Depending on whether the glass is half-full or half-empty, this result will have one of two very different feels for Wigan fans.
The positive slant? Wigan once again overcame a sloppy start to see off a major rival at home, extending their record here to 12 wins from 12 in 2015 and further solidifying their position inside Super League’s top four come the play-offs next month. But a more demanding and pessimistic view would argue that, if Wigan do not step up their game against the sides above them – starting next Friday with a trip to the league leaders, Leeds – then their title charge could yet derail despite this win.
Although Wigan moved level on points with the Rhinos here, they had to overcome a shaky start to see off their top-four rivals Huddersfield and strengthen their grip on a semi-final spot. In 80 minutes symptomatic of their season Wigan started sluggishly but finished well to put themselves in a strong position in the race for the semi-finals.
Such is the short-term nature of the inaugural Super 8s, these two sides only have 12 points left to play for before the top four branch away to compete in the play-off semi-finals – so the fact Wigan already have a five-point cushion inside the top four so early on has only further increased the probability of them making the last four come September. That is an impressive feat, not least considering the fact that they did it the hard way here against a Huddersfield side who led 10-0 after a dominating opening half-hour.
“We didn’t start as well as we wanted to but the way we responded was a credit to the lads,” said the Wigan assistant coach, John Winder. “I thought George Williams showed real maturity and came up with the big moments in the game, while Liam Farrell always looked a threat.”
A strong start ended in another defeat in a big game for the Giants and, with their position in the top four potentially hanging by a thread come the end of the weekend, they must regroup fast before the visit of Catalans next Friday.
“Our start to the game was probably the best we’ve had for a long time but their bench was better than ours and they got on top of us,” said the Huddersfield coach, Paul Anderson. “I thought we conceded some soft tries but it’s another good challenge for us at home to Catalans next weekend.”
Huddersfield forged ahead early on through two tries from Jermaine McGillvary, before Wigan struck just before half-time when Liam Farrell scored an impressive solo try. At 10-6 the game was in the balance but tries from Dom Manfredi and Williams sent Wigan into a lead they would ultimately not surrender.
Huddersfield offered their fans brief hope when the Wigan loanee Jack Hughes scored against his parent club, before Larne Patrick did the same for the home side to reassert their eight-point advantage. The Huddersfield prop Eorl Crabtree then set up a grandstand finish with eight minutes remaining by barging over, before Wigan sealed the win when Dom Crosby bundled over from dummy-half to secure another home win – and another stumble in a big game for the Giants, whose collapse hinted that they may not be bona fide title contenders just yet.
Wigan Bowen; Charnley, Gelling, Bateman, Manfredi; Williams, Smith; Crosby, McIlorum, Mossop, Tomkins, Farrell, O’Loughlin. Interchange Powell, Clubb, Tautai, Patrick.
Tries Farrell, Manfredi, Williams, Patrick, Crosby Goals Smith 5
Huddersfield Grix; McGillvary, Cudjoe, Wardle, Murphy; Brough, Ellis; Crabtree, Robinson, Huby, Ta’ai, Hughes, Lawrence. Interchange Bailey, Kopczak, Leeming, Smith.
Tries McGillvary 2, Hughes, Crabtree Goals Brough 3
Referee B Thaler. Attendance 11,448.
