Wigan secured the leading position in the Betfred Super League with a record‑breaking twelfth consecutive win, comfortably dispatching a determined Wakefield side 26‑12 at the Brick Community Stadium. Coach Matt Peet’s outfit capitalised on a cascade of handling mistakes from the visitors to build a 20‑point advantage by halftime, and they held firm when Wakefield rallied, thanks in particular to a game‑changing interception by Jai Field just after the hour mark. The timing of Wigan’s ascent to the top of the table sends a clear warning to their rivals, especially long‑time front‑runners Leeds, who now face added pressure as they travel to York on Sunday. Peet lauded his players’ 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’s defeat marked their fourth straight loss. They began brightly and were denied an early try when Oliver Pratt sent Max Jowitt over the line, only for the referee to rule a knock‑on in the grounding process.
A few minutes later Wakefield managed to stay level after a rare mishap from Bevan French, who inadvertently passed to Zach Eckersley in the corner, allowing the visitors to equalise. Wigan’s dominance was evident early. Luke Thompson threatened to score, while both teams battled fiercely for the first fifteen minutes without any points.
Then, capitalising on two Wakefield handling errors, Wigan struck three tries in ten minutes, establishing an almost unassailable lead. French punished a sloppy pass from Jowitt by powering over the halfway line for the opening score. Six minutes later a penalty pass set up Kian McDermott, whose superb delivery enabled Liam Marshall to touch down in the corner.
Marshall’s second try followed swiftly after another Wakefield error, and three successful kicks from Adam Keighran, combined with a late‑half penalty, sent the hosts into the break with four scores. Although the visitors appeared resigned to another defeat, they showed great character at the start of the second half.
A sustained period of pressure saw them narrow the margin on the 52‑minute mark when Jake Trueman’s clever kick eluded French, giving Corey Hall the chance to cross the line. Wakefield pressed again after a penalty, and a repeat set could have further reduced the gap, but Hall’s foot slipped into touch as he attempted to flick the ball back for Jowitt, who then scored.
The final blow came when a loose ball from Mike McMeeken was scooped up by Jai Field, who sprinted the length of the field to score Wigan’s fourth try. A late effort from Wakefield’s Ky Rodwell made the final scoreline a little more respectable.
Wakefield head coach Daryl Powell was vocal about 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 other Super League action, the Leigh Leopards continued their playoff push with a crushing 62‑10 victory over the Bradford Bulls. Adam Cook was the star, amassing 30 points by converting all 11 of his kicks and scoring two tries, while Leigh piled on 48 points in a one‑sided 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, and the second half began with Bradford fumbling the kickoff, giving Innes Senior an easy corner try.
Leigh’s onslaught continued unabated. Lachlan Lam initiated a move in the 48th minute that culminated in a try, then set up Cook, who chased down his own kick.
Senior added a second try, Umyla Hanley finished a brilliant long pass from Lam, and Joe Ofahengaue completed another fluid move with over ten minutes remaining. Cook later broke away for his second try, and Lam capped off an outstanding individual performance with a second score of his own.
Bradford’s consolation came from Eliot Peposhi. It was Leigh’s fourth consecutive win, following a triumph over Leeds Rhinos the previous week. Head coach Adrian Lam told Sky Sports, “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.” The injury‑hit Bulls, now languishing at the bottom of the table, heard from head coach Kurt Haggerty: “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 live this season, with two games each round shown exclusively live, while the remaining five fixtures will air on Sky Sports+.