In a thrilling derby they fought 6-4 at halftime to score three unanswered tries after the break from Thomas Leuluai, Bevan French and Jackson Hastings
It was a bloody competition full of needles, skill, passion, drama – and many fierce exchanges – that would have been worthy of the Grand Final in four weeks
The margin of victory would have been greater if Zak Hardaker hadn’t missed three of his four conversion attempts, but it was a night to admire the positives in Wigan’s performance – and there were plenty of them
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On the other side, they showed an admirable amount of energy and character to achieve victory, which puts them at the top of the leaderboard under the revamped win percentage formula
Perhaps the only problem is whether the RFL’s match review committee charged Joe Greenwood after he was sentenced at the end of stadiums for a high tackle that sparked a scrum
The Saints had won their two previous derbies this year, most notably beating a young Wigan side 42-0 a month ago
But with Lam’s side unchanged from the lineup which beat Salford 58-12 a week earlier – and the Saints missing suspended support Alex Walmsley – many were predicting a different, closer and bloody derby and they certainly have it
On a crisp night in a totally deserted stadium, the voices could be heard loud and clear – and Hardaker was consistently one of the loudest
Halfway through the first half, the breakneck pace seemed to take its toll as errors began to creep in: Saints sent off full blast, French pass hovered over the line sideline there was even a collision between James Graham and referee Chris Kendall
Jonny Lomax appeared to be an early victim of the ferocity as he received treatment for a leg injury but ex-Orrell St James junior fought back and managed to deliver the breakthrough, piercing the Wigan defense to send Lachlan Coote for a try which he converted just after the half hour
Wigan’s response was swift and impressive Greenwood came off the bench and immediately made an impact, piercing and placing the platform for Leuluai to pass a ball through for Jake Bibby to take to the ground in the corner
Hardaker was wide with the conversion, giving the hosts a slim two point advantage at the break
The tone continued into the second half, and the longer it lasted, the more it felt like a high-stakes muscular flashing competition A Saints error near their own line gave Wigan the gold position from which Leuluai snuck in for his first try of the season to put his team forward for the first time
But Hardaker was off-target again, keeping Wigan’s two-point advantage as the game entered the final quarter
It wasn’t the kind of game for fancy footwork, but the Frenchman provided it anyway, flamboyant on the straight sideline after a neat tie from Leuluai and Willie Isa
A three-try-to-one lead should be comfortable, but with Hardaker out of the frame again they led just 12-6 Hastings, however, made the game safe moments later, combining with Greenwood to lean in for a try
Hardaker’s first conversion of the night closed a 12-point gap between the teams with eight minutes remaining and they finished strong, even when they were 12 men away once Greenwood sinned
St Helens: Coote; Makinson, Naiqama, Welsby, Grace; Lomax, Fages; Graham, Roby, Lees, Taia, Bentley, Knowles Submarines: McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Peyroux, Amor, Paulo
Wigan: French; Bibby, Hardaker, Gildart, J Burgess; Leuluai, Hastings; Bullock, Powell, Singleton, Isa, Farrell, Partington Submarines: Flower, Greenwood, Clubb, Smithies
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St Helens RFC, Wigan Warriors, Super League, Zak Hardaker, Thomas Leuluai, Lachlan Coote
World News – UK – St Helens 6 Wigan Warriors 18
Associated title :
– St Helens 6 Wigan Warriors 18
– Live: St Helens v Wigan Warriors
– St Helens slides to win in a thrilling derby encounter
– Wigan Go Top With Derby WIn
– St Helens 6-18 Wigan: Warriors Defeat Saints Rivals
– St Helens
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com