| Salford (6) 6 |
| Try: Hellewell Goal: Sneyd |
| Wigan (8) 26 |
| Tries: Shorrocks, Farrell 2, Miski, Marshall Goals: Smith 3 |
Liam Farrell scored two tries as Wigan beat Salford to climb back into the top three of Super League.
The Warriors went into the match having won just one of their previous five league games and were up against an in-form home team.
They cracked a strong Salford defensive performance in the first half by scoring three second-half tries.
Salford were without stars Brodie Croft and Andy Ackers and lost another as Ryan Brierley suffered a head injury.
With Warrington Wolves losing to Castleford, Salford’s defeat meant that three of the top four lost this weekend, and the win placed Matty Peet’s team on the shoulder of leaders Catalans Dragons.
Last week’s win at Wolves in the Challenge Cup quarter-final galvanised Wigan after their poor run of league form, and they barely allowed Salford a sniff in front of a club record attendance of 7,854 at the Salford Stadium.
Salford defended stoutly in the first half but Harry Smith’s kicking game was the key, and he sent in a grubber for Joe Shorrocks to open the scoring after the 20-minute mark.
Ian Watson’s team forged ahead as Ben Hellewell went over from Marc Sneyd’s offload and Sneyd kicked the extras.
Salford’s defence, however, was disrupted by the departure of Brierley for a head injury assessment, which he failed, forcing Ken Sio to play full back, and Wigan exploited a resulting gap as Jai Field raced through and sent Farrell over.
Salford struggled to get a toe-hold in the game after the break, and Wigan cutely bluffed the Reds to score another try, lining up speed merchants Field and Bevan French on the left of a 15-metre scrum and then moving the ball right for Abbas Miski to crash over.
Jake Wardle sent Farrell over for his second try and Liam Marshall broke 80 metres as Salford pressed hard, to wrap up an eighth successive victory in this fixture.
More follows.
Salford: Brierley, Sio, Cross, Lafai, Burgess, Atkin, Sneyd, Vuniyayawa, Bourouh, Sidlow, Watkins, Stone, Partington
Interchanges: Addy, Costello, Dupree, Hellewell (Ormondroyd)
Wigan: Field, Miski, King, Wardle, Marshall, French, Smith, Havard, O’Neill, Byrne, Shorrocks, Farrell, Smithies
Interchanges: Singleton, Hill, Mago, Cust (Nsemba)
Referee: Aaron Moore.
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