After suffering defeat to Widnes in the last away trip of 2014, Wigan returned to the DW Stadium for their penultimate game of the regular season as Challenge Cup Winners Leeds visited on Friday night.
In what was marketed as 'The Big One 5', a superb night of entertainment included a stellar performance from Carolynne Poole and James Walsh which was spearheaded by a legends game between the Joining Jack and Sporting Prints teams with the Joining Jack legends securing a 16-4 victory.
Wigan legends Jason Robinson and Andy Farrell each crossed for a try with Farrell converting both before Brad Hepi responded for the visitors but the win was secure when Andy Craig scored late on and despite Farrell's missed conversion attempt, the JJ legends secured a great win.
The main event saw to late changes for Wigan with Joe Burgess and Jack Hughes replacing Anthony Gelling (illness) and Dom Manfredi (rib injury) but on what would hopefully be a joyful night for Wigan, Leeds looked to spoil the party early on.
Kallum Watkins took advantage of a good position from a second minute penalty to threaten the Wigan line but fell just short of claiming the first score of the night and Wigan responded with Matt Bowen going close twice in the space of five minutes but the scoreboard remained blank.
However in the 13th minute, Wigan made a breakthrough as a superb grubber kick from Blake Green found Joe Burgess who collected the ball and touched down for a well-worked try which was soon followed by a conversion from Matty Smith for a 6-0 lead.
Leeds looked to stage a rapid response but were forced to dropout from in goal before making a huge mistake after regaining possession as a pass from Zak Hardaker sailed nicely into the hands of Matty Smith who broke through the Rhinos defence and dashed clear to score a stunning try which he successfully converted for a 12-0 lead after 23 minutes.
Wigan breathed a sigh of relief with just three minutes left in the first half when a high kick from Kevin Sinfield found Ryan Hall who looked to cross for a textbook try but he offloaded to Josh Charnley which saw the move break down.
The Rhinos fell further behind just seconds before half-time as Wigan were awarded a penalty in a good position and time against them, elected to kick at goal and a powerful attempt from Matty Smith ensured a 14-0 half-time lead for the Warriors.
A frantic start to the first half saw both sides make errors but in the 44th minute, a set of chase and fumbles akin to a circus routine by the duo of Josh Charnley and Ryan Hall resulted in the Leeds winger picking out Liam Sutcliffe who raced over for a try with Kevin Sinfield converting for 14-6.
Both sides pushed for the next score with a number of grubber kicks on the attack being easily collected by the defences but Wigan looked to have scored just after the hour mark as Dan Sarginson seemed to have touched down but after a video review the try was disallowed .
Wigan did extend their lead in a style fitting of a ballroom rather than a rugby pitch as a clever spin and turn from Ben Flower saw him fool the Leeds defence and cross for a try and Matty Smith was on hand to convert well for a 20-6 lead with eight minutes remaining.
Leeds were unable to master a scoring response and in the final minute, Matty Smith rubbed salt in the Rhinos wounds by successful kicking a drop goal for a final score of 21-6.
In what was marketed as 'The Big One 5', a superb night of entertainment included a stellar performance from Carolynne Poole and James Walsh which was spearheaded by a legends game between the Joining Jack and Sporting Prints teams with the Joining Jack legends securing a 16-4 victory.
Wigan legends Jason Robinson and Andy Farrell each crossed for a try with Farrell converting both before Brad Hepi responded for the visitors but the win was secure when Andy Craig scored late on and despite Farrell's missed conversion attempt, the JJ legends secured a great win.
The main event saw to late changes for Wigan with Joe Burgess and Jack Hughes replacing Anthony Gelling (illness) and Dom Manfredi (rib injury) but on what would hopefully be a joyful night for Wigan, Leeds looked to spoil the party early on.
Kallum Watkins took advantage of a good position from a second minute penalty to threaten the Wigan line but fell just short of claiming the first score of the night and Wigan responded with Matt Bowen going close twice in the space of five minutes but the scoreboard remained blank.
However in the 13th minute, Wigan made a breakthrough as a superb grubber kick from Blake Green found Joe Burgess who collected the ball and touched down for a well-worked try which was soon followed by a conversion from Matty Smith for a 6-0 lead.
Leeds looked to stage a rapid response but were forced to dropout from in goal before making a huge mistake after regaining possession as a pass from Zak Hardaker sailed nicely into the hands of Matty Smith who broke through the Rhinos defence and dashed clear to score a stunning try which he successfully converted for a 12-0 lead after 23 minutes.
Wigan breathed a sigh of relief with just three minutes left in the first half when a high kick from Kevin Sinfield found Ryan Hall who looked to cross for a textbook try but he offloaded to Josh Charnley which saw the move break down.
The Rhinos fell further behind just seconds before half-time as Wigan were awarded a penalty in a good position and time against them, elected to kick at goal and a powerful attempt from Matty Smith ensured a 14-0 half-time lead for the Warriors.
A frantic start to the first half saw both sides make errors but in the 44th minute, a set of chase and fumbles akin to a circus routine by the duo of Josh Charnley and Ryan Hall resulted in the Leeds winger picking out Liam Sutcliffe who raced over for a try with Kevin Sinfield converting for 14-6.
Both sides pushed for the next score with a number of grubber kicks on the attack being easily collected by the defences but Wigan looked to have scored just after the hour mark as Dan Sarginson seemed to have touched down but after a video review the try was disallowed .
Wigan did extend their lead in a style fitting of a ballroom rather than a rugby pitch as a clever spin and turn from Ben Flower saw him fool the Leeds defence and cross for a try and Matty Smith was on hand to convert well for a 20-6 lead with eight minutes remaining.
Leeds were unable to master a scoring response and in the final minute, Matty Smith rubbed salt in the Rhinos wounds by successful kicking a drop goal for a final score of 21-6.
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