Warriors Wheelchair sides battle in friendlies against Leeds

• Warriors Wheelchair First Team and Reserves side played a double-header friendly against Leeds Rhinos Wheelchair on Saturday afternoon.
• Warriors Reserves claimed a 38-32 victory over the Rhinos.
• Warriors First team fell to a 62-40 defeat in the friendly.

Warriors Wheelchair First Team and Reserves side played a double-header friendly against Leeds Rhinos Wheelchair on Saturday afternoon.

Reserves Match Report

Getting their first hit out of 2024, both the Reserves and Super League teams welcomed Leeds Rhinos on Saturday for a chance to blow away the cobwebs and set their base levels.

For both clubs, the first fixture was a mixture of Reserves and Development players, with the emphasis on gaining experience. It was the Away side who took the early lead, but Harry Heggie quickly hit back for Wigan with a try in the left corner off a short pass from Oliver Steele.

The Rhinos hit the front again in the sixth minute, but from here on in, the half belonged to the Warriors. An impressive display by Daniel Dutson saw him set up Tom Welch for his first try of the afternoon, by putting him through a gap with a delightful pass, before crossing the line himself following a quick tap by Reece Duddle. Dutson continued to pull the strings with another assist, this time putting Duddle in at the corner, then doubled his personal tally with a second try close to the line.

Finishing off a sublime period, Wigan scored their fifth try of the first half when Dutson looped a pass over the covering defence to give Welch an easy touchdown. Unfortunately, the home side hadn’t brought their kicking boots, with only one try being converted for a 26-10 scoreline at the break.

Reverting back to the starting five for the second half, Wigan were caught cold by the Rhinos and three consecutive tries. This narrowed the gap to just two points and showed that the Leeds players had plenty of pace and skill to offer.

Looking to stem the tide, the Warriors were back on the attack, marshalled by Stephen Rigby, and as they found themselves 10 metres away from the try line, Billy Ord supplied Steele with a pass that allowed him to cross for a try.

Rotating their squad, Leeds were able to put themselves in the driving seat for the first time since the opening 10 minutes, with back-to-back tries making the score 32-30 in their favour. However, the quality of play from the Warriors was a delight to watch, Rigby taking the ball to the line was enough to attract the attention of the last defender before he was able to release Steele down the left flank. Steele used his speed to head to the corner and score his second and regain the advantage.

Scoring the final try of the game, Dutson was again the instigator as he used the looping pass to allow Wes Thomasson to go in at the corner. Despite more missed conversions, the Warriors were able to remain in control for the remainder of the game and secure a 38-32 result.

Wigan Warriors Reserves: Harry Heggie, Billy Ord, Ste Rigby, Oliver Steele, Jordan Burns.

Interchanges: Reece Duddle, Wes Thomasson, Tom Welch, Leila Hamrang, Dan Dutson

Tries: Heggie, Welch (2), Dutson (2), Duddle, Steele (2), Thomasson

Conversions: Steele (0/1), Hamrang (1/2), Dutson (0/2), Welch (0/1), Rigby (0/1), Ord (0/1), Thomasson (0/1)

Leeds Rhinos Reserves: Charlie Wagstaff, Cam Hills, Harison Butler, Dawn Lennox, Verity Smith, Fin Butler, Di Caley, Racheal Lowe, Alan Taylor, Paul Horrobin, Rich Delaney-Scott, Ben Coleman, Cameron Harper, Steve Bosworth

First Team Match Report

Similar to the first game, Leeds crossed the try line in the very first minute, Nathan Mulhall showing his pace down the left wing to open the scoring.

Following in the footsteps of his son Harry earlier in the day, Jack Heggie became the first Wigan scorer of the second game as he burst through a gap in the defensive line. Levelling the score from the kicking tee was Dec Roberts.

It was the Rhinos who then took control with a run of four tries, one each from Tom Halliwell and Jodie Boyd-Ward, plus a brace from Nathan Collins. With Collins slotting over 4 of his first 5 conversions, Leeds were now 28-6 to the good.

Not to be outdone, the Warriors turned on the style when Roberts broke the line and then gave a long pass to Adam Rigby who was supporting down the left wing. Following this, Phil Roberts offloaded the ball close to the line which then gave his son Dec the opportunity to sidestep two would be defenders and score. Roberts converted both tries to reduce the deficit.

Unfortunately, it was the Rhinos who finished the half the stronger, tries from Josh Butler, a second from Mulhall, and another from Ewan Clibbens, opened up a 42-18 half time score.

After a tight period at the start of the second half, Wigan were the first to score with Dec Roberts blazing through the middle. This was quickly followed by Rigby’s second after a quick play the ball from Mark Williams helped put his side on the front foot. Making it 5 from 5 from the tee, Roberts had now narrowed the gap to just 12 points.

Mulhall was able to evade the tacklers and complete his hat-trick, before Halliwell and Clibbens doubled their tallies to put Leeds firmly in control.

Trailing by 26 points, Wigan needed some inspiration and it was supplied by the brothers Dec and Nathan Roberts. Dec put in a little grubber kick on the last tackle that rolled into the in goal area, which Nathan was the first to get to and touch the ball down.

A final try for Leeds from Butler sealed the friendly win, but it was the Cherry & Whites who had the last word. Putting the ball through several pairs of hands, it was a neat pop pass from Phil Roberts that put Mark Williams in at the corner. Having missed his previous attempt, Dec Roberts made it 6 from 7 conversions to take the final score to 62-40 to the Rhinos.

Wigan Warriors will now be looking to take their experiences into the European Club Challenge vs Catalans Dragons on Saturday 6th April at Robin Park. More information can be found HERE.

Wigan Warriors: Martin Lane, Jack Heggie, Dec Roberts, Adam Rigby, Phil Roberts

Interchanges: Nathan Roberts, Mark Williams

Tries: Heggie, Rigby (2), D.Roberts (2), N.Roberts, Williams

Conversions: D.Roberts (6/7)

Leeds Rhinos: Nathan Collins, Josh Butler, Nathan Mulhall, Tom Halliwell, Jodie Boyd-Ward

Interchanges: Ewan Clibbens, Verity Smith, Paul Horrobin

Tries: Mulhall (3), Halliwell (2), Collins (2), Boyd-Ward, Butler (2), Clibbens (2),

Conversions: Collins (6/11), Clibbens (1/1)

By Stuart Cook.