Wigan Warriors 32-22 Castleford Tigers: Jai Field stars as hosts hold off Cas for victory
Wigan full-back Jai Field scored one try and set up another as the hosts returned to winning ways in the Betfred Super League; Liam Farrell (2), Ethan Havard and Zak Hardaker also crossed; Cas had hopes of a comeback snuffed out by Brad Martin's red card
Last Updated: 17/03/22 11:38pm
Jai Field celebrated being named as the Betfred Super League's player of the month with a starring role as Wigan Warriors overcame Castleford Tigers 32-22 in a thriller at the DW Stadium.
Tries from Zak Hardaker and Liam Farrell ensured the Warriors led at the break, but Greg Eden's fifth of the season after Gareth O'Brien had kicked the Tigers ahead ensured the visitors were still within four points at half-time although temporarily a man down after Mahe Fonua's contentious yellow card.
The game burst into life after the break though, with a superb solo try from Field sandwiched by Ethan Havard's first of the season and Farrell's second of the night to put the Warriors 22 points clear.
However, Castleford mounted a stirring fightback with tries from George Griffin, Jake Trueman and Jake Mamo - only for Brad Martin being sent off for a high tackle with seven minutes to go to end any realistic hope of victory.
Story of the game
O'Brien kicked the Tigers into the lead after Wigan were penalised for offside but the hosts responded in the perfect manner as Cade Cust sent a cut-out pass to winger Hardaker to score in the right corner in the 12th minute.
The Warriors extended their lead with a try from absolutely nothing as Field took on the Castleford line down the left and ghosted through an attempted tackle from Paul McShane. He breezed through and sent the ball inside for Farrell to score under the posts and Hardaker converted for a 10-2 lead.
Castleford were not going away and they forced two quick goal-line drop-outs after camping on Wigan's line, eventually getting the reward their pressure deserved when winger Eden took half-back Trueman's towering pass to score in the corner.
Eden thought he had grabbed a second as he picked up a loose ball, but referee Chris Kendall brought play back for an apparent late hit by Fonua on Field, which saw the Castleford man sent to the sin-bin.
Wigan Warriors 32-22 Castleford Tigers scoring summary
Wigan Warriors: Tries - Liam Farrell (2), Zak Hardaker, Ethan Havard, Jai Field; Goals - Zak Hardaker (6).
Castleford Tigers: Tries - Greg Eden, George Griffin, Jake Trueman, Jake Mamo; Goals - Gareth O'Brien (3).
Wigan took advantage of having the extra man as Havard scored on his return from back surgery after collecting a pass from fellow forward Oliver Partington. Minutes later, player of the match Field again showed his class as he breached the Tigers defence without a hand on him to race from deep in his own half to score.
Hardaker's conversion put the Warriors 16 points clear and they were dominating all over the field as Farrell grabbed his second, barging over after taking a pass from Cust. Hardaker against converted and they were seemingly out of reach at 28-6.
The Tigers would not lie down though as Griffin barged over from close range before Trueman crossed following a scrum when it looked like Faraimo had gone into touch before his ball inside bounced off a Wigan man. The Tigers now trailed 28-18 and had their tails up.
Mamo grabbed Castleford's third try in nine minutes to cut the gap to just six points but the comeback was thwarted when Martin was shown a red card for his high shot on Isa, and Hardaker slotted two late penalties to put the seal on the win for the Warriors.
What they said
Wigan Warriors full-back and player of the match Jai Field
"It's nice to be playing well and the most important thing is we bounce back from a tough loss last week [28-0 against Catalans Dragons] so it was definitely pleasing.
"I missed 18 weeks last year straight off the bat, so I'm just trying to play the best I can week in, week out. Hopefully [this is my best], but I'm not sure yet - it's a long season."
Castleford Tigers head coach Lee Radford
"Our fortunes are going to turn and I thought some of the footy we played throughout the game looked threatening. I thought we could have caused them problems all night and we had plenty of opportunities. What has been our issue is how many conceding and the 12 we conceded when we go down to 12 is tough.
"We're not catching a break at the moment, but I'm not whinging. We're working hard and we'll get through it, and I'm really proud of what we've done tonight."
What's next?
Super League takes a break next week due to the sixth round of the Betfred Challenge Cup and Wigan have been handed a home tie with Salford Red Devils, which takes place on Friday, March 25 (7.35pm kick-off).
Castleford, meanwhile, travel to Headingley the following day for a clash with Yorkshire rivals Leeds Rhinos in arguably the tie of the round (4.30pm).
