Wigan end Warrington's Grand Final hopes with 28-0 thrashing
Last Updated: 22/08/15 12:50pm
Wigan ended Warrington's Grand Final hopes with a 28-0 thrashing at the Halliwell Jones on Friday.
There were two tries from John Bateman as well as efforts from Liam Farrell, Tony Clubb and young star Oliver Gildart to go with eight points from the boot of man of the match Matty Bowen.
The loss means Warrington are all but out of the race for a place in the Grand Final as they were force to go scoreless for the first time ever at the Halliwell Jones.
The first half started with frenetic inaccuracy from the Warrington defence and frenzied attack from Wigan.
Barely a minute was on the clock before the referee had his first chat with the two captains for a flare-up that took place right at the very beginning of the game.
The video referee was on hand shortly thereafter when it looked like Wigan may have scored, but the on-field decision of no try stood.
The first try of the match followed soon after that though, and it was one that will inspire plenty of conversation between fans from both sides throughout the weekend. Wigan put the kick through and Stefan Ratchford appeared to have grounded the ball before spilling it, but the referee sent it upstairs for a second look.
The video referee decided that while Ratchford had grounded the ball, he had not done so with sufficient intent, therefore when he spilled it and Farrell grabbed it and dotted down, the try was awarded.
Wigan then furthered their cause with a second try to make it 12-0. There was a break from Bowen who ghosted through the defence before being brought down in front of the Warrington line. A quick play of the ball followed and the ball found its way to Matty Smith who ran up to the line of defence and passed to Clubb on the inside for the Warriors' second try of the night.
With that the rain arrived at the Halliwell Jones which brought with it a host of handling errors from Warrington in particular. The home side were able to hang on despite it though, as the score remained 12-0 at the break.
The second half was just as problematic for anyone trying to handle the ball, but it didn't stop Wigan from piling on the points gradually.
First Bateman threw a dummy that sent four defenders the wrong way for a try before a Bowen kick was tapped down by Dom Manfredi to a grateful Bateman to notch up his second.
A long-ranging move started by Sean O'Loughlin in which he broke up the field sent Williams flying up the left ended with a Gildart try in the corner, sealing a big win for the visitors as the Warrington season came to a virtual end in front of their home fans.
