Wigan Warriors coasted to victory over cash-strapped Salford Purple Devils as they ran in 10 tries at a sun-kissed Brick Group Stadium.
After successive slender defeats by Hull FC in the Challenge Cup and at Leeds in Super League, final season’s record-breaking quadruple winners restored a little bit of order.
However they have been nonetheless given a greater recreation than they may have thought by disaster membership Salford, whose unpaid gamers put in a far larger shift than might need been anticipated of their present circumstances, particularly after it was reported, by the PA Media information company amongst others, that two gamers – Kallum Watkins and Chris Atkin – had refused to function.
Hat-trick man Jake Wardle received Wigan’s first, third and final tries, whereas Jai Subject received two, and Junior Nsemba, Liam Marshall, Bevan French, Sam Walters and Zach Eckersley additionally crossed, all festooned by seven conversions out of 10 from Harry Smith.
In opposition to a Salford aspect who may so simply not have turned up in any respect, Wigan additionally had 4 different tries chalked off – and the house followers loved a welcome return to motion for younger ahead Brad O’Neill, who came back after last season’s ACL injury for his first look since July.
Though Wigan did all of the scoring, and made it 13 straight wins over Salford within the course of, this was additionally a day to reward the guests’ weakened, wearied and depleted troops for all of the appreciable and unrewarded effort they put in.
And so they almost had a comfort late on, however Nathan Connell’s last-minute strive was cruelly dominated out for a perceived knock-on – to gasps of disappointment even from the house followers.
