Warriors beat Hurricanes in friendly
- Match Report as Wigan Warriors earned a first pre-season victory with a hard-fought win over Midlands Hurricanes.
- Ryan Brown and Taylor Kerr each scored twice as the Warriors came from behind to win.
- FT | Midlands Hurricanes 20-24 Wigan Warriors.
A youthful Wigan Warriors side earned a first pre-season victory with a hard-fought 24-20 win over Midlands Hurricanes at the Alexander Stadium.
The League One side crossed for the opening tries of the match before back-to-back scores from Ryan Brown and Taylor Kerr put the Warriors ahead at the break.
Brown and Kerr each scored in the second half either side of tries from the Hurricanes as the Warriors battled to a well-deserved first win of pre-season.
Report
The Warriors, who fielded a team mixed with Academy and Reserves players, fell behind after eight minutes when the Hurricanes worked play wide to Jason Bass on the wing who touched down in the corner. The conversion attempt fell short from Brad Billsborough.
The hosts almost extended their advantage three minutes later when Max Kirkbright went over in the opposite corner, however, referee Kevin Moore disallowed the score due to an obstruction in the build up.
An end-to-end opening 15 minutes saw Wigan denied a response after Tom Forber was initially held up before the Hurricanes stood firm to keep Finley Beardsworth out on the final tackle following a dangerous kick in behind from Jack Farrimond.
Despite sustained pressure from the Warriors, Midlands extended their lead on 32 minutes when Daniel Barcoe dummied his way through the middle before offloading to Jon-Luke Kirby who powered over from 5m out. Billsborough added the extras to put the Hurricanes 10-0 ahead.
The Warriors scored twice in quick succession to lead 12-10 at the break. First Brown crashed over off the back of a powerful carry from Harvey Makin, before Tom Ratchford’s burst from the play the ball allowed Kerr to step aside the Hurricanes defence to score beneath the sticks.
The Hurricanes regained the lead less than two minutes into the second half when Matty Welham accelerated clear before passing outside to Bass who grounded his second of the match. The points difference remained two after the touchline conversion attempt was missed.
Midlands defended strongly to deny Tiaki Chan a try on his first Wigan outing, however, the Birmingham-based side were unable to prevent Brown from powering over for a second time with 53 minutes on the clock. Farrimond continued his perfect record from the tee to kick Wigan 18-14 ahead.
A forward pass denied Bass a hat-trick on the hour, before the Warriors extended their advantage further when Ratchford’s short pass allowed Kerr to crash through the tackle to ground under pressure. Farrimond kicked Wigan 24-14 ahead with 10 minutes remaining
The League One side finished with confidence as Sam Bowring burst through the middle to score with the last attack of the game. Dave Hewitt added the extras to bring the match to a close, as the Warriors held on to win 24-20.
Midlands Hurricanes: Todd Horner, Max Kirkbright, Matty Welham, Ross Oakes, Jason Bass, Dave Hewitt, Jon-Luke Kirby, Daniel Barcoe, Tom Wilkinson, Liam Welham, Brad Clavering, Brad Billsborough, Kieran Moran.
Interchanges: Sam Bowring, Aaron Willis, Elliot Windley, Chris Cullimore, Owen Maull, Marcus, Inoke Nakoronivalu, Abdullah Balogum, Oliver Simpson, Peceli Suguvanua.
Tries: Bass (8′, 42′), Kirby (32′), Bowring (79′).
Goals: Billsborough (1/3), Hewitt (1/1).
Wigan Warriors: Noah Hodkinson, Jacob Douglas, Nathan Lowe, George O’Loughlin, Maddox Jeffery, Charlie Yeomans, Jack Farrimond, Harvey Makin, Tom Forber, Kian McDermott, Finley Beardsworth, Lukas Mason, Tiaki Chan.
Interchanges: Tom Ratchford, Taylor Kerr, Ryan Brown, Josh Cartwright, Troy Richmond, Finlay Irwin, Harry Higham, Reagan Sumner.
Tries: Brown (36′, 53′), Kerr (39′, 70′).
Goals: Farrimond (4/4).
Header Image Credit: Isobelle Smith
