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Well what a cracker of a game this promised to be. Leeds,
the only team have beaten Wigan this season, coming to Central park to
attempt the treble. Wigan almost at full strength and all fired up for a
Grand Final place, powered by a loud home crowd had a point to prove. And
to top it all off the referee was Stuart Cummings, what a cracker of a
game this promised to be, and indeed lived up to what anyone would expect
of a cup tie between this seasons two top league teams.
Right from the kick off Wigan started tackling hard a fast. Leeds did the
same and for 15 minutes neither side got a sniff of the try line. Both
sets of forwards tore into each other and the Wigan pack were proving
slightly more powerful, led by Terry O'Connor who was having a magnificent
game. Then Lee Gilmour made a break any wingman would have been proud of.
Wigan were running the ball out 10 metres from their own line. Gilmour
took a pass from McCormack and after avoiding the tackle of prop Fleary he
swept past Powell set off on the 80-metre spring to the Leeds try line.
Full back Harris was out of position and there was no catching Gilmour,
and as he touched down to a roar from the Wigan faithful on the popular
side was almost loud enough to lift the rickety roof of the rusty stand
they were sheltering under.
With the deadlock broken the game opened up a little. Farrell's expert
kicking gave full-back Harris lot's to do on a night when slippery
condition's meant full-back was not the most desirable position on the
field. But both teams made very few mistakes in this game, and one wished
the same could be said of referee Stuart Cummings. He allowed players to
stray off-side mode often than not, and failed to pick up on the Leeds
tactic of interfering with every play the ball by pushing the Wigan
attacker or sticking on the off knee of two when the Wigan player was
regaining his feet after a tackle. The number of high tackles from Leeds
was also on the high side and, despite McCormack and several other Wigan
players making a point of complaining to the match officials, nothing was
done to stop this underhand tactic. High tackles had seen players injured
and banned in previous meetings between Leeds and Wigan. Still both sides
remained very disciplined, which is to their credit.
Wigan made very effective use of each set of six plays and that combined
with good kicking put Leeds on the back foot as Wigan mounted some
impressive moves into the Leeds half. It was one of these towering kicks
that led to Mark bell taking 4 points in his last game at Central Park for
Wigan. Farrell hoisted a high kick to the Left Wing and bell out jumped
veteran winger Paul Sterling to grab the ball and place it down before
sliding out of play. Bell took a knock in the back for his trouble, but it
was nothing serious and Wigan took a ten nil score into the half time
break.
Leeds' attack plans suffered a mighty blow when strong running packman
Adrian Morley injured his neck and back in a tackle after just 20-minutes.
Some might say this was rough justice after Leeds' last game here at
Central Park which saw Morley ruthlessly take out Wigan hooker Robbie
McCormack within 30 seconds of the games start, and continue to tackle in
the same vain until Mick Cassidy went in recklessly high with an elbow on
Morley. Both men were put on report and remarkably Cassidy received a
six-match ban by the same disciplinary committee which had earlier cleared
Morley of any wrongdoing. The injury was enough to keep Morley off the
field, but is not though to be serious and he should make a return for
next weeks game against St Helens at Headingly.
After the half-time rest Leeds came on strong and reaped the reward of a
good start to take a four points courtesy of a Francis Cummings try. But
this try was not without it's controversy. Mestrov went to play the ball
and a Leeds foot rolled the ball away. Mestrov slipped and the referee
gave Leeds a penalty, which was the start of the build up to Leeds' only
score of the game. Both full backs worked very hard, though not
flawlessly. Kris Radlinski gave Wigan hearts some scares early on by
letting the high kicks bounce before attempting a catch, but he clearly
showed why he was favourite over Harris for the Great Britain full-back
spot in this autumns tests with some excellent runs and great tackling.
The performance from Radlinski in the awful wet summer conditions was
enough to earn him a man-of-the-match award yet again and there was little
argument on that point.
Departing Kiwi Henry Paul was very inventive in Wigan's plays and several
times was nearly through the Leeds line. Paul ran from deep and tormented
defenders for most of the game. He was rewarded for his efforts with a try
to seal the game for Wigan with a typical touch of pace, agility and
determination Wigan fans will hopefully choose remember the Kiwi for. Paul
bypassed three would-be tackles from Powell, Farrell and St Hilaire and at
full stretch placed the ball over the line to send the Wigan crowd into a
roar of delight, and the Leeds fans on a long journey back along the M62.
Another Wigan man departing soon was hooker Robbie McCormack, and he was
another contender for man-of-the match here. He ran from deep, off-loaded
in the tackle and defended like his life depended on it. He was determined
to make sure his career finished on a high and is now only 80-minutes away
from a Grand Final winners medal with Wigan. Prop Terry O'Connor rounded
of his mighty prop-forward performance with a spot of disco dancing when a
clash of heads in a tackle left him bloody nosed and dazed whilst trying
to play the ball. He was taken off to the blood bin and returned with
12-minutes to go to finish the game. Terry admitted afterwards that he had
little recollection of the events until 5 minutes from the end when he
regained his composure to complete the game as another contender for the
man-of-the-match award.
So this game saw Wigan as the first ever-British team to reach the Grand
Final and earn a two-week rest before the big day at Old Trafford. Leeds
will get another chance to get there and take on Wigan again, if they beat
St Helen's next Sunday. No matter who wins next week, Wigan will face a
tough game at Old Trafford and hopefully another week off with prove to be
a useful tactical advantage.
Wigan:- Kris Radlinski, Mark Bell, Gary Connolly,
Danny Moore, Jason Robinson, Henry Paul, Tony Smith, Terry O'Connor,
Robbie McCormack, Tony Mestrov, Lee Gilmour, Stephen Holgate, Andy Farrell
(Capt.)
Subs:- Paul Johnson, Jon Clarke, Neil Cowie, Simon Haughton
Tries: Gilmour (16), Bell (21), Paul (72)
Goals: Farrell 2 + 1 Drop Goal
Leeds:- Iestyn Harris (Capt.), Paul Sterling,
Richie Blackmore, Brad Godden, Francis Cummins, Daryl Powell, Ryan
Sheridan, Martin Masella, Terry Newton, Darren Fleary, Adrian Morley,
Anthony Farrell, Marc Glanville.
Subs:- Leroy Rivett, Jamie Mathiou, Marcus St Hilaire, Andy Hay
Tries: Cummins (45) |
