Wigan 38 Warrington 14: Barrett at his best to spark Wigan's second-half spree
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Your support makes all the difference.Wigan ran riot in the second half touching down five times without reply after being outscored three tries to one at half-time. Vinnie Anderson being sent to the sin-bin proved a turning point, with Warrington holding out during his absence but then conceding three quick tries on his return.
Warrington's Paul Cullen refused to blame the sin-binning for his side's spectacular collapse. "We're bitterly disappointed with our last 30 minutes, with our discipline and our defence," he said.
The Wigan half-back combination of Trent Barrett and Thomas Leuluai showed their class, having a hand in most of their side's scoring, but their second-half resurgence was a real team effort.
After Warrington conceded a string of penalties at the start of the second half a try had to come, and it did when the increasingly influential Barrett took a return pass from Gareth Hock, with Pat Richards' kick tying the scores. Two minutes later, Wigan were ahead, thanks to Hock's break and Leuluai's final pass to Liam Colbon. Mickey Higham's short pass to Barrett made it three tries in six minutes, and Iafeta Paleaaesina's bulldozing run set up the position from which Hock went over.
Joel Tomkins got another try two minutes later as Warrington's fans headed for the exit, their first-half domination just a fading memory.
In the first half, Matt King went over for the visitors and Michael Monaghan put in an angled kick which Anderson got in first to touch down. Warrington made their territorial domination tell when Martin Gleeson's back-handed pass put Andy Bracek in for their third try.
Wigan: Richards; Calderwood, Bailey, Carmont, Colbon; Barrett, Leuluai; Coley, Higham, Prescott, Hansen, Hock, O'Laughlin. Substitutes used: Mathers, Fielden, Paleaaesina, J Tomkins.
Warrington: Hicks; Penny, Martin Gleeson, V Anderson, King; Briers, Monaghan; Morley, Clarke, Rauhihi, L Anderson, Westwood, Grix. Substitutes used: Parker, Harrison, Mark Gleeson, Bracek.
Referee A Klein (Keighley).
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