Wigan 60-0 Wakefield: Five takeaways as Liam Marshall runs riot

Following a huge 60-0 win for Wigan over Wakefield which included four tries from Liam Marshall, here’s our five takeaways from the match at the DW Stadium.

Magic Marshall

It was a night to remember for Wigan winger Liam Marshall, who bagged four tries in a man of the match performance.

His fourth try of the night was also his 100th try for the club, so the night couldn’t have gone any better for him.

It was a classy display and he works incredibly hard in defence, too.

Poor Wakefield

Whilst it was a night to remember for Marshall, it was a night to forget for Trinity, who dished up a shambolic performance.

Wakefield got rolled far too easily through the middle, and it was game over after 22 minutes when Wigan went 22-0 up.

Trinity can’t have too many more performances like that this season if they want to avoid relegation.

Much improved Wigan

It was a much better performance from the Warriors after last week’s 27-18 opening round defeat at Hull KR.

You could tell Matt Peet’s side were hurting from last week, and they absolutely punished Wakefield.

There wasn’t a Wigan player who had a performance under 8/10. It was a real professional display from the Warriors, with not many penalties given away.

Smith the general

It was a classy display from Harry Smith, who guided the Warriors around the park brilliantly.

The England Knights international had a fine kicking game and it controlled the game from start to finish. He could be in for another big year.

A strong crowd at the DW

There more than 12,000 fans inside the DW for Wigan’s first home game of the season, with a couple of hundred travelling from Wakefield.

And it was good to see plenty of pre-match entertainment as well. From the fanzone at Robin Park to Rozalla performing at the DW, it was an entertaining night for the Wiganers.

How it happened

• 8′ Ball goes wide to Bevan French who utilises his pace to score. Harry Smith converts. (6-0)
• 12′ Liam Marshall extends Wigan’s lead. Smith converts. (12-0)
• 17′ French gets his second thanks to cut-out pass from Jai Field. (16-0)
• 22′ Marshall produces a fine finish in the corner to get his second. Smith converts. (22-0)
• 27′ Liam Farrell stretches Wigan’s advantage. Smith converts (28-0)
• 37′ Jai Field shows a cheeky show and go to score. Smith converts. (34-0)
• HT: 34-0
• 43′ Marshall completes his hat-trick. Smith converts. (40-0)
• 54′ Marshall gets his fourth try of the game and his 100th try for the club. (44-0)
• 67′ Wigan score straight from a drop out through Sam Powell. (48-0)
• 71′ Smith converts his own try. (54-0)
• 75′ Cade Cust runs through poor Wakefield defence to get on the scoresheet. Smith converts. (60-0)
• FT: 60-0

How they lined-up

Wigan: Field; French, King, Wardle, Marshall; Cust, Smith; Singleton, Powell, Cooper, Isa, Farrell, Smithies. Subs: Havard, Ellis, Mago, O’Neill.

Tries: French (2), Marshall (4), Farrell, Field, Powell, Smith, Cust Goals: Smith 8

Wakefield: Gaskell; Lineham, Hall, Taufua, Murphy; Langi, Lino; Butler, Smith, Whitbread, Ashurst, Pitts, Batchelor. Subs: Kay, Tanginoa, Battye, Atoni.

Tries: Goals:

Attendance: 12,306

What they said

Wakefield coach Mark Applegarth said: “It was a tough one. I thought in the first half our lack of bite in defence and Wigan’s clinicalness that punished us summed it up. I thought it was a mixture of Wigan being outstanding and us getting rolled too easily. Our defensive application was miles off, it is just not acceptable at this level. We’ve got a lot of work to do, there’s no two ways about it. I don’t want to say something I’ll regret but this is not what we want to be about at Wakefield Trinity at all.”

Wigan coach Matt Peet said: “It was pleasing. The lads did everything they expected and said they would. They spoke very well during the week and I thought the plan they came up with was really good. I’m proud of the lads all the time to be honest but the lads came in on Monday and spoke very honestly. They trained well, we didn’t dwell on it and the lads have just said that this Monday needs to be the same. It’s a long year and if we keep improving together, then we’ll be okay.”

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