Warriors hunt down Rhinos
Wigan manager Brian Noble was pleased with Warriors' defence stability
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Thursday, 12, Jul 2007 10:26
Wigan Warriors consolidated fourth spot in the Super League this evening after an 18-2 victory over Leeds at the JJB Stadium.
A deceptively convincing final score did not do justice to the Leeds effort, with the two teams locking horns for much of the first half until Liam Colbon's try after the break gave Wigan some breathing space.
Fresh from a 22-10 victory over league leaders St Helens last week, Leeds made a confident start - exerting huge pressure on the home team's goal line in the opening ten minutes.
But a seemingly impervious Wigan defence, which ultimately remained watertight over the entire 80 minutes, was able to repel Leeds' pressure during the first period, with two Pat Richards goals giving the Warriors a 4-0 half-time lead.
The opening ten minutes of the second half proved crucial however,as Wigan appeared to suck the life out of a tiring Leeds team despite not scoring any points.
On the hour mark the pressure began to tell, with Liam Colbon, equally proficient in attack and defence on the night, profiting from an astute through-ball to touch down under the posts after sloppy defence from the visitors.
Bryan Fletcher gave the scoreline added gloss in the later stages of the game, forcing his way over for a try following a neat build-up in tricky conditions.