Warriors crush tame Bulls

Wigan kick-started their Super League campaign with a convincing 44-10 win over struggling Bradford at the JJB Stadium.

Pat Richards scored 20 points, not missing a kick in the process, and the Warriors ran in seven tries as they routed the visiting side.

Having got off the mark with a hard-fought win at Harlequins the previous week, Brian Noble's side looked back to their best.

In contrast, opposite number Steve McNamara will come under instense pressure with Bradford still looking for their first win of the season.

Dream start

Wigan went ahead when Amos Roberts broke into space after nine minutes. The Bradford defence was exposed and George Carmont picked out Pat Richards, who touched down between the posts unopposed.

Gareth Hock broke through a tackle and across the whitewash nine minutes later to continue the Warriors' dream start. Richards nailed a difficult conversion from out wide to put Wigan into a 12-point lead.

Youngster Sam Tomkins made a fantastic break shortly afterwards but Wigan failed to capitalise on the opportunity when Hock knocked-on.

Bradford threatened when Australian veteran Steve Menzies ran free but as he looked to offload the ball referee Ben Thaler was in the way of his pass.

The Warriors continued to dominate the game with some brilliant, flowing rugby, though, and scored their third try when Hock broke through and handed the ball off to Carmont, who left Richards with a straightforward kick.

Three minutes after the break, Paul Sykes conceded a penalty for interference within kicking distance. Richards maintained his perfect record, increasing the lead to a commanding 20-0.

It could have been even worse had Hock not gone for glory himself in a three-on-one opportunity, his run being stopped by Bulls full-back Michael Platt.

Bradford gave themselves a glimmer of hope on 48 minutes when a brilliant offload from Menzies created space for Platt and Ben Jeffries, who played in Sheriffe in the corner.

Made amends

Hock then made amends for his mistake when he powered over the line to score his second try and stop the Bulls' comeback in its tracks. The score was duly converted by Richards to put the game beyond doubt.

The visitors' misery continued when Wayne Godwin was stretchered off the pitch with a suspected broken leg after he tried to get in the way of an Iafeta Paleaaesina run.

Wigan added to their lead when replacement Harrison Hansen bagged a brace, his second coming after the Bradford defence was cut to shreds by a Mark Riddell break.

Paleaaesina joined the party on 67 minutes when he rammed his way over the line. Richards' conversion gave Wigan a 40-point lead after a short delay while the video referee was consulted to confirm the ball was touched down.

Menzies did score his first Bradford try in the dying minutes of the game but it was of no real delight for the travelling supporters after they had seen their team well beaten.