There have been times already this year when you have wondered just how all-conquering this Wigan Warriors side could become, and whether anyone could stop them. After all, the NRL champions, Penrith Panthers, couldn’t, so who could?
As the old saying goes though: never write off St Helens. Since last July, nobody has been able to lay a glove on Wigan. They bulldozed their way to the Super League title at the end of last year and have continued where they left off in 2024, winning their first five league games, a Challenge Cup tie and the aforementioned World Club Challenge against Penrith.
Victory here would have taken them to 16 consecutive league wins, a number last achieved by, you guessed it, St Helens, all the way back in 2008. And for large portions of an absorbing and full-blooded derby, it looked entirely possible they would achieve it, not least when Bevan French scored the game’s opening try after a defensively dominated first 55 minutes.
But big games like these can so often swing on big moments. And having survived a 10-minute period with Tyler Dupree in the sin-bin during the first half, Wigan were not as fortunate second time around, when Liam Byrne was sent off for a shoulder charge which made contact with the head of Mark Percival with 17 minutes to go.
At that stage, Wigan were leading 4-2 courtesy of French’s try and the defensive brilliance of the reigning champions left you wondering if the Saints could find anything to unpick their line.
But Byrne’s red card shifted the momentum firmly into St Helens’ favour and two tries in the final seven minutes sparked wild celebrations and brought Wigan’s winning run to an end.
“I’m disappointed to lose any game, but particularly on Good Friday, which means a lot to us all,” the beaten coach, Matt Peet, reflected. His St Helens counterpart, Paul Wellens, said: “When these games are close and when they are nail-biting like that, there is no better spectacle. We lost this fixture last year and it stung. Certainly, after today, it’s all better.”
The fact there were only two points scored in a pulsating first half underlined how defence was firmly on top. It was Mark Percival’s penalty that nudged the Saints into a slender 2-0 lead, an advantage they couldn’t extend despite Wigan being reduced to 12 men for 10 minutes when Dupree was sent to the sin-bin after leading with the forearm in a tackle.
And despite Wigan absorbing so much pressure defensively in that opening period, it was they who emerged stronger after half-time. They took the lead in brilliant fashion too, with French kicking through the Saints’ defensive line before grounding miraculously under pressure.
The game needed something special to open up either side: and French duly delivered when it mattered most to make it 4-2.
But when Byrne was correctly sent off, Wigan’s defence couldn’t hold firm any longer. With more pressure on their own line, they were finally breached when Lewis Dodd’s pinpoint kick was collected superbly by Tommy Makinson. Even though Jonny Lomax hooked the conversion, the Saints led by two.
Wigan simply ran out of energy when it came to trying to find a late winner. Instead they were undone again when the Saints kept the ball alive well and Konrad Hurrell forced his way over from close range to send the home fans away happy – and put St Helens top of the league in the process.
