Wigan win their sixth Grand Final as they seal a 12-4 win over Warrington at Old Trafford. Here’s our verdict…
MATCH DETAILS
Wigan got the first half underway but conceded the first try of the game, as former Warriorย Josh Charnley went over for Warrington in the corner. From the scrum, Chris Hill carried and went wide with a long skip pass to Stefan Ratchford and set up Charnley. Tyrone Roberts missed the conversion.
Just before the half-hour mark Wigan levelled the scores through Oliverย Gildart as he created the space with some great footwork to get past the first line of the Wire defence and then slipped the pass to Dominic Manfredi who was free to score. Sam Tomkins missed the conversion.
Wigan extended their lead with another four-points afterย fantastic kick from George Williams which tricked the Warrington defence and Tom Davies was there to finish it off.
Wigan held on to their lead for the remainder of the first half. Warrington had the possession to climb back but their handling errors denied them.
Warrington got the second half underway and put on the pressure on Wigan’s defence. Both sides held on to their scores for the third-quarter of the game but overall the match looked more like a game of chess.
With ten minutes to go Tomkins had to chance to extend the deficit to six points with an ambitious penalty kick from 48 metres out. Fortunately he got the distance but the accuracy failed him.
But in the final minutes of the game, Manfredi scored hisย second and won the Grand Final for Wigan which came from a great pass from Tomkins which missed out Gildart who evaded the tackle of Tom Lineham and dived into the corner.
The last play of the game went to George King who tried to get a consolation try but Robert Hicks spotted a fumble and so the decision was a no-try.
WHAT WE’VE LEARNED
Shaun Wane got his fairytale ending
In the ultimate arm-wrestle Wigan got their sixth grand final and head coach Shaun finishes his Wigan career in fine fashion.
Their defence played a vital part once again in the second-half which held Warrington to their four points.
Warrington lacked the attacking threat
The Wire are arguably one of the most consistent sides in the history of rugby league but their only problem is bringing home the trophies.
Despite completing more of their sets than Wigan, the way they finished their sets weren’t good enough to test Wigan.
It wasn’t a good way to end the 2018 for the Wire as they failed to win both the Challenge Cup and Grand Final.
Man Of The Match- name (Dom Manfredi)
Dom Manfredi bags the award for his brace and contribution to Wigan’s defence.
Overall it was the team around him th
Wigan Warriors vs Warrington Wolves. Photo credit: Betfred Super League.at stuck out and showed their top-class quality.
THE RESULT
Wigan Warriors 12
Tries:ย Manfredi (2), Davies
Goals:ย Tomkins (0/4)
Drop Goals:ย n/a
Warrington Wolves 4
Tries:ย Charnley
Goals:ย Roberts (0/1)
Drop Goals:ย n/a
SQUADS
Wigan Warriors:ย Tomkins, Manfredi, Gildart, Sarginson, Davies, Williams, Leuluai, Navarrete, Powell, Flower, Greenwood, Bateman, O’Loughlin.
Interchanges:ย Escare, Sutton, Farrell, Clubb.
Warrington Wolves:ย Ratchford, Lineham, Goodwin, King, Charnley, Brown, Roberts, Hill, Clark, Cooper, Thompson, Hughes, Westwood.
Interchanges:ย Philbin, Murdoch-Masila, King, Patton.
Referee: Robert Hicks
