Wigan Warriors moved within one win of a domestic double after defeating Leeds Rhinos 40-8 in a battle of Super League's top two. The Warriors climbed above the Rhinos heading into the final round, with a victory at home to Catalans Dragons next week enough to secure them the League Leaders' Shield. As for Leeds Rhinos, they must now beat Hull FC and hope the Warriors lose to the Dragons, otherwise they will have to settle for second place, despite holding top spot for several months.
Bevan French was the star as he produced two sublime assists and scored a try, with Adam Keighran scoring a hat-trick on an evening when Leeds were badly hampered by the early withdrawal of Lachie Miller, who was forced off with a hamstring injury inside seven minutes. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Keighran scored twice in the five minutes after that, and while Leeds responded through Ash Handley, further tries through Austin Daniel, Liam Marshall, Jai Field and Keighran ensured it was Matt Peet's side who got the win. The first major moment of the game was arguably the most significant.
Miller, a strong contender to land this year's Man of Steel, pulled up while returning a kick and signalled to the bench immediately to be brought off. Within five minutes of that, Wigan had scored twice. Daniel, brought into the side after a calf injury to Jake Wardle in the week, showed great pace to burn Leeds down the touchline, and he passed in field for Keighran to score the first of a quickfire brace.
The centre missed the conversion but added the next one minutes later after crossing from a sublime Bevan French cut-out pass. That gave Wigan a 10-0 lead. In need of a response, Leeds got one.
After earning a penalty, Jake Connor put a blustering kick to the corner which Handley superbly caught before having the strength to crash over the line. Connor converted to leave Wigan four points ahead after a breathless quarter. Leeds settled well after their score, but when you come up against French in this mood, there's little you can do.
His next piece of brilliance was a joy to behold, cutting out three players with a bulled pass to find Daniel on the wing, who did the rest. Keighran converted again. Connor tagged on a penalty goal in the final action before the break, but after half-time Wigan took control of the game.
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