Last time Wigan visited the home of Wakefield Trinity they left having suffered a 62-0 hiding. Today it was a Warriors side in fourth place against sixth placed Trinity but with just a single league point between the sides there was little to choose between them on paper.
The visitors were the favourites with the bookies as a result of the way that the sides performed on Good Friday. The Warriors were fresh off the back of a win over Saints while Trinity put up some resistance but lost out at the Castleford Tigers.
Five minutes had elapsed when Sean O'Loughlin scored as he stretched out to score under the sticks after Anthony Gelling had earlier earned a penalty when Matty Ashurst didn't clear the ruck. Morgan Escare kicked the additional two points.
Within three minutes Trinity struck back when Scott Grix picked up an Ashley Gibson grubber to spin out of the tackle and ground. Liam Finn pushed the conversion attempt across the face of the posts.
On twenty-three the home side drew level when Wigan were penalised for being offside on their own twenty. This time Finn was accurate for 6-6.
Just before the half hour, and with Trinity starting to take command of the game, Anthony Gelling was sin-binned for lifting the leg of an opponent in the tackle. Somewhat against the run of play Morgan Escare took a pass from George Williams and broke the line, stepped past the full-back and went over under the sticks. He added the extras to put his side six ahead.
Two minutes from the interval and a fast cross field passing move from Trinity saw a delayed pass from Grix into the hands of Jones-Bishop who dove to ground one-handed by the right corner flag. Finn failed to add the extras and at the interval just two points separated the sides, in Wigan's advantage.
The second half was end to end with the defences dominating.
There were just three minutes left in the game when Wigan finally made their pressure count when Liam Marshall received a high ball from George Williams, which was touched in flight by a Trinity hand, to cross and slightly improve the angl. Escare was wide with the kick but with ninety seconds remaining it was 10-16.
Wigan managed to run down the clock to make it two wins from two, both very hard fought, over the Easter weekend while Trinity had a fruitless Easter with two losses. It was a real grind where defences dominated and the teams were only separated by a single converted try.
Trinity: Grix (T), Jones-Bishop (T), Caton-Brown, Gibson, Johnstone, Miller, Finn (G), Huby, Wood, England, Ashurst, Hadley, Arona. Subs: Hirst, Allgood, Kirmond, Fifita.
Warriors:Escare (T, 2G), Davies, Gelling (SB), Forsyth, Marshall (T), Williams, Leuluai, Tautai, Powell, Flower, Tomkins, Farrell, O'Loughlin (T). Subs: Navarrete, Sutton, Gregson, Nuuausala.
Referee: Jack Smith.
Half-Time: 10-12.
Full-Time: 10-16.
Attendance: 4,640.
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