Warriors win the Derby

- Match Report as Wigan Warriors come out victors against St Helens at The Brick Community Stadium.
- The Warriors came from behind twice with tries from Jake Wardle and Adam Keighran either side of half-time, before Zach Eckersley scored to achieve victory.
- FT | Wigan Warriors 16-12 St Helens.
Match Report as Wigan Warriors BEAT St Helens 16-12 at the Brick Community Stadium.
Despite the Warriors starting the game quickly with the Saints down to 12 men, the away side would strike first through Jack Welsby. Matt Peet’s side carved a quick response through Jake Wardle, but would have to come from behind once more in the second half, as Waqa Blake scored for the visitors.
This time, it was Adam Keighran who came up with an immediate reaction to score in the corner, before Zach Eckersley topped off a magnificent individual performance in Bevan French and Jai Field’s combined absence at full-back with a game winning try in front of a sold out South Stand.
Report
The game started in true derby fashion, with a high shot from Matty Lees on Kaide Ellis on the very opening set deemed enough for a sin bin by referee Liam Moore. The tempo was set from there on, with the crowd and teams alike well up for the contest.
The Warriors commanded the early pressure, testing Saints’ young defence from early on and forcing Harry Robertson into conceding several goal line drop outs. Adam Keighran came closest to taking advantage of the extra man, knocking on as he raced onto a ball just 20 metres out, with acres of space beyond the Saints defender who forced the error.
Despite Lees reentering the field, the Cherry and Whites continued to threaten the St Helens line. Jake Wardle received the ball and quickly stepped back inside, but was held up upon attempting to power over for the score.
With a quarter of the game gone, St Helens began to find their feet, with a 20 metre restart initially giving them the rest bite they had needed. They would turn the momentum shift into the first points of the game, with Curtis Sironen breaking the line before offloading to Harry Robertson, who passed to Jack Welsby on his shoulder for a try under the posts. Mark Percival added the extras.
Despite the shock of falling behind, the Warriors would react perfectly just minutes later. Zach Eckersley dummied the Saints defence to break the line on the left hand side, playing Wardle in past Robertson to carve a fast and clinical response. Smith converted from in front of the sticks, levelling the scores with 15 minutes left in the first half.
Matt Peet’s side regained their foothold in the derby, with Tee Ritson forced into touch by the Warriors’ left flank to set up a promising opportunity 20 metres out. The attack tested each edge of Saints’ line, but was ended with a loose carry from Liam Farrell under pressure from a couple of defenders.
Scoring opportunities reduced for both sides as the half went on, but St Helens would create two big chances in the last five minutes, with a penalty for a high tackle by Luke Thompson granting them the ball in Wigan territory. Two testing grubber kicks from Johnny Lomax forced the Warriors into goal-line drop outs, with Eckersley and Abbas Miski the alert defenders.
With the Warriors back in possession, a strong carry from Keighran gave the home side one last opportunity to add to their tally before the hooter. With the set ending in another goal line drop out, Smith received the ball around 40 metres out with barely seconds left on the clock. His attempt at a Drop Goal didn’t make the posts, meaning the sides went into the break level.
As the game got back underway for the second half, it was the Cherry and Whites who would emerge quickest out of the blocks. Some eye-catching improvisation from Liam Marshall saw him kick the ball first time over the Saints defence, chasing the ball and looking in for the score, but the whistle was blown for a shove on Ritson before he could put it down.
With 50 minutes on the clock, an electric break from the Warriors would come agonisingly close to the score. Smith’s cut-out pass found Marshall in space, who drove down the left flank before kicking cross-field in an attempt to find Jack Farrimond, but the ball bounced out before the 18-year-old could reach it.
Following a fiery period which saw shots exchanged from both sides, St Helens would settle down to execute a punishing attack on the back of a couple of Wigan errors. Curtis Sironen powered through the Wigan line dragging several defenders out to stop him, before offloading to Lomax, who found Waqa Blake on the wing for Saints’ second try of the night. Percival was good again from the tee.
From the resulting kick-off, Ben Davies caught the ball just yards from the touchline, and was dragged into touch by the Warriors 15 metres out to craft a huge opportunity to respond.
With Eckersley being held just short of the line, Kaide Ellis received the ball in the middle and needed a number of Saints defenders to try and stop him. Ellis impressively got the ball out to Farrimond, who rapidly moved the ball along the line – from Smith, to Sam Walters, to Keighran, who dived into the corner for the score. Smith’s conversion from the touchline was good to draw the teams level once more.
Minutes later, Welsby looked to kick on the last tackle from his own 40 metre line, but the ball was blocked by the incoming Tyler Dupree. With the ball bouncing towards the Saints try line, Dupree would chase down and catch it, with Welsby quick enough to catch him 10 metres out.
From the resulting set, the Warriors would make the forward’s prior efforts count. The ball found Eckersley on the left flank, who, in similar fashion to how he set up Wigan’s first try, fooled the St Helens defence with a superb dummy to open up their line and score in the corner. Smith’s kick was just wide of the posts, meaning the Cherry and Whites had a four point lead with just over 10 minutes to go.
With Peet’s side built on their defence, they would need to stand firm time and time again to get over the line on derby day. St Helens brought the pressure and some of their most threatening attacks, with Sironen and Blake notably coming close again down their left flank.
But fittingly, it was former Saint Luke Thompson – who had endured an unfriendly reception from the travelling supporters – that forced the final goal line drop out with under a minute on the clock, which eventually led to the games end. Eckersley gathered the ball on the hooter to make sure of victory for the Warriors on derby day and extend their lead at the top of the Betfred Super League table in front of over 20,000 at The Brick Community Stadium.
Gallery:



Wigan Warriors: Zach Eckersley, Abbas Miski, Adam Keighran, Jake Wardle, Liam Marshall, Jack Farrimond, Harry Smith, Ethan Havard, Luke Thompson, Tyler Dupree, Junior Nsemba, Liam Farrell, Kaide Ellis.
Interchange: Liam Byrne, Patrick Mago, Harvie Hill, Sam Walters.
18th Player: Jacob Douglas.
Tries: Wardle (24′), Keighran (63′), Eckersley (69′).
Goals: Smith (2/3).
St Helens: Harry Robertson, Tee Ritson, Mark Percival, Ben Davies, Waqa Blake, Jack Welsby, Johnny Lomax, George Delaney, Daryl Clark, Matty Lees, Curtis Sironen, James Bell, Agnatius Paasi.
Interchange: Sam Royle, Jake Burns, Johnny Vaughan, Noah Stephens.
18th Player: Jon Bennison.
Tries: Welsby (20′), Blake (58′).
Goals: Percival (2/2).
Sin Bin: Lees (1′).
Attendance: 20,152.
Referee: Liam Moore