Wigan are no strangers to creating a slice of rugby league history and, while the backdrop was certainly different to what they have been used to, this was another night that will be etched into the record books for all the right reasons.
Any doubt over whether or not Wigan would get the victory that secured a second consecutive League Leader’s Shield – they are only the second team in Super League history to achieve that feat – was in effect removed earlier in the week due to the nature of the squad Salford Red Devils announced for this game. While Wigan get a bye through the opening week of the playoffs by virtue of a top-two finish, Salford know they must contest a sudden-death game to keep their season alive next week. Instead of risking anything, the Red Devils changed their entire lineup, resting all their big names and awarding eight debuts. The outcome, with that in mind, was entirely expected.
A full-strength Wigan side were always going to get the job done, it was simply a case of how many they would win by. They ruthlessly put an inexperienced Salford side to the sword and arguably left more points out there than the 64 they ultimately scored on the night to reassert their dominance as the premier club side in the game.
This victory means they remain in possession of the four major trophies there are available to win: the League Leaders’ Shield, the Challenge Cup, the World Club Challenge and the one that will be defended over the next four weeks – the Super League title they won at Old Trafford. That now becomes their next goal as they prepare for a semi-final in a fortnight’s time.
“I’m very proud, this means a lot,” their coach, Matt Peet, said. “We all know it’s not the end of the season and it’s not the one everyone wants to win but it’s still very important.” Peet has now won six trophies since taking charge at the start of 2022 and five in the last year alone, and there is no doubting the Warriors are peaking at exactly the right time of the season once again.
They were 28-0 up by half-time thanks to tries from Liam Marshall, the outstanding Jai Field, Bevan French, Zach Eckersley and Jake Wardle. Had they not perhaps forced their hand a touch too far in the closing stages of the first half, the lead could have been even greater, too.
Wigan fans will have been delighted to see their key duo of Field and French shine here as the season approaches its business end. There is no doubting they are a better side when that duo are fit and firing, and the fact French finished with two tries here and Field ended the night with a hat-trick is a stark warning to the rest that the reigning champions are primed to defend their title.
The second half, given what had happened by the break, was somewhat academic. There were six more Wigan tries, many of them in the final quarter as Salford’s young side began to wilt.
Marshall scored a stunning breakaway before Field crossed for his second. A quick-fire double from Kruise Leeming brought up the half-century, before Field completed his hat-trick in the dying moments.
By then though, the champagne was already on ice. Attention for Wigan now turns to the big one: the task of defending the Super League crown.
