After a surprise defeat to already relegated Bradford in the previous round, Wigan resumed their hosting duties for the visit of Salford.
The notable change from the loss at Bradford was the return of Anthony Gelling in place of Darrell Goulding while there was a focus on Joel Tomkins's second debut for the club after recently re-signing for Wigan while brother Logan lined up for Salford as he continued his loan spell for the Red Devils.
Wigan started well with runs from Josh Charnley and Matt Bowen putting them in a good position in the opening sets but sadly there was no end product from the positions and a number of drive and kick sets followed for both sides inside the first ten minutes.
However in the 12th minute, Wigan looked to have opened the scoring as a kick through the Salford defence saw Sean O'Loughlin and Matt Bowen chase the ball with the former looking to touchdown before the dead ball line. Phil Bentham elected for a video review and after a number of replays, the try was awarded with Matty Smith converting successfully for a 6-0 lead.
Salford could have fallen further behind from the restart as a nice passing set from Wigan ended when Matt Bowen's long pass could only find touch and Salford survived before coming close to scoring themselves as a pacy run from Junior Sa'u saw him come within metres of the Wigan line only to be denied by a clever tackle from Dom Manfredi.
Wigan looked to have scored their second try of the evening in the 22nd minute after an interception and break from Josh Charnley saw him raced clear for a try only to be pulled back due to a knock-on in the original ball steal. Salford came close to claiming their first score of the evening when a superb 40/20 from Rangi Chase put the Red Devils in a great position but in the resulting set, Mason Caton-Brown knocked on just metres from the Wigan line.
A kick and chase from Matt Bowen forced Greg Johnson to kick the ball over the dead ball line and force Salford to dropout from under the posts with Wigan taking advantage of the good fortune as Matty Smith and Matt Bowen combined to find Anthony Gelling who swished through the Salford defence to score but a tough angle saw a failure to convert from Smith and a 10-0 lead.
Wigan increased the lead straight from the restart as Anthony Gelling picked out Josh Charnley who crossed for the try and despite a tough angle, Matty Smith converted successfully for a 16-0 lead which could have increased further just before the interval as a final tackle kick from Wigan was fumbled by Niall Evalds but Wigan were unable to take advantage.
Salford could have reduced the deficit right on the hooter as a dangerous kick from Rangi Chase found the arms of Greg Johnson but the winger was denied a try right on the line as Wigan's defence held firm to keep him out.
Wigan made a perfect start to the second half as a superb run saw Anthony Gelling cross for his second try of the evening but Phil Bentham called for a video review and after a few replays. the try was awarded and Matty Smith converted for a 22-0 lead. Salford had a great chance to register their first score of the evening when Theo Fages was tackled just before the Wigan line but a knock-on ended the move.
The Red Devils breathed a sigh of relief in the 52nd minute when a nice run from Matt Bowen put Wigan in a superb position but a horror of a grubber kick from John Bateman saw the move break down with the try line in sight.
The biggest roar of the evening so far came when Joel Tomkins entered the field but his entrance was overshadowed by a nice passing move that saw Matty Smith cross for a try but again a video review was called for and this time the try was denied which was a bit of luck for Salford.
A final tackle kick from Matty Smith saw Niall Evalds collect the ball and race clear towards the Wigan line and on course for a certain try but a stunning chase from Josh Charnley saw him catch the full-back and regain possession for Wigan.
Salford did get on the scoreboard and in strange circumstances in the 62nd minute when a final tackle kick from Rangi Chase looked to be bouncing into touch under the watchful eyes of Matt Bowen but Josh Griffin snuck in under the Wigan full-back to touch down just before the touchline. Griffin looked to add to his own effort but missed with the boot and Wigan led 22-4.
Alike the reverse meeting between the sides, Matty Smith sent over a drop goal in the 67th minute to make it 23-4 but his effort served as an appetiser for another Wigan score as a pacy run from Matt Bowen saw him break clear of the Salford defence before offloading to Anthony Gelling who crossed to complete his first hat-trick for Wigan and a nice conversion from Matty Smith made the score 29-4 to Wigan.
Wigan secured the win in the next set as a run from Williams saw him break clear and looking for support but with no fellow Warriors in sight he sidestepped his way through a number of Salford defenders before crossing for a superb try which saw Matty Smith add the conversion for a 35-4 lead.
The Wigan try scoring machine was working overtime as they were in again after a short restart from Salford saw them gain possession before a mistake from the Red Devils saw a superb kick toward the Salford line from Tony Clubb with the forward beating off the chasing Salford defenders before tapping down on the ball to score a cleverly worked try. Matty Smith added a conversion from in front of the posts and Wigan led 41-4.
The gloss on the win for Wigan came two minutes from the end as Smith sliced through the Salford defence before diving over the line for a try which strangely was sent for a video review before being awarded but Smith was unable to convert his own effort meaning he ended the game with a personal haul of 16 points as Wigan won 45-4.
