Over The Years: Leeds
Wigan Warriors take on leeds rhinos in a return to betfred super league action at AMT Headingley Stadium on saturday evening.
The Warriors will be aiming to record a fourth straight Super League win against a Rhinos side, who have lost to St Helens and Catalans Dragons in recent matches.
With a strong Warriors following at Saturday’s Super League Round Five encounter, we look at three Headingley victories from over the years:
Leeds Rhinos 20-40 Wigan Warriors, 1996.
Despite Graham Holroyd crossing to put Leeds ahead after 12 minutes, converted tries from Jason Robinson and Rob Smyth quickly turned the game in Wigan’s favour. The hosts capitalised on Shaun Edwards’ yellow card before the break as George Mann crashed over to cut the score to 12-10.
Henry Paul added a third Wigan try seven minutes after the restart as Martin Offiah extended the lead to 24-10 before the hour. Despite Holroyd adding his second, two Andy Farrell penalties extended his side’s advantage to 28-16 with 13 minutes left to play.
An entertaining end to the contest saw Craig Murdock power over from close range before Smyth picked up a loose ball to accelerate in unopposed. Francis Cummins scored the game’s final try with two minutes remaining as Wigan recorded a victory in the first Super League meeting at Headingley.
Leeds Rhinos 6-26 Wigan Warriors, 2010.
Wigan ended Leeds’ hopes of a fourth straight Super League title with a stunning victory to reach the Grand Final, where they went on to beat St Helens 22-10.
Having lost 27-26 at home to Leeds Rhinos two weeks earlier in the play-offs, the Warriors travelled to Headingley with a 42-18 win at Hull KR behind them. An evenly contested first half saw Wigan lead 8-6 at the break after Darrell Goulding’s try cancelled out Kevin Sinfield’s opener.
An incredible second half showing from Michael Maguire’s side saw Joel Tomkins, George Carmont and Martin Gleeson add further scores whilst Pat Richards maintained a perfect record from the tee.
Leeds Rhinos 0-50 Wigan Warriors, 2023.
Jake Wardle scored a hat-trick as the Warriors returned to the top of the table whilst handing the Rhinos their heaviest ever competition defeat at home.
The Warriors centre crossed twice in the first half alongside Jai Field and Liam Marshall build a 22-0 lead at the break. Matt Peet’s side continued to dominate as Kai Pearce-Paul, Abbas Misk, Liam Farrell, Patrick Mago and Wardle’s hat-trick score completed a heavy victory.
Having regained pole position on points difference, wins over Castleford Tigers and Leigh Leopards saw the Warriors lift the League Leaders’ Shield before a semi-final victory against Hull KR. Wigan beat Catalans Dragons in the Grand Final to be crowned Super League champions at Old Trafford.
Having sold out our initial allocation for Saturday’s game, less than 200 tickets in the Western Terrace remain available to purchase from The Brick Community Stadium Ticket Office and online HERE. Please note that these tickets must be collected from the Ticket Office after 1pm on Wednesday 19 March.
