Wakefield Trinity 16-24 Wigan Warriors: Liam Marshall hat-trick fires visitors up to second
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 01/09/19 6:54pm
Liam Marshall led the way as Wigan Warriors went second in the Super League table with a 24-16 win away to Wakefield Trinity on Sunday.
Marshall ran in a hat-trick and Zak Hardaker kicked four goals as the in-form Warriors notched their fifth victory in a row, and their 10th from their past 11 matches, at the Mobile Rocket Stadium.
Trinity remain in a relegation battle with just two rounds left as they sit on 20 points, only two above the bottom-placed London Broncos.
Wigan started well and Liam Farrell got over the line in the sixth minute, but the try was chalked off because of a forward pass. Then match turned heated seven minutes later and a melee erupted after a high tackle by Morgan Smithies.
Four minutes later Joe Burgess was held up as he tried to score in the corner. But the visitors would not be stopped and Marshall bagged the first try of the afternoon.
Trinity spilled the ball near the Wigan try-line and Marshall scooped the ball up, racing away 85 metres to score. Hardaker added the extras to make it 6-0.
It got worse for Wakefield in the 24th minute when Bill Tupou limped from the field, then Marshall struck again for his second score of the afternoon.
Adam Tangata knocked the ball on and in the next set George Williams floated a lovely cut-out pass to the winger to dive over for an unconverted try.
The home team hit back through James Batchelor after Jacob Miller grubbered in behind and the second row won the race to the ball. Danny Brough converted the try to cut the score back to 10-6.
However, with eight minutes left in the first half Trinity forward Chris Annakin was stretchered off with a serious injury.
Then Hardaker added a penalty goal from right in front to extend the lead back to six points, but right on half-time Miller struck to close the gap once more.
Morgan Escare, on loan from Wigan to Wakefield, broke down the left wing from Kelepi Tanginao's pass, finding Miller in support who twisted and turned his way over. Brough's cool conversion tied it up at the interval.
In the second half, it remained a tight and scrappy contest dominated by defence and the Warriors were struggled to crack Trinity's defensive line despite repeated attempts.
Joe Greenwood was held up in Wakefield's in-goal and Wakefield would not buckle, until Marshall took a quick tap in the 57th minute.
The winger busted through the line and flew 80 metres downfield to sensationally bring up his hat-trick. Hardaker added the conversion to gift the visitors an 18-12 lead.
But Trinity were not done yet and Ben Jones-Bishop gave them hope when he crossed off Escare's smart kick. Yet Brough was unable to convert from the sideline, leaving Wigan two points in front with 10 minutes left.
The visitors then had the final say as Sam Powell barged over in the closing seconds and Hardaker converted it to seal the Warriors' victory.
