Wheelchair Reserves beat Warrington in friendly
- Match Report as Wigan Warriors Wheelchair Reserves beat Warrington Wolves in a friendly fixture.
- Harry Heggie scored four of the Warriors’ 11 tries in the victory.
- FT | Wigan Warriors 54-18 Warrington Wolves.
Wigan Warriors Wheelchair Reserves scored 11 tries in a 54-18 friendly win over Warrington Wolves.
Despite the season having reached its climax, the desire to learn and develop hasn’t waned for our Wheelchair Reserves who faced Warrington Wolves in a midweek friendly.
With the starting five consisting of the most recent converts to wheelchair rugby league, it was pleasing to see the combination of Harry Heggie and Oliver Steele continue to flourish. The duo combined for the opening try of the evening when the ball was spread through hands as Heggie’s pass set up Steele in the corner.
Warrington were next to cross with a try from close range, but Wigan were soon back in front when Reece Duddle evaded a tackle inside his own half to race away and score with Mel Griffiths adding the extras to make the score 10-6.
Possibly shocked by the ability within the opposition ranks, Warrington regained composure to score back-to-back tries midway through the half. A try out wide came first, before another crash over swapped the lead once more.
On the half hour mark, quick thinking by Duddle gave his side an overlap on the right hand side which meant he was able to release Heggie to score in the corner.
Having made changes during the half, another Warriors pairing linked up to widen the lead. After taking the ball to the line, a neat inside pass from Dan Dutson allowed Tom Welch to score. Backing it up with a second, Welch used his chair speed to outstrip the defence and double his tally before he converted both tries for a 26-14 half time lead.
Wigan weren’t ready to take their foot off the gas just yet as possibly the most experienced pairing of the game combined to register two further tries shortly after the restart. A break through the middle by Phil Roberts attracted several defenders which allowed him to offload to Toby Burton-Carter.
This was followed by flashy play by Roberts, who having collected his own kick and looking like he was about to be tackled by two defenders, skilfully put in a second short kick that saw Burton-Carter catch the ball and touch down in the corner.
Improving with every game, Heggie put on a show in the final 10 minutes as he registered three more tries to take his tally to four for the evening. First Steele’s short kick close to the line saw Heggie plant the ball down before he was able to push away an attempted tackle to complete his hat trick as Riley Lannon successfully converted a try which received a delightful and supporting cheer from his teammates.
Warrington added a consolation as a superbly managed performance from the Cherry & Whites saw the contest finish 54-18.
Wigan Warriors Reserves: Riley Lannon, Mel Griffiths, Daniel Slobbin, Harry Heggie, Oliver Steele
Interchanges: Reece Duddle, Ste Rigby, Phil Roberts, Tom Welch, Toby Burton-Carter, Dan Dutson
Tries: Steele, Duddle, Heggie (x4), Welch (x2), Burton-Carter (x2), Dutson
Conversions: Griffiths (1/3), Welch (2/3), Burton-Carter (1/2), Lannon (1/3)
