Superb Wigan give Hull and Long severe reality check

Any pretentions that Hull and Sean Long had of leapfrogging Wigan at the top of the Engage Super League were ruthlessly dashed by the unstoppable Warriors at the DW Stadium on Friday night.

Long, the former St Helens scrum half, whom Wigan had courted before Hull made him a two-year offer, was roundly booed each time he touched the ball; in truth, that was not often. Hull were denuded of possession through their indiscipline and Wigan inflicted the away side’s second defeat of the campaign with an eight-try romp.

Victory stretched Wigan’s lead in the table to two points and handsomely bolstered their scoring difference, thanks to two tries apiece by Darrell Goulding and Sam Tomkins, leaving Long to nurse wounded pride, as well as a head cut that necessitated the bizarre bandaging of his dreadlocks.

Wigan built on a 26-4 lead at the break, mindful that they let slip a 20-point half-time advantage against Bradford Bulls the previous FridayDesperation to atone for that first defeat of the season was characterised by the barnstorming contributions of Stuart Fielden and Mark Riddell. Hull’s difficulty containing Wigan’s front row was exacerbated by their vulnerability to the home team’s pace and precision out wide.

Pat Richards took his try tally to nine in six matches in collecting the ubiquitous Sean O’Loughlin’s looping pass for the first of Wigan’s four first-half tries. Darrell Goulding, one of the homegrown youngsters a more enlightened regime at the club is building the side around, turned on a sixpence in scooping up a loose pass and outmanoeuvring the Hull cover.

The “Black and Whites” struck back through Richard Whiting, who took advantage of Richard Horne’s break for a try, which the centre would have supplemented had he been expecting Craig Hall’s inside pass on the Wigan line. Instead, Hull succumbed twice in six minutes, first to Martin Gleeson’s exploitation of a sizeable gap, then to Amos Roberts seizing O’Loughlin’s intelligent kick into space.

Any chance of last week’s implosion being repeated was scotched by Wigan taking advantage of three successive penalties conceded by Hull for Goulding’s second try after more incisive work by O’Loughlin. The Warriors ensured no let-up, and when Sam Tomkins slipped Whiting’s leash, the England stand-off carved his way beneath the posts for the first of his tries, which Cameron Phelps added to.

Long scored in a belated three-try Hull revival but this was never going to be his night.

Scorers: Wigan Warriors: Tries: Richards, Goulding 2, Gleeson, Roberts, S Tomkins 2, Phelps. Goals: Richards 8. Hull: Tries:Whiting, Hall, Long, Horne. Goals: Tickle 4.
Wigan Warriors: C Phelps; A Roberts, M Gleeson, D Goulding, P Richards; S Tomkins, T Leuluai; S Fielden, M Riddell, A Coley, H Hansen, J Tomkins, S O’Loughlin. Interchange: P Prescott, P Bailey, E O’Carroll, L Mossop.
Hull: J Tansey; C Hall, R Whiting, K Yeaman, T Briscoe; R Horne, S Long; M O’Meley, S Berrigan, E Dowes, D Tickle, W Manu, C Fitzgibbon. Interchange: E Lauaki, P Cusack, L Radford, D Houghton.
Referee: T Alibert.

Source:The Times