Questions were asked of Wigan at the end of last season after their disappointing sixth-place finish, their lowest position in more than a decade. They also received criticism regarding the style of play they were producing under Shaun Wane during parts of 2017, but the coach and his Warriors are answering those detractors.
Perhaps most encouragingly for Wigan, though, is that Sam Tomkins was at the heart of this latest display, which moved them above Wakefield and into second in the table.
Tomkins has failed to rediscover the sparkling form in a Wigan shirt he possessed before departing for the National Rugby League several years ago but the now fully fit and firing 28-year-old was magnificent here for the hosts.
Performances such as this, too, make it all the more perplexing that Tomkins was again omitted from Wayne Bennett’s latest England squad when it was named last week.
“He seems to have fallen out of favour but I don’t think he’s stressing about it,” Wane said of the full-back. “He just wants to play well for Wigan – which is to my liking.”
The critics – and there are certainly plenty in rugby league – have been quick to point out that Wakefield’s four successive victories to open this season have been against the quartet of sides occupying the bottom four positions, so this trip to Wigan was seen as a test of how far Trinity could go this season.
Wakefield’s best start to a league campaign since the second world war ultimately came to an end here but large parts of their performance reiterated what many believed before a ball was kicked in 2018 – that this Trinity side could well be a surprise force this season.
“We’re disappointed but it shows how far we’ve come as a group to be sat in the changing rooms having come here and be frustrated to not get a result,” the Wakefield coach, Chris Chester, said.
Wakefield had performed well to lead by two points at half-time, thanks to two tries from the winger Ben Jones-Bishop and two goals from the boot of Liam Finn. But after Joe Burgess had put Wigan in front, Trinity were incensed that Jones-Bishop was denied a hat-trick following an apparent forward pass. “I thought we got a tough call there,” Chester said – and it proved vital.
Two tries in five minutes – for Tom Davies and another for Burgess – put Wigan three scores ahead and from that point there was no way back for Trinity. They continued to battle and scored the final try of the game through Tinirau Arona but by then Wigan had secured victory.
On what has been seen so far this season, though, it would not be a surprise if these two sides – with identical records of four wins from five games this season – met again later in the year with the stakes considerably higher.
Castleford were the other winners on Sunday, as they defeated Salford to secure their third successive victory. The Tigers led 20-0 at half-time while Salford – who are understood to be close to selling their full-back Gareth O’Brien to the ambitious Championship side Toronto – could muster only second-half tries from Junior Sa’u and Jake Bibby as they lost 22-8.
