Wigan blown away by Morris hat-trick
Wigan paid the price for a woeful start as they lost to Sydney Roosters in the 25th World Club Challenge.
Former Australia Test threequarter Brett Morris took advantage of two defensive blunders to score two tries inside eight minutes of his debut and went on to complete a hat-trick before half-time as the Roosters established a 14-4 lead.
The Super League champions rallied after their dreadful opening and tries from wingers Tom Davies and Liam Marshall gave them hope but they had left themselves too much to do.
“It’s our third poor start in a row with soft tries down our right and, when you give a quality team 10 points start, it’s always hard to come back,” Adrian Lam, the Wigan coach, admitted. “I thought we played pretty good in the second half, we probably could have been a little bit more clinical at the end of our sets but, when you’re playing these great teams, they make no mistakes.”
Wigan had hoped to set a new mark with a fifth win on their record-equalling eighth appearance in the annual global challenge but it was the Roosters who maintained their 100 per cent record with a fourth triumph to draw level with their hosts and Melbourne Storm.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson showed he meant business by taking his squad to Paris for a training camp en route to England and he was able to field 13 members of the side that beat Melbourne 21-6 in last September’s NRL Grand Final.
However, it was the one newcomer who stole the limelight, with Morris, who got his chance in the absence of centre Latrell Mitchell, making a blistering start to his Roosters career.
He shrugged off the attempted tackle of Oliver Gildart and Thomas Leuluai to score the opening try after only three minutes and doubled his tally five minutes later, planting the ball over the line.
Prop Sio Siua Taukeiaho kicked one conversion to put the visitors 10-0 ahead and stun the home crowd but the Wigan fans were on their feet when hooker Sam Powell was tackled high and late by prop Jared Waerea-hargreaves.
The New Zealand international got away with a lecture from referee Robert Hicks but Wigan made the most of back-to-back penalties to build pressure on the visitors’ line and it paid off after 19 minutes when half-backs Leuluai and George Williams worked the ball out wide for Gildart to get Davies over for a much-needed try.
But Zak Hardaker was unable to add the conversion and the Warriors’ brave fightback was halted by Morris, who completed his hattrick nine minutes before the break.
An interception from centre Dan Sarginson and a one-on-one ball steal by captain Sean O’loughlin gave Wigan renewed hope early in the second half.
Taukeiaho kicked a 40-metre penalty midway through the second period to extend the Australian club’s lead but Marshall kept Wigan’s hopes alive with a 65thminute try.
It was never going to be enough, though, and Daniel Tupou had the final say when he plucked Luke Keary’s kick out of the air to score the Roosters’ fourth try.