A dozen Warriors stand firm

Wigan overcame the first-half sending-off of Richie Mathers to battle their way to a crucial 32-22 win over Wakefield.

The Warriors' play-off bid was wobbling after just one win in five games and they looked in trouble after Mathers was dismissed just before the break and Wakefield overturned a 12-point deficit.

But the hosts were rewarded for their second-half resilience, as they upped their intensity to hand the Wildcats an eighth straight defeat.

Wakefield arrived late after traffic problems but it was Wigan who were off the pace in the opening exchanges and they were fortunate to only concede two Danny Brough penalties in a one-sided first 10 minutes.

Wigan finally got through some sets and quickly put points on the board, a clever dummy from Tim Smith earning the Australian a first Warriors try, with Pat Richards adding the extras.

Skills

Two minutes later Thomas Leuluai showed even better skillls as he evaded four defenders before reaching over to score another converted try.

Then on the half-hour mark Wakefield's defence hung back and Cameron Phelps went in at the corner.

Wakefield were in trouble and looked set to ship a heap of points, only for Mathers to lead with his forearm into the face of Jason Demetriou and hand the visitors a vital lift.

They responded immediately after the break, former Warrior Danny Sculthorpe crashing over on the arc, before Brough sprinted clear and on the next tackle Duncan McIllvray scored. Brough added both conversions and it was 16-16.

Swinging arm

Wigan responded well themselves, helped by a Sculthorpe swinging arm which handed Richards an easy two points.

Wakefield also began to pay for indiscipline at the play-the-ball and after a rash of Wigan penalties, Mickey Higham crashed over from dummy half.

Back came the Wildcats, with Oliver Wilkes taking Brad Drew's short pass at pace and scoring by the posts.

But it was Wigan who finished the stronger, a Leo-Latu high shot gifting Richards more points, before Tommy Smith's stab through under the posts was touched down by Joel Tomkins to settle an absorbing contest.