wigan were looking for the response though and Kai Pearce-Paul came close in the 56th minute as he chased a kick through from Leuluai but a Leeds hand got there first to force a goal line drop out.

Liam Marshall looked to have got Wigan back in it on the hour mark as he collected a Harry Smith grubber in goal to put the ball down but the effort was chalked off by the video referee and it remained 14-4 in the Rhinos favour.

Wigan came close again a few minutes later as Marshall and Field combined on the left edge but the ball went to ground as Leeds survived the pressure. Back on the attack, a repeat set saw Bentley go over for his second of the evening, with Hardaker converting for 20-4 with less than 15 minutes to play.

Still looking for a way back into it, Jai Field came close under the sticks as he went on a weaving run but solid defence from Leeds stopped the full back just short to regain possession with the clock ticking down.

Sam Powell did get a second score for Wigan, but with a missed conversion from Smith it wasn’t enough to get Wigan back in it as the Warriors fell to a 20-8 defeat and miss out on a Grand Final spot.

Gallery:

Wigan Warriors: Jai Field, Bevan French, Kai Pearce-Paul, Jake Bibby, Liam Marshall, Harry Smith, Thomas Leuluai, Brad Singleton, Sam Powell, Liam Byrne, Willie Isa, John Bateman, Morgan Smithies.

Interchange: Patrick Mago, Kaide Ellis, Ethan Havard, Mike Cooper.

Tries: Marshall (11′), Powell (76′)

Goals: Smith 0/3

Red Card: Bateman (50′)

Leeds Rhinos: Richie Myler, Tom Briscoe, Zak Hardaker, Liam Sutcliffe, Liam Tindall, Blake Austin, Aidan Sezer, Mikolaj Oledzki, Jarrod O’Connor, Matt Prior, James Bentley, Zane Tetevano, Cameron Smith.

Interchange: Kruise Leeming, James Donaldson, Sam Walters, Bodene Thompson.

Tries: O’Connor (44′), Bentley (47′, 65′)

Goals: Hardaker 4/4

Referee: Liam Moore

Attendance: 12,777