Saints were beaten 30-10 by Wigan in the Derby at the DW Stadium on Friday evening.
β«π§ ππΌππππ πππΌπ ππππ! β«π§
The League Leaders' Shield is in sight and this is your Saints team tasked with securing it against @wiganwarriorsrl in the πππ«ππ²… π
π @Louiems14 makes his 4β£0β£0β£th @superleague appearance! π#COYS
— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) August 26, 2022
Despite a number of key personnel absent, including Tommy Makinson due to a minor knee injury, Saints dominated the opening five minutes and took an early lead. Curtis Sironen’s pass put stand-in centre Joe Batchelor through a gap down the left edge before he was tackled. Off the back of it Saints kept the ball alive as Jonny Lomax found Batchelor again and he was stopped as he went for the line before Wigan were caught offside. Saints opted for the two and Lomax nailed it, 2-0 Saints led.
Wigan worked the ball out right off the back of a penalty in Saints territory and after Ben Thaler awarded the hosts a penalty for a high shot, Bevan French evaded the challenge of Jon Bennison and scored in the right corner. The try was awarded after a video referee review. Harry Smith converted, 6-2.
Wigan increased their lead midway through the first period. An offload in midfield found Smith and he offloaded on his inside for Jai Field who raced away to score under the sticks. Smith added the extras from in front of the sticks, 12-2.
Keep battling, Saints! πͺ#COYS pic.twitter.com/IORr50mKPS
— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) August 26, 2022
Saints could have levelled in the 26th minute as Konrad Hurrell tried to bury his way over on the last tackle, but the video referee judged that the powerful centre was held up over the Warriors line.
Wigan added to their lead just before the break. The hosts dropped the ball, but the referee judged it went backwards and the play resulted in Liam Farrell making a break down the middle of the Saints pack and raced away to score under the sticks. Smith converted, 18-2.
HT: πβͺ Wigan 18-2 Saints β«π§
We trail at the break in the Derby.#COYS
— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) August 26, 2022
Saints started to build pressure in the opening quarter of the second half, but some unforced errors on the Wigan goal-line kept the score at 18-2. The nearest Saints came to grabbing our first try saw Lomax held up short before he offloaded to Joey Lussick but like, Lomax he was held up.
The video referee was called into action just before the halfway point of the second half, Agnatius Paasi crashed through the Wigan defence from close range and ended up over the try-line, the on-field decision of no try was held though, 18-2 it remained.
Saints weren’t to be denied for much longer though. Later on in the set as the ball was driven back towards the posts, Lussick spotted a gap from dummy half and squeezed through to score our opening try of the contest. Ben Davies took the kick but dragged it wide, 18-6.
Joey Lussick gets it over the line for St Helens! πͺ
Ben Davies can't convert though π¬ pic.twitter.com/LwJdt7bXFH
— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) August 26, 2022
Wigan grabbed another against the run of play with twelve minutes to go. Saints fumbled the ball in Wigan territory, Liam Marshall picked it up and raced away down the wing, Davies somehow tracked him down and tackled him 5 metres out, but it was only momentarily as Marshall got up, ducked under the challenge of Lomax and planted the ball down. Smith converted, 24-6.
Saints replied with six minutes to go. The ball was worked down the short side on the left as Lomax found Sironen and he threw a cut-out pass to Batchelor and he went over a Wigan defender before planting the ball down. Davies missed the conversion, 24-10.
As Saints continued to push forward, Wigan scored with the final play of the game as French found some space down our left and raced clear. Smith added the two meaning Saints will have to wait until Monday, at least, to try and wrap up the League Leadersβ Shield at home against Wakefield.
FT: πβͺ Wigan 30-10 Saints β«π§
Not our day in the Derby.#COYS
— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) August 26, 2022
Match Summary
Wigan Warriors Team:Β Jai Field, Bevan French, Kai Pearce-Paul, Willie Isa, Liam Marshall, Cade Cust, Harry Smith, Brad Singleton, Brad O’Neill, Liam Byrne, Liam Farrell, John Bateman, Morgan Smithies.
Interchanges:Β Patrick Mago, Kaide Ellis, Mike Cooper, Joe Shorrocks.
Tries:Β Bevan French (11, 80), Jai Field (23), Liam Farrell (34), Liam Marshall (68)
Conversions:Β Harry Smith (4 from 4)
Saints Team: Jack Welsby, Josh Simm, Konrad Hurrell, Joe Batchelor, Jonathan Bennison, Ben Davies, Jonny Lomax, Alex Walmsley, James Roby, Matty Lees, Joe Batchelor, James Bell, Curtis Sironen, Morgan Knowles.
Interchanges:Β Joey Lussick, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Agnatius Paasi, Jake Wingfield.
Tries:Β Joey Lussick (58), Joe Batchelor (74)
Conversions:Β Ben Davies (0 from 2)
Penalties:Β Jonny Lomax (1 from 1)
HT:Β 18-2
FT: 30-10
Attendance:Β 19.210
