Warriors see off Salford

• Match Report as Wigan Warriors win against Salford Red Devils at the DW Stadium.
• Wigan crossed for five tries to put the Warriors top of the Betfred Super League.
• FT | Wigan Warriors 26-8 Salford Red Devils.

Wigan Warriors went top of Betfred Super League after a well-earned win over Salford Red Devils at the DW Stadium on Friday night.

Wigan scored five tries to go top of the Super League table with an emphatic Round 24
victory against Salford, in front of over 12,000 fans at the DW Stadium.

Morgan Smithies made his 100th Super League appearance, marking another milestone for
the forward in 2023.

Report

The two sides couldn’t be separated in a cagey opening 10 minutes, which notably saw a
couple of dangerous Wigan attacks in quick succession defended well by the visitors.

It was Salford who eventually broke the deadlock, opting to kick a penalty from 20 metres out
through Ryan Brierley.

The two point deficit was short lived for the Warriors, who took the lead courtesy of captain
Liam Farrell. The second rower danced his way through a number of Red Devils before
diving over, making the score 4-2 after 21 minutes.

Despite a strong Salford response to Farrell’s try, Wigan defended valiantly to deny several
attacking sets from the opposition. Upon receiving back-to-back penalties, however, Paul
Rowley’s side once again chose to kick from the tee, as Brierley levelled the scores with 10
minutes to go in the first half.

The Cherry and Whites regained momentum and took advantage of their ever-growing threat,
when a slick passing move found its way to Abbas Miski. The in-form winger made no
mistake of touching down in the corner to retake the lead, scoring his 21st try of the Super
League season.

It was one-way traffic in favour of the Warriors, who were finding their groove as time went
on. A fine pass from Jai Field found Jake Wardle, who beat opposition defenders to crash
over and score on the left-hand side. Harry Smith scored the resulting kick, expertly
converting from the touchline to extend the lead.

As the half-time hooter sounded, Salford were awarded a penalty in their own half. They
kicked for touch and then sent a high kick the way of Field, with several attackers following
in a Hail Mary style attempt. The Australian caught the ball and darted through his
opponents, using his speed to go the distance and score a spectacular try under the posts.
Smith was again good from the tee, making it 20-4 to Wigan at the break.

The second half spelled further trouble for the Red Devils, who were down to 12 men with
King Vuniyayawa in the sin bin for a high shot on Bevan French. The Warriors made the man advantage count, with French cleverley passing behind his back to Toby King, who kindly scored underneath the posts for Smith to convert.

After conceding zero points away to Catalans last time out, Matt Peet’s side were once again
impressive in defence. It took until the 70th minute for Salford to score their first and only try
of the night, with their spell of attacks rewarded by Ken Sio scoring in the corner.

With the final score 26-8, the Warriors recorded their sixth straight Super League victory to
top the league table in style.

Gallery:

Wigan Warriors: Jai Field, Abbas Miski, Toby King, Jake Wardle, Liam Marshall, Bevan French, Harry Smith, Kaide Ellis, Brad O’Neill, Liam Byrne, Kai Pearce-Paul, Liam Farrell, Morgan Smithies.

Interchange: Sam Powell, Joe Shorrocks, Patrick Mago, Junior Nsemba.

18th Player: Harvie Hill.

Tries: Farrell (21′), Miski (32′), Wardle (36′), Field (40′), King (51′)

Goals: Smith 3/5

Salford Red Devils: Ryan Brierley, Ken Sio, Deon Cross, Tim Lafai, Joe Burgess, Brodie Croft, Marc Sneyd, Brad Singleton, Andy Ackers, Oliver Partington, Kallum Watkins, Sam Stone, Danny Addy.

Interchange: King Vuniyayawa, Jack Ormondroyd, Ben Hellewell, Chris Atkin.

18th Player: Adam Sidlow.

Tries: Sio (70′)

Goals: Brierley 2/2, Sneyd 0/1

Referee: Chris Kendall

Attendance: 12,905