The notable change from the loss at Bradford was the return of Anthony Gelling in place of Darrell Goulding while there was a focus on Joel Tomkins's second debut for the club after recently re-signing for Wigan while brother Logan lined up for Salford as he continued his loan spell for the Red Devils.
Wigan started well with runs from Josh Charnley and Matt Bowen putting them in a good position in the opening sets but sadly there was no end product from the positions and a number of drive and kick sets followed for both sides inside the first ten minutes.
However in the 12th minute, Wigan looked to have opened the scoring as a kick through the Salford defence saw Sean O'Loughlin and Matt Bowen chase the ball with the former looking to touchdown before the dead ball line. Phil Bentham elected for a video review and after a number of replays, the try was awarded with Matty Smith converting successfully for a 6-0 lead.
Salford could have fallen further behind from the restart as a nice passing set from Wigan ended when Matt Bowen's long pass could only find touch and Salford survived before coming close to scoring themselves as a pacy run from Junior Sa'u saw him come within metres of the Wigan line only to be denied by a clever tackle from Dom Manfredi.
Wigan looked to have scored their second try of the evening in the 22nd minute after an interception and break from Josh Charnley saw him raced clear for a try only to be pulled back due to a knock-on in the original ball steal. Salford came close to claiming their first score of the evening when a superb 40/20 from Rangi Chase put the Red Devils in a great position but in the resulting set, Mason Caton-Brown knocked on just metres from the Wigan line.
A kick and chase from Matt Bowen forced Greg Johnson to kick the ball over the dead ball line and force Salford to dropout from under the posts with Wigan taking advantage of the good fortune as Matty Smith and Matt Bowen combined to find Anthony Gelling who swished through the Salford defence to score but a tough angle saw a failure to convert from Smith and a 10-0 lead.
Wigan increased the lead straight from the restart as Anthony Gelling picked out Josh Charnley who crossed for the try and despite a tough angle, Matty Smith converted successfully for a 16-0 lead which could have increased further just before the interval as a final tackle kick from Wigan was fumbled by Niall Evalds but Wigan were unable to take advantage.
Salford could have reduced the deficit right on the hooter as a dangerous kick from Rangi Chase found the arms of Greg Johnson but the winger was denied a try right on the line as Wigan's defence held firm to keep him out.
Wigan made a perfect start to the second half as a superb run saw Anthony Gelling cross for his second try of the evening but Phil Bentham called for a video review and after a few replays. the try was awarded and Matty Smith converted for a 22-0 lead. Salford had a great chance to register their first score of the evening when Theo Fages was tackled just before the Wigan line but a knock-on ended the move.
The Red Devils breathed a sigh of relief in the 52nd minute when a nice run from Matt Bowen put Wigan in a superb position but a horror of a grubber kick from John Bateman saw the move break down with the try line in sight.
The biggest roar of the evening so far came when Joel Tomkins entered the field but his entrance was overshadowed by a nice passing move that saw Matty Smith cross for a try but again a video review was called for and this time the try was denied which was a bit of luck for Salford.
A final tackle kick from Matty Smith saw Niall Evalds collect the ball and race clear towards the Wigan line and on course for a certain try but a stunning chase from Josh Charnley saw him catch the full-back and regain possession for Wigan.
Salford did get on the scoreboard and in strange circumstances in the 62nd minute when a final tackle kick from Rangi Chase looked to be bouncing into touch under the watchful eyes of Matt Bowen but Josh Griffin snuck in under the Wigan full-back to touch down just before the touchline. Griffin looked to add to his own effort but missed with the boot and Wigan led 22-4.
Alike the reverse meeting between the sides, Matty Smith sent over a drop goal in the 67th minute to make it 23-4 but his effort served as an appetiser for another Wigan score as a pacy run from Matt Bowen saw him break clear of the Salford defence before offloading to Anthony Gelling who crossed to complete his first hat-trick for Wigan and a nice conversion from Matty Smith made the score 29-4 to Wigan.
Wigan secured the win in the next set as a run from Williams saw him break clear and looking for support but with no fellow Warriors in sight he sidestepped his way through a number of Salford defenders before crossing for a superb try which saw Matty Smith add the conversion for a 35-4 lead.
The Wigan try scoring machine was working overtime as they were in again after a short restart from Salford saw them gain possession before a mistake from the Red Devils saw a superb kick toward the Salford line from Tony Clubb with the forward beating off the chasing Salford defenders before tapping down on the ball to score a cleverly worked try. Matty Smith added a conversion from in front of the posts and Wigan led 41-4.
The gloss on the win for Wigan came two minutes from the end as Smith sliced through the Salford defence before diving over the line for a try which strangely was sent for a video review before being awarded but Smith was unable to convert his own effort meaning he ended the game with a personal haul of 16 points as Wigan won 45-4.
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