If you are a Wigan Warriors supporter and a keen believer in omens, it may be wise to cancel any plans you had for the first weekend of October.
The Warriors are back on top of Super League, albeit for potentially just 48 hours before Leeds Rhinos get the chance to return serve on Sunday in York. But this was a record-breaking night for one of rugby league’s great clubs, who have now set a club record for most consecutive league wins in the summer era after a 12th straight triumph, this time against Wakefield.
The three previous time they had hit 11 consecutive wins before this season were in 1998, 2013 and 2023. The final outcome in each of those years? Wigan were ultimately crowned Super League champions – and few would back against that becoming a reality again at Old Trafford in October after another impressive display.
Perhaps the biggest compliment you can pay Wigan right now is how rudimentary they are making games of this magnitude look and feel. Wakefield have been magnificent this season and while their own title charge has stuttered with back-to-back defeats of late, Trinity are no mugs these days. Yet Wigan ultimately made this look and feel straightforward.
Wakefield held their own in the early exchanges and underlined why they are not to be written off come the playoffs. They showed that again with a second half effort when the game felt lost. But these crucial matches are defined by big moments and in Bevan French and Jai Field, Wigan arguably have Super League’s two most outstanding players who can decide matches.
French justified that praise when he opened the scoring with a scintillating long-range break after a Wakefield attack broke down. That was the moment that swung it the way of the hosts, with French’s try the first of three in nine minutes that put Wigan in control.
Liam Marshall was the beneficiary of two wonderful pieces of play to score in the corner on two occasions and with Adam Keighran converting both before adding a penalty on the half-time hooter, Wigan had rode out a difficult opening 20 minutes to lead by 20 at the interval. It was a passage of play few, if any, sides could have coped with.
But as mentioned, this Wakefield side are a credible threat come the play-offs, with their place in the top six already assured in all probability. They were much-improved after half-time and Corey Hall’s try to get them on the board was the least they deserved. A period of sustained pressure from the visitors then followed and had they scored again, we could have had a grandstand finale.
However, one of those crucial moments arrived with 15 minutes left. Wakefield spilled the ball while probing the Wigan line and Field collected, nonchalantly stepped around Jack Sinfield and raced the length of the field to put the result beyond doubt. It is a script we have seen so many times before, Field and French starring: but it does not get boring.
There was another consolation for Wakefield with ten minutes left when Ky Rodwell crashed over, and they showed enough to suggest they will be a threat in the play-offs. But Wigan, without being on optimal form, showed right now, there is only one team really to beat.
The Wigan coach, Matt Peet said: “The run is going to end at some point, but hopefully it’s not the next game. I’ve got a group I love working with. There’s a lot left in us but some of the good stuff comes through the imperfection. We can certainly be slicker but we were very hard to break down against a good team.”
“It was a tough game we were in all the way through,” Wakefield’s coach, Daryl Powell, admitted. “We talked about their speed and what happens if you give them loose ball and we gave them two tries when we had the ball. Ultimately that was the difference, but we should be proud of our effort.”
