Wigan secured the top spot on the Betfred Super League ladder with a club‑record twelfth consecutive win, dispatching a resilient Wakefield side 26‑12 at the Brick Community Stadium. Matt Peet’s men capitalised on a cascade of handling mistakes from the visitors, building a 20‑point lead by halftime and then fending off a spirited comeback thanks to a length‑of‑field interception by Jai Field just after the hour mark, which sealed the triumph. The timing of Wigan’s surge to pole position sends a clear warning to their rivals, especially the long‑standing leaders Leeds, who now face added pressure as they travel to York on Sunday.
Peet praised his squad’s 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, it was a fourth straight defeat. They began brightly and were controversially denied an early try when Oliver Pratt appeared to have forced Max Jowitt over the line, only for the referee to rule a knock‑on in the grounding process.
Earlier, a rare mistake 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.
After a tentative start that saw both sides exchange possession without scoring, the Red Devils exploited two Wakefield errors within ten minutes to rack up three tries, putting the game out of reach. French, playing for Wakefield, punished a sloppy pass from Jowitt by sprinting over the halfway line for the opening score.
Six minutes later, a penalty pass found Kian McDermott, whose superb delivery enabled Liam Marshall to dive into the corner for the second try. Marshall’s effort was quickly followed by a third try, again born from a Wakefield handling lapse, and a fourth penalty from Adam Keighran before the interval gave Wigan a comfortable four‑point lead. The second half saw Wakefield refuse to surrender.
They applied sustained pressure and reduced the deficit on the 52nd minute when Jake Trueman’s clever kick slipped past French, allowing Corey Hall to cross. A subsequent penalty and another set‑piece gave Wakefield a chance to get even closer, but Hall’s foot wandered into touch as he tried to flick the ball back for Jowitt, nullifying the opportunity. 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 touch down Wigan’s fourth try.
A late effort from Wakefield’s Ky Rodwell added a consolation point, leaving the final tally at 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, the Leigh Leopards continued their playoff push with a dominant 62‑10 demolition of the Bradford Bulls. Adam Cook was the star, amassing 30 points by converting all 11 goal attempts and crossing for two tries, while Leigh piled on 48 points in a second‑half onslaught. Robbie Mulhern opened the scoring for Leigh in the 12th minute, with Cook adding the conversion and a penalty before a handling error from the Leopards allowed Bradford’s Waqa Blake to score in the corner.
Louis Brogan restored Leigh’s momentum before halftime, making it 14‑4 at the break. The second half began explosively when Bradford fumbled the kickoff, enabling Innes Senior to dive over in the corner. Leigh then unleashed a torrent of tries: Lachlan Lam initiated a move in the 48th minute that culminated in Cook’s second try, Senior added a second, Umyla Hanley finished off Lam’s long pass, and Joe Ofahengaue completed a flowing sequence with more than ten minutes remaining. Cook later broke away for his second try, and Lam capped his outstanding individual performance with another score, while Bradford’s Eliot Peposhi managed a late consolation.
Leigh’s fourth consecutive win, following a victory over Leeds Rhinos the previous week, was hailed by head coach Adrian Lam, who 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 described the night as “very tough,” noting that his side fought hard for 40 minutes but eventually succumbed to a defensive collapse in the second half. He added, “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.” Overall, the round highlighted Wigan’s relentless consistency and Leigh’s attacking flair, while Wakefield and Bradford must regroup quickly to avoid slipping further down the standings. Sky Sports will broadcast every Super League match this season, with two games each round shown live and the remaining five available on Sky Sports+.