Wigan secured the premier spot on the Betfred Super League ladder with a club‑record twelfth consecutive triumph, comfortably beating a resilient Wakefield side 26‑12 at the Brick Community Stadium. Matt Peet’s outfit capitalised on a cascade of handling mistakes from the visitors, building a 20‑point lead by the break and then fending off a spirited comeback when Jai Field intercepted a long pass just after the hour mark to seal the win. The timing of Wigan’s surge to the top of the table sends a clear warning to their rivals, especially long‑time leaders Leeds, who now face added pressure ahead of their upcoming trip to York on Sunday. Peet praised his players’ determination, 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." For Wakefield, the defeat marked a fourth straight loss.
They began brightly, even having an early try disallowed when Oliver Pratt appeared to ground the ball for Max Jowitt, only for officials to rule a knock‑on in the grounding process. A few minutes later, Wakefield benefitted from a rare error by Bevan French, who inadvertently sent Zach Eckersley over the corner from a forward pass, keeping the scores level early on. Wigan, however, quickly turned the tide.
Within ten minutes of the half‑hour mark they scored three tries, exploiting two Wakefield handling lapses. French punished a careless pass from Jowitt by sprinting over the halfway line for the opening score. Six minutes later, a penalty pass set up Kian McDermott, whose deft ball allowed Liam Marshall to dive into the corner for the second try.
Marshall added a second shortly after, and three successful kicks from Adam Keighran, combined with a late‑half penalty, gave Wigan a comfortable 20‑0 lead at the interval. The second half saw Wakefield refuse to surrender quietly. They applied sustained pressure and, on 52 minutes, Jake Trueman’s clever kick slipped past French, enabling Corey Hall to touch down.
A subsequent penalty and another set piece gave Wakefield another opportunity, but Hall’s foot drifted into touch as he flicked the ball back, denying Max Jowitt a potential try. The decisive moment arrived when a loose ball from Mike McMeeken was scooped up by Jai Field, who raced the length of the field to score Wigan’s fourth try.
Wakefield’s Ky Rodwell added a late score, making the final tally 26‑12. 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 a separate fixture, Leigh Leopards continued their playoff push with a crushing 62‑10 victory over the Bradford Bulls.
Adam Cook was the star, contributing 30 points by converting all 11 attempts and crossing for two tries. Leigh piled on 48 points in the second half alone, underlining their attacking potency.
Robbie Mulhern opened the scoring for Leigh in the 12th minute, with Cook adding the conversion and a penalty. A handling error by the Leopards allowed Bradford’s Waqa Blake to exploit a gap and score in the corner.
Louis Brogan restored Leigh’s momentum before halftime, making it 14‑4 at the break. The second half began with Bradford fumbling the kickoff, giving Innes Senior a quick corner try. From there, Leigh’s attacks came in rapid succession.
Lachlan Lam initiated a move in the 48th minute that culminated in Cook’s second try, while Senior added his second shortly after. Umyla Hanley finished a brilliant long pass from Lam, and Joe Ofahengaue completed another flowing move with just over ten minutes remaining. Cook later broke away for his second try, and Lam capped his own outstanding performance with a second try of his own. Bradford’s lone consolation came from Eliot Peposhi.
Leigh’s victory marked their 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." Bradford, plagued by injuries, remain at the bottom of the table. Coach Kurt Haggerty reflected on the night, saying, "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." The Super League continues to broadcast every match live this season, with two fixtures each round shown exclusively on Sky Sports and the remaining five available via Sky Sports+.