Super League: Wakefield’s thrashing of Wigan the big talking point
Published:
There is no doubting the big story from this weekend’s Super League action; Wakefield Wildcats’ unbelievable 62-0 thrashing of Wigan Warriors.
Despite Wigan’s relatively inexperienced line up and Wakefield’s home advantage, the Warriors were still odds-on to claim victory, with the Wildcats a massive 200/1 to win with a margin of 61-70 points.
While the manner of victory was undeniably unexpected, the result was not quite as much of a surprise given the fact Chris Chester’s side have seen off Huddersfield and Leeds in their recent run of wins.
Jacob Miller was the star of the show at the weekend, scoring a hat-trick in the rout – another long shot before the game at 100/1 – as Wakefield ran in 11 tries to extend their unbeaten run to four games and move level on points with 8th placed Salford.
Prior to Chris Chester’s appointment in mid-March, Wakefield had won just one of their first five games. Since Chester arrived at Belle Vue, they have won four from five and are looking like surprise contenders for a spot in the top eight.
The defeat for Wigan means Shaun Wane’s side missed the chance to go level on points with Warrington at the top of Super League, with the Wolves losing 25-22 at home to St Helens.
In losing to Saints, Warrington themselves missed a golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the table, as they remain just two points ahead of the chasing pack of Catalans, Hull FC and Wigan.
Catalans and Hull both picked up two points with wins over Hull KR and Huddersfield respectively.
The French outfit kicked off the round with a 40-0 thrashing away at Hull KR, putting pressure on many to consider them genuine title contenders.
Hull FC made it five wins on the bounce as they saw off Huddersfield 37-20, an impressive turnaround considering the negativity surrounding the Airlie Birds after they were hammered by Widnes earlier in the season.
Elsewhere, Leeds’ dreadful start to the season continued as they lost 14-10 at Salford. Their latest defeat leaves them with just two wins from their opening 10 games, second bottom in the table and their hopes of repeating last year’s Grand Final success looking extremely unlikely.
Meanwhile, Castleford came back from 18-0 down to claim a 34-24 victory over Widnes, whose bright start to the season has been dented by four consecutive defeats.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
