Wakefield 23 Wigan 36: Depleted Wakefield fail to cling on as leaders Warriors grab late victory

A hat-trick from England winger Josh Charnley laid the platform for the visitors, who had to overcome a spirited, if not injury depleted Wakefield side that led for large periods of the game.

However, it was the Warriors who started the brightest early on, and after Charnley had opened the scoring after a superb ball from centre Darrell Goulding, the same duo struck again just minutes later, with Charnley getting his second – and 20th of the Super League campaign – to put the visitors firmly in control.

That did not last though, and Wakefield – who were without the likes of Paul Aiton and Tim Smith – hit back with a quick-fire double of their own to take an unlikely lead.

After Dean Collis had gone over in the corner, Wildcats captain Danny Kirmond dived over to make it 10-10, with Lee Smith’s second conversion of the afternoon nudging the home side in front.

With half-time rapidly approaching, Wigan thought they had retaken the lead when Chris Tuson forced his way over the line, but referee Thierry Alibert chalked off the try.

That proved telling, as Wakefield raced down the field, and Kyle Wood produced a moment of magic to ghost his way over from 30 metres out. Smith then added a drop-goal right on the hooter to give the home side a seven-point cushion at the break.

Wigan were lacking energy and ideas in the first-half, but whatever coach Shaun Wane said at the break worked, as the Warriors hit back immediately in the second half, courtesy of Harrison Hansen’s try.

The Warriors had visibly stepped up the pace, but Wakefield hit back with a try of their own; Kirmond grabbing his second of the afternoon to restore the seven-point cushion.

The topsy-turvy nature of the game continued, though, and with 20 minutes left Wigan again cut the deficit, as Charnley finished smartly in the corner after the ball came loose.

Wigan were beginning to turn the screw in attack, and with the game into the final 10 minutes, Lee Mossop struck a potentially telling blow, barging over from close range to finally put the Warriors back into the lead.

With every point crucial, and just five minutes left, a Wakefield penalty in their own half gave the Warriors an opportunity they couldn’t pass up on, with Pat Richards taking the two points to nudge the visitors into a crucial seven-point lead.

Any lingering doubts over the victors were quashed just two minutes later, as Goulding got Wigan’s sixth try of the afternoon to add an extra gloss on a hard-earned victory for the Warriors.

It is now three Super League defeats in a row for Richard Agar’s Wakefield and they look to be increasingly cut adrift in the race to make the play-offs for a second consecutive season in 11th place.

Agar claimed he was delighted with his side’s effort and performance, but admitted their injury crisis probably had the telling impact in the result.

“Undoubtedly we’re disappointed we didn’t come through and get the victory but I don’t think we could have asked for much more from the players in terms of effort and commitment today,” Agar said.

“I think energy probably got us in the end; we had four substitutions thrust upon us.

“We’ve had three or four guys who were short of fitness and we had to rely on them for a lot more game time than what they could do.

“Sometimes things like that will happen, and it’s about keeping your nerve in those situations.

“The last game-and-a-half that we’ve played before today has been disappointing, and left us head scratching.

“We knew we had plenty of injuries, and it threw our preparation into disarray, and we knew we wouldn’t be as fluent with ball in hand, but we did really well, and I just thought we energy got us in the end.”

Wigan head coach Shaun Wane admitted his players “lacked consistency”.

“I knew that they’d made quite a few changes, and that some of their players would be quite fatigued, and we got them in the second half, but the fact we waited that long was disappointing,” Wane said.

“I told the players exactly what I thought of them at the break, and I got the response I desired from them.

“You have to credit Wakefield though – they did a job and slowed the play-the-ball down, which they were allowed to do.”

Wakefield: Mathers, Fox, Collis, Lyne, Cockayne, L. Smith, Wood, Poore, Wildie, Wilkes, Kirmond, Walshaw, Tautai. Substitutes: Molloy, Washbrook, Amor, Annakin.

Wigan: S. Tomkins, Charnley, Goulding, Thornley, Richards, Powell, Smith, Flower, McIlorum, Mossop, Hansen, Farrell, Burke. Substitutes: Lloyd, Tuson, Taylor, L. Tomkins.

Referee: T Alibert (RFL).