Warrington thrash Wigan to go top of Super League

Betfred Super League

Wigan (4) 4

Tries: Marshall

Warrington (18) 40

Tries: Lindop 2, Ashton 2, Holroyd, Thewlis, Tai

Goals: Thewlis 6

Warrington Wolves leapt to the top of Super League as they stunned Wigan Warriors at the Brick Community Stadium.

In their first meeting since Wigan beat Warrington to win the Challenge Cup in June, the visitors ran amok to enjoy a ruthless revenge.

Wire ran in six tries, two each for Arron Lindop and Matty Ashton, as they handed Wigan a first home defeat in 18 matches - a run dating back to May 2023 - and earned their biggest Super League winning margin in games against the Warriors.

Winger Liam Marshall did respond to Lindop's early converted try to make it 6-4 after 13 minutes, but Wigan, still crucially without injured Wembley star Bevan French, and beaten by struggling Hull last week, were this time in for an even big disappointment.

Warrington crossed twice more before the break through Ashton, who intercepted to go the length of the field, and Adam Holroyd. Then four more tries followed in the second half.

Ashton and Lindop each added a second and Thewlis went almost the full length too from an interception, to which he added the fifth of his six conversions.

After Thewis hit the post with a late penalty attempt, Rodrick Tai's late score, improved by Thewlis, earned a 36-point winning margin to eclipse Wire's 40-10 win at home to Wigan in 2016.

On a crazy night in central Lancashire, as St Helens also shipped 40 points at Leigh, the sheer size of Wigan's defeat also cost them second place to Hull KR.

Although Matt Peet's Warriors do still have a game in hand they will be in third place when they play again on Thursday evening at home to Huddersfield.

Wire return to action the following night at home to Hull KR, a game that would only be another meeting of the top two if Wigan lose again.

It was an uncharacteristically error-strewn performance from the moment Lindop pounced on Matt Dufty's low kick to touch down inside the opening two minutes.

Marshall's 26th try of the season equalled his previous best scoring season of 2017 to bringing up 600 points for Warriors.

But Harry Smith failed to level as he pulled the conversion wide and then the hosts' failure to deal with Ben Currie's kick in the danger area allowed Wigan old boys Sam Powell and George Williams to combine with Josh Drinkwater to send Holroyd over.

Jack Farrimond's loose pass was then intercepted by the galloping Ashton 10 metres from Warrington's own try line to earn Wire an 18-4 half-time lead - and any hopes of a comeback were extinguished four minutes into the second half when Lindop shrugged off Abbas Miski's tackle to skip through for his second.

On a night when they lost hooker Brad O'Neill, who had to be helped off with a knee injury, Ashton touched down again before the Thewlis interception try. And, even Dufty's late sin-binning made no difference as Tai rounded it all off.

Wigan: Eckersley; Miski, Farrell, Wardle, Marshall; Farrimond, Smith; Byrne, O'Neill, Thompson, Nsemba, Walters, Ellis.

Interchanges: Havard, Mago, Dupree, Hill, Hampshire.

Warrington: Dufty; J Thewlis, Tai, Lindop, Ashton; Williams, Drinkwater; Yates, Powell, Vaughan, Nicholson, Holroyd, Currie.

Interchanges: Musgrove, Crowther, Walker, Wood, Whitehead.

Sin-bin: Dufty (71)

Referee: Liam Moore.