Super League: Ruthless Warrington hammer Wigan 40-10
Last Updated: 29/04/16 12:16am
Warrington cemented top spot in Super League with a 40-10 win over Wigan at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
The win puts distance between Wolves and the chasing pack as they now have a two-point lead at the top, although Catalans Dragons could draw level with them on points if they beat Hull FC on Friday night.
First-half tries from Daryl Clark, Ben Westwood and Kevin Penny gave Wolves an 18-4 lead at the break, while Westwood scored another in the second half to go with efforts from Benjamin Jullien and two from Ryan Atkins to round off a clinical performance.
It was an influential night with the boot from man-of-the-match Kurt Gidley, both from the kicking tee and out of hand.
The game started in typically physical fashion, but with plenty of rainfall ahead kick-off, handling errors kept the game scoreless for the first 15 minutes.
It was Wigan who changed that when Dan Sarginson sent a pass to Charnely down the right following sustained pressure, and the winger slid in to the corner for the opening try of the game.
Wolves hit back when Warriors' Taulima Tautai gave away a penalty close to his own line, and scrambling defence saw a gap open for Clark, who took a flick pass in front of the poles and threw a dummy before fending off the last tackler for the score and a 6-4 lead after Gidley converted.
Westwood then came on the field in place of Ashton Sims, and with his first touch of the ball the 34-year-old crashed over from short range to increase his side's lead in the 29th minute.
It looked like there would be no further score as the half drew to a close, but Matty Russell carved up the field with seconds remaining before being tackled deep in Warriors territory. Gidley then put in a high kick, and Penny rose above Charnley to claim the ball and dot it down. Gidley sent his third successful conversion through for an 18-4 lead at half-time.
Warrington came out the better of the two sides in the second half, and it wasn't long before Atkins scored his first of two tries when Ratchford offloaded in the tackle close to the line.
Ratchford was the provider once again for Atkins' second, this time a more conventional draw-and-pass down the left touchline as the Wigan defence tired following a lengthy Warrington possession.
Jullien then added Warrington's sixth try in the 65th minute, handing the home side a 34-4 lead.
A moment of individual brilliance from John Bateman brought about Wigan's only score of the second half, dabbing a kick ahead which bounced fortunately off the padding for Bateman to collect and score himself.
Westwood's second try then came with two minutes remaining, and was a replica of his first as he disregarded a host of Wigan defenders to put his head down and crash over. Ratchford converted the try to bring down the curtain on an impressive display from the league leaders.