|
Wigan's skilful Papuan international scrum-half, Adrian Lam, ripped the
heart from the Tigers with another virtuoso show.
Lam's mercurial skills, ably supported by Great Britain skipper Andy
Farrell, ensured there were no hiccups for the Warriors' new coach Stuart
Raper against the club he left last week as Wigan ran in nine tries.
The victory sees Wigan leapfrog Hull in the Super League table to claim
second spot and within just two points of leaders Bradford Bulls.
Castleford had little answer to the Warriors' lightning raids that saw
the home side chalk up a 22-point lead by half-time.
Yorkshire-born David Hodgson took just five minutes to open the scoring
following a move begun by Lam that involved Farrell and Terry Newton.
Kris Radlinski, Newton and Farrell piled on the woe for the Yorkshire
side with additional first-half tries.
The second half had only just begun before Wigan were again in command
with substitute Phil Jones, a hat-trick hero in the corresponding fixture
at Castleford, scorching in for another four-pointer.
Newton grabbed his second score of the night before Castleford showed
some spirit running in two replies in the space of four minutes, Michael
Eagar and Danny Orr crossing the Wigan whitewash to give their vociferous
fans something to sing about.
But Wigan again flexed their muscles and finished strongly with Paul
Johnson, a late replacement for injured Australian centre Steve Renouf,
grabbing a brace of tries.
Full-back Radlinski brought up the half-century mark with his second
touchdown of the night following Lam's clever grubber kick while the final
action saw Farrell land his ninth goal from 10 attempts.
"It was tough watching and I felt for Cas at certain times," said Raper.
"But when they scored two quick tries in the second half I thought
`hang on, I'm the Wigan coach'.
"There's a lot of fight in that Castleford side and I admire the
players. But we defended pretty strong and may be the inside info I had
helped us."
Disappointed Castleford coach Graham Steadman said: "I asked for
honesty from my players before the kick-off but unfortunately too many
players were dishonest.
"The game is very simple. If you don't defend you are punished and
that's what happened."
|
