Warrington Wolves 8 Wigan Warriors 18: Matt Peet's side underline status as country's best to complete set of trophies

The Warriors wore down Warrington Wolves in the Challenge Cup final to become the first club since 2007 to hold all four trophies at the same time.

Wigan absorbed some early blows from the fired-up Wolves and won the big moments, as they often do.

A first Wembley win since 2013 continued Peet's dream start to life as a head coach.

His reign so far has been bookended by Challenge Cup successes, the trophy taking pride of place in Wigan's bulging cabinet alongside the Super League and World Club Challenge trophies and the League Leaders' Shield.

On a day when Warrington were hoping to take their first step under rookie head coach Sam Burgess, all the Wembley decider proved was that it will take a good team to stop the Warriors in 2024.

Zach Eckersley set Wigan on their way to a record-extending 21st cup win with a try on just his fifth senior appearance but the afternoon belonged to Bevan French as he added the Lance Todd Trophy to the Man of Steel award he claimed at the end of last year.

The half-back laid on Eckersley's try and scored one himself to give the Warriors a commanding lead that they never looked like relinquishing.

Matt Dufty responded to Liam Farrell's lung-busting effort in the second half but Warrington were well beaten in front of a crowd of 64,845 that united to celebrate the life of Leeds Rhinos legend Rob Burrow.

Burrow, who played in seven Challenge Cup finals for the Rhinos and won the trophy twice, died last Sunday at the age of 41 after a four-and-a-half-year battle with motor neurone disease, during which he helped raise millions of pounds for charity.

The silence to honour Burrow quickly made way to a raucous atmosphere as the teams ripped into each other from the start.

Huddersfield native Chris Kendall was a central figure in a fiery opening that featured two yellow cards.

After sending Mike Cooper to the sin bin for a high tackle on a falling Josh Thewlis, Kendall evened it up when Dufty made contact with Liam Marshall's head.

Three minutes into one of the biggest games of the year and both teams were down to 12 men.

For all Warrington's energy and aggression in an all-action start, they failed to get the desired reaction from Wigan.

Led by composed half-backs French and Harry Smith, the Warriors took the sting out of the Wire's early assault and asserted their control.

Smith sensed an opportunity to recreate the winning try against Huddersfield Giants two years ago, only for his kick to dribble away from Marshall and Jake Wardle.

Thewlis kicked Warrington into a ninth-minute lead but that was as good as it got for Burgess' men in the opening 40 minutes.

Eckersley made an inauspicious start to his first outing on the big stage when he knocked on inside his own half to give Ben Currie the opportunity to burrow his way close to the line.

However, the youngster responded in the best possible fashion to break the deadlock from French's dab into the in-goal area.

Before Warrington knew it, they had gone from 2-0 up to 12-2 down after paying the price for a costly error.

Matty Ashton was guilty of dropping a high kick from French, a mistake that was compounded by George Williams when he failed to take in Abbas Miski's pass close to the Wire line.

From the scrum, French took Smith's pass and accelerated back on the angle to score.

The Warriors were in control and Warrington knew it, as evidenced by an audacious pass by Williams from a scrum on his own 10 that flew into touch in the final minute of the half.

Williams was rescued by official Liam Moore after French found his way to the line in the next set, the video referee ruling a double movement.

The scoreboard said the Wolves were still in the game but a big improvement was required to threaten Wigan's lead.

Warrington's frustrations continued at the start of the second half, Ashton quickly crowded out after sensing half an opening from Williams' long pass.

With no hint of a Wire comeback, Farrell settled the contest just before the hour mark.

The veteran back-rower ran a superb line to hit Jai Field's pass 40 metres out and had the speed and strength to finish.

Warrington's race was run but they kept plugging away and eventually found a way through.

A neat kick from Dufty earned the Wire a repeat set and in the subsequent set the full-back demonstrated his blistering pace to cut back inside and score under the posts.

As the minutes ticked away, though, there was only one set of fans celebrating as Wigan wrote another chapter in their storied Challenge Cup history.

Warrington Wolves: Dufty, Thewlis, King, Tai, Ashton, Williams, Drinkwater, Harrison, Walker, Vaughan, Nicholson, Fitzgibbon, Currie. Substitutes: Bullock, Musgrove, Crowther, Powell.

Tries: Dufty (64)

Goals: Thewlis 2/2

Sin bin: Dufty (3)

Wigan Warriors: Field, Miski, Eckersley, Wardle, Marshall, French, Smith, Thompson, O'Neill, Cooper, Nsemba, Farrell, Ellis. Substitutes: Havard, Byrne, Mago, Leeming.

Tries: Eckersley (17), French (24), Farrell (57)

Goals: Smith 3/3

Sin bin: Cooper (2)

Referee: Chris Kendall.