JUST FARR TWO GOOD
Double star Liam is Warriors’ centre of attention
Leeds Rhinos 6 Wigan Warriors 19
STAND-IN centre Liam Farrell scored a classy double to ensure that Kyle Eastmond’s rugby league return ended in defeat.
Much of the build-up had focused on Leeds’ lengthy absentee list, with coach Richard Agar missing 11 frontline players through injury or suspension.
But Wigan’s backline is also decimated, with back-rowers Farrell and Willie Isa continuing to operate in the threequarters. Farrell, in particular, has made the switch seamlessly, and grabbed a welltaken try in each half to inflict a third straight defeat on the Rhinos.
The Warriors, aiming to go one better than last year’s Grand Final defeat to St Helens, have won all four times this season without clicking fully into gear.
Agar handed Eastmond his first start in the 13-man code for almost 10 years, and it proved a tough re-introduction to life in Super League.
The dual-code international cut a peripheral figure for the vast majority of an attritional first half that ended with Wigan 8-0 ahead. His intended half-back partner, Luke Gale, is among the Rhinos’ casualties and they badly missed his organisational ability during a handful of attacks on the Wigan line.
The Warriors opened the scoring when
Farrell got on the outside of Alex Sutcliffe to score. A moment of magic from in-form Zak Hardaker (right) against his former club then doubled the lead.
On the last tackle, Hardaker spotted his young opposite full-back Jack Broadbent had shot up into the line to cover a Rhinos defender down in back play.
Hardaker kicked in behind and with nobody back, finished out wide.
The same trick almost worked just before half-time, with Jackson Hastings this time kicking for Hardaker. But a superb cover tackle from Luke Briscoe dislodged the ball over the line and preserved the eight-point margin.
Briscoe then helped his side close that gap straight after the restart. With Eastmond floating a pass out wide, he produced a brilliant offload for Alex Mellor to touch down and make it 6-8.
But crucially it was the visitors who scored next. The increasingly prominent Hastings took the line on from close range and dummied around Rhyse Martin to cross out wide.
Hastings helped seal matters when his clever pass put Farrell over under the posts, before Hardaker added a drop-goal.