Wigan secured the premier spot on the Betfred Super League ladder with a club‑record twelfth consecutive triumph, comfortably dispatching a valiant 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 cushion by halftime before sealing the win with Jai Field’s long‑range interception just after the hour mark. The timing of Wigan’s surge to the top of the table sends a clear warning to their rivals, particularly long‑time leaders Leeds, who now face mounting pressure as they travel to York on Sunday.
Peet praised 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, meanwhile, suffered their fourth straight defeat. 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. Earlier, a rare mis‑play from Bevan French allowed Zach Eckersley to touch down after a forward pass, briefly keeping the scores level.
Wigan’s early dominance was underscored by a series of errors from the visitors that produced three tries in a ten‑minute spell. French capitalised on a careless pass from Jowitt, powering over the halfway line for the opening score. Six minutes later, a penalty pass set up Kian McDermott, whose precise delivery enabled Liam Marshall to dive into the corner for the second try.
Marshall added a third shortly after, again benefitting from a handling lapse. Three successful kicks from Adam Keighran, coupled with a late‑half penalty, left Wigan ahead 20‑0 at the break.
Despite the bleak outlook, Wakefield displayed character in the second half. At the 52‑minute mark, Jake Trueman’s clever kick slipped past French, giving Corey Hall the chance to cross for a try that narrowed the gap. A subsequent penalty and a repeat set saw Hall almost score again, but his foot drifted into touch as he flicked the ball back for Jowitt, nullifying the opportunity.
The visitors’ hopes were finally extinguished when a loose ball from Mike McMeeken rolled to Jai Field, who sprinted the length of the field to score Wigan’s fourth try. A late effort from Wakefield’s Ky Rodwell added a consolation point, bringing the final tally to 26‑12. After the match, Wakefield head coach Daryl Powell 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, the Leigh Leopards continued their push for a playoff berth with a crushing 62‑10 victory over the Bradford Bulls. Adam Cook was the star, racking up 30 points by converting all 11 kicks 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 mishap allowed Waqa Blake to score for Bradford in the corner.
Louis Brogan extended Leigh’s lead before halftime, making it 14‑4 at the break. The second half began with Bradford fumbling the kickoff, gifting Innes Senior a corner try for Leigh. From there, tries came in rapid succession.
Lachlan Lam initiated a move in the 48th minute that culminated in Cook’s second try, followed by Senior’s second effort. Umyla Hanley finished off Lam’s long pass, and Joe Ofahengaue completed another flowing sequence with just over ten minutes remaining. Cook later broke away for his second try, and Lam capped his superb individual display with a second try of his own.
Bradford’s only consolation came from Eliot Peposhi. It marked Leigh’s fourth consecutive win, following a victory 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, “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 games each round shown live exclusively, while the remaining five fixtures will be available on Sky Sports+.