Wigan cemented their position at the summit of the Betfred Super League after delivering a club‑record twelfth consecutive win, comfortably dispatching a resilient Wakefield side 26‑12 at the Brick Community Stadium. The hosts, under the guidance of Matt Peet, capitalised on a cascade of handling mistakes from the visitors to build a commanding 20‑point lead by halftime. A decisive interception by Jai Field just after the hour mark quashed any hopes Wakefield harboured of a comeback and secured the win for Wigan. The timing and manner of Wigan's ascent to pole position sends a clear warning to their rivals, especially long‑standing leaders Leeds, who now face mounting pressure as they prepare to travel to York on Sunday.
Peet lauded his squad’s resilience, noting, "I’m very pleased with how the game unfolded. The first half was intense and went set for set for a long time and we came out the other side of that.
In the second half we got a little bit sloppy but we had to defend for the most part and it probably did us good. Wakefield throw so much threat at you and they never stop asking questions." Wakefield endured their fourth straight defeat. They began brightly and were visibly frustrated when an early try appeared to be theirs; Oliver Pratt sent Max Jowitt over the line, only for officials to rule a knock‑on in the grounding process.
Earlier, a rare miscue from Bevan French had allowed Zach Eckersley to touch down after a forward pass, keeping the scores level for a brief period. Wigan’s dominance was evident early.
Luke Thompson came close to scoring for the home side while Wakefield benefited from a low‑scoring, high‑quality contest that lasted the first fifteen minutes without any points. However, Wigan swiftly turned the tide, exploiting two Wakefield errors to notch three tries within a ten‑minute span, creating an almost insurmountable lead. The first score came when French ruthlessly punished a careless pass from Jowitt, powering over the halfway line.
Six minutes later, a penalty pass set up Kian McDermott, whose superb ball delivery allowed Liam Marshall to finish in the corner for the second try. Marshall’s try was almost immediately followed by a third, again stemming from a handling error by Wakefield. Three successful kicks from Adam Keighran, combined with a penalty just before the break, left Wigan comfortably ahead at halftime with four tries to their name.
Although Wakefield seemed resigned to another loss, they displayed commendable grit at the start of the second half. A sustained period of pressure reduced the deficit on the 52nd minute when Jake Trueman’s clever kick evaded French, giving Corey Hall the opportunity to cross the line.
A subsequent penalty and repeat set gave Wakefield another chance, but Hall’s foot slipped into touch as he attempted to flick the ball back for Jowitt, thwarting the effort. The visitors’ hopes were finally extinguished when a loose ball from Mike McMeeken was snatched up by Jai Field, who sprinted the length of the field to score Wigan’s fourth try. Wakefield’s Ky Rodwell added a late score, making the final tally more respectable but unable to change the outcome.
Head coach Daryl Powell of Wakefield criticised the officiating, stating, "I do think the refereeing department have to ask themselves a couple of questions. There's two teams that were top class but there's other parts of the game that weren't.
I'll be asking my team to get better from tonight and I think [the officials] should be doing the same." In a separate fixture, Leigh Leopards continued their push for a playoff berth with a crushing 62‑10 victory over the Bradford Bulls. Adam Cook was the star, amassing 30 points by converting all 11 attempts and crossing for two tries, while Leigh piled on 48 points in a dominant second half. Robbie Mulhern opened the scoring for Leigh in the 12th minute, with Cook adding the conversion and a penalty before a handling lapse allowed Waqa Blake to score for Bradford. Louis Brogan extended Leigh’s lead before halftime, setting the tone for a relentless second half.
Bradford fumbled the kickoff, enabling Innes Senior to score in the corner, and Leigh’s attack roared on. Lachlan Lam initiated a move in the 48th minute that culminated in a try, later assisting Cook, who chased down his own kick.
Senior added a second try, while Umyla Hanley finished a brilliant long pass from Lam, and Joe Ofahengaue completed a fluid sequence with over ten minutes remaining. Cook then broke away for his second try, and Lam capped off his outstanding individual performance with another score.
Bradford’s Eliot Peposhi managed a consolation try, but the damage was done. It marked Leigh’s fourth consecutive win, following a victory over Leeds Rhinos the previous week. Head coach Adrian Lam praised his side, saying, "Really happy with it, obviously a lot of confidence from last week's win.
I thought throughout that second half especially we were unbelievable. Cook kicking at 100 per cent certainly helps. He's been under pressure during the season at times but a nice week for him to find his form." Bradford, plagued by injuries, slipped to the bottom of the table.
Coach Kurt Haggerty reflected, "It was a very tough night. We competed for 40 minutes like we have done for the majority of the season. We got to a point where we were so many bodies down but some of the [defence] wasn't acceptable that we tossed up in the second half. We won't feel sorry for ourselves, I won't let the group feel sorry for ourselves.
We've got three tasty games to go and we'll keep scrapping." Sky Sports will broadcast every Super League match this season, with two fixtures each round shown live exclusively on the main channel and the remaining five available on Sky Sports+.