Wigan Warriors 32 Castleford Tigers 22: Yellow and red cards prove costly for beaten Castleford

Wigan bounced back from their first defeat of the season with a 32-22 victory but they were pushed all the way by Castleford in a thrilling encounter.

The Warriors were beaten 28-0 at Catalans last weekend but immediately returned to winning ways as a pair of tries from Liam Farrell as well as scores from Zak Hardaker, Ethan Havard and Jai Field ensured victory.

Wigan led 10-6 at the break and the turning point came when Castleford had Mahe Fonua controversially sent to the sin bin at the end of the first half.

Wigan took full advantage of the extra man as they scored two tries with Fonua off the field through Havard and Field and Farrell’s second try then looked to have put the game to bed – but Castleford had other ideas.

Three tries from George Griffin, Jake Trueman and Jake Mamo put the Tigers just six points behind the Warriors, but a red card for Brad Martin for a high tackle on Willie Isa saw their hopes of winning end and Hardaker kicked two penalties in the last 10 to secure the win.

Gareth O’Brien kicked the tigers into the lead after Wigan were penalised for offside but Wigan responded in the perfect manner as Cade Cust sent a cutout pass to Hardaker to score in the corner in the 12th minute.

The home side extended their lead with a try from absolutely nothing as Field took on the Castleford line down the left and ghosted through an attempted tackle from Paul McShane. He breezed through and sent the ball inside for Farrell to score under the posts and Hardaker converted for a 10-2 lead.

Castleford were not going away and they forced two quick dropouts after camping on Wigan’s line before they got the reward their pressure deserved when Greg Eden took Jake Trueman’s towering pass to score in the corner.

Eden thought he had grabbed a second as he picked up a loose ball, but referee Chris Kendall brought play back for an apparent late hit by Fonua on Field, which saw the Castleford man sent to the sin bin.

Wigan took advantage of having the extra man as Havard scored on his return from back surgery after collecting a pass from Oliver Partington. Minutes later, they put game to bed with Field again showing his class as he again breached the Tigers defence without a hand on him to race 65 metres to score. and Hardaker’s goal made it 22-6.

Wigan were dominating all over the field now and Farrell grabbed his second as he barged over following a ball from Cust. Hardaker converted and they were out of reach at 28-6.

The Tigers would not lie down as Griffin barged over from close range before Trueman crossed after the Tigers received a scrum when it looked like Faraimo had gone into touch before his ball inside bounced off a Wigan man. The Tigers now trailed 28-18 and had their tails up.

Mamo grabbed Castleford’s third try in nine minutes to trail by just six points but Castleford’s comeback was ruined with a red card for Martin for his high shot on Isa.

Wigan: Field, Hardaker, Pearce-Paul, Halsall, Marshall, Cust, Leuluai, Smithies, Powell, Byrne, Farrell, Bateman, Isa. Subs: Mago, Smith, Partington, Havard.

Castleford: O’Brien, Olpherts, Mamo, Fonua, Eden, Trueman, McShane, Griffin, Lawler, Smith, Edwards, Blair, Westerman. Subs: Faraimo, Hepi, Matagi, Martin.

Referee: Chris Kendall (RFL).