Reserves hold off Bulls

• Match Report as Wigan Warriors Reserves ran out 28-14 winners against Bradford Bulls Reserves.
• A strong first half display from the Warriors was enough to hold off a second half fightback from the Bulls.
• FT | Wigan Warriors 28-14 Bradford Bulls.

Wigan Warriors Reserves held off a second half fight back from Bradford Bulls to run out winners on Saturday afternoon.

Wigan Warriors showed great resilience to defeat Bradford Bulls in a disrupted fixture at Robin Park Arena. After storming to a 22-4 advantage at half time, the Warriors held off a second half fightback from the Bulls to triumph 28-14.

Report

Wigan started the game with great intent, getting all of the early possession and territory. Half back Jack Farrimond earned an early repeat set with a clever kick. The drop out came to nothing as the Bulls desperate defence managed to gain an interception. Shortly after, the Bulls got a much needed penalty, but the windy conditions held the kick to touch in play. The resulting set from Wigan yielded their first rewards. Quick hands to the right found winger Maddox Jeffery in a bit of space and he managed to dive over. Jack Farrimond failed to convert from the touchline but Wigan led 4-0.

A couple of minutes later the Warriors were in again, back-to-back penalties gave the Warriors good field position as Hooker Tom Forber made a lovely break right through the heart of the Bulls defence. Once again, Wigan spread the ball quickly to send Jeffery in for his second on the wing. This time, Farrimond made no mistake with the tricky conversion from the touchline and it was 10-0 to Wigan in as many minutes.

The game turned into an arm wrestle with both sides failing to get any real territory. On 15 minutes, Bradford’s last tackle kick sailed out on the full. In the resulting set, the Bulls were pinged for a high tackle and Tom Forber made the most of the disarray in the defensive line, darting over to extend the lead. Farrimond gratefully accepted the easier conversion to make it 16-0 to the Warriors.

Both sides traded sets and Wigan this time misjudged the wind, with Forber kicking out on the full. The Bulls pressure came to nothing though as desperate Wigan defence forced Bradford into touch in the corner.

Wigan finally stretched the lead further after thirty five minutes. After a break down the right, Bradford tried to intercept but couldn’t hold on to the ball. The knock on gave Wigan perfect positioning from the scrum and once again, quick hands to the right gave Jeffery his hat-trick try. The conversion was successful and the Warriors looked dominant at 22-0.

As the half drew to a close, there was time for Bradford to finally get some rewards. Back-to-back penalties piggybacked the Bulls down field. Wigan’s defence looked to have extinguished the threat before powerful centre Balback shrugged off the would-be tackler to squeeze in. The conversion was missed and the Warriors went in with a comfortable 22-4 lead at the interval.

The opening exchanges in the second forty were a similar pattern to the first half, with no side getting a foothold in the game. It was Bradford who struck first in the second period, a clever overlap finding Bulls’ Moss in space, the conversion was missed but the gap was reduced to 14 points.

The game ebbed and flowed with errors and penalties as the conditions hampered both sides. Wigan couldn’t find the early rhythm which had given them a commanding lead. As the game entered the final quarter, a nasty Wigan marched upfield and Tiaki Chan looked destined to score but the Bulls defence kept him out as he was penalised for a double movement.

With 13 minutes remaining, a Bradford player was left receiving treatment from both medical teams as the referee took both sides from the field. The player left the field on a stretcher as the game got back underway after a lengthy stoppage. Bradford again squeezed over after Sumner was unable to deal with a deft chip over. M. Scurr converted his own try to bring the score back to 22-14 to the Warriors.

Trent Kelly-Duffy and Tom Forber exchanged passes in a clever little break before releasing Joshua Cartwright for the final try of the game. Jack Farrimond converted to see Wigan complete the 28-14 victory.

Gallery:

Wigan Warriors: Reagan Sumner, Maddox Jeffery, Harry Higham, Joshua Cartwright, Jacob Douglas, Charlie Yeomans, Jack Farrimond, Harvey Makin, Tom Forber, Ryan Brown, Finley Beardsworth, Lukas Mason, Tiaki Chan.

Interchange: Tom Ratchford, Taylor Kerr, Kian McDermott, Trent Kelly-Duffy.

18th Player: Kalum Rathbone.

Tries: Maddox Jefferey (3), Tom Forber, Joshua Cartwright

Goals: Farrimond 4/5

Bradford Bulls: Billy Jowitt, Charlie Moody, Waldimar Matahwa, Finley Balback, Mackenzie Scurr, Sam Ackroyd, Daniel Moss, Bailey Arnold, Trialist, Jaden Barraclough, Dominic Waites, Joe Kellett, Jacob Bateman.

Interchange: Lewis Owens, Jamie Gill, Ethan Newboult, Jaden Dayes.

18th Player: Charlie Barrett.

Tries: Balback, Moss, M.Scurr

Goals: M.Scurr 1/3

By David Bailey.