WANE GETS FINAL WISH
Grand send-off for departing Wigan coach
SAM TOMKINS ensured the perfect DW Stadium farewell for himself and coach Shaun Wane as Wigan booked a Grand Final showdown with Warrington.
Tomkins scored a try and kicked two goals and drop goals in his final home appearance ahead of a switch to Catalans Dragons.
But first he has a title decider to focus on – as the Warriors look to send him, Wane, and Canberra-bound duo John Bateman and Ryan Sutton out on the perfect note.
Wane’s fifth Grand Final in six seasons in charge was rarely in doubt as Castleford – much like their appearance at the Theatre of Dreams last year – failed to reproduce their best form when it mattered most.
The Tigers were plagued by frequent handling errors and struggled to break down a resolute home defence, and must now spend another close season pondering what might have been.
Wigan can turn their attentions to St Helens’ conquerors, the Wolves, as Wane looks to secure a third title of his tenure before leaving for Scottish RU.
His counterpart Daryl Powell had spoken widely in the build-up of the need to learn the lessons of 2017’s chastening Grand Final defeat to Leeds.
But instead the Tigers produced a near carbon copy of that display, making constant errors with the ball to undo the hard work of Liam Watts and Peter Matautia.
They were fortunate to only be 7-0 down at the break as Wigan failed to take full advantage of their sloppiness.
The solitary first-half try came via the excellent Tommy Leuluai on his 250th appearance for the club as he forced his way over from close range.
The score came moments after a Luke Gale high tackle on Dom Manfredi – who had already been clattered by Grant Millington – in one of a handful of flashpoints.
The closest Castleford came to responding was when Paul McShane lost the ball in the act of touching down under the posts, and Tomkins (below) extended his side’s lead with a drop goal right on half-time.
It was Tomkins who put daylight between the teams seven minutes into the second half.
The home full-back spotted a gap in the visitors’ line and shot through it to slide over in the corner and make it 11-0
The Tigers’ night was summed up when two full sets of six on the home line were wasted by a Joe Wardle forward pass and a James Clare knock-on.
And they were also denied by brilliant cover defence from John Bateman on a try-bound Greg Eden before Tomkins added a second late drop goal.