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Joe Burgess’s late try steers Wigan past Warrington into Grand Final Joe Burgess’s late try steers Wigan past Warrington into Grand Final
(about 1 hour later)
Wigan will face St Helens in next Saturday’s Grand Final after Joe Burgess snatched the most dramatic semi-final victory with less than two minutes remaining.Wigan will face St Helens in next Saturday’s Grand Final after Joe Burgess snatched the most dramatic semi-final victory with less than two minutes remaining.
These old local rivals had been locked together for 13 minutes, with each missing a couple of drop goal attempts, when Wigan’s captain Sean O’Loughlin decided to change plan and go for the try. It was a match that had pretty much everything, from the sublime to the ridiculous – the latter represented by two freakish Warrington tries that highlighted the absurdity of some refereeing interpretations that have been allowed to fester for the last few seasons.
As with so many of O’Loughlin’s decisions as an outstanding leader of his local club, it paid off as Burgess, a tall young wing who has come from nowhere this season, bounced out of a tackle and planted the ball over the line. But after the teams had been locked together for 13 increasingly frantic minutes, with each missing a couple of drop-goal attempts and the game seemed destined to go into golden point extra-time, Wigan’s captain, Sean O’Loughlin, decided to change plan and go for the try.
Matty Bowen was unable to convert but that was irrelevant. There were only 36 seconds remaining and although Warrington regained possession from the restart, they did not have time to hit back. As with so many of O’Loughlin’s decisions as an outstanding leader of his local club, it paid off as Burgess, a tall young wing who has come from nowhere this season, stepped inside a desperate cover tackle and planted the ball over the line – a cool and clinical finish to add to the many more spectacular tries the 19-year-old has claimed in his first full season.
So Wigan will defend their title at Old Trafford next weekend, and will start as strong favourites. Saints will do well to push them as hard as this. Lesser teams than Warrington would have been blown away by half-time. So Wigan will defend their title at Old Trafford next weekend, and will start as strong favourites. Indeed Saints will do well to give them as tough a contest as this, in what will be their last game under the Australian coach Nathan Brown following the surprise announcement that he is returning home after only two seasons at Langtree Park. Lesser teams than Warrington would have been blown away by half-time. As it was, they trailed only 8-4, albeit courtesy of their first bizarre try. Wigan maintained a zealous intensity throughout, and for the first half hour the Wolves could barely escape their own half. But they restricted the champions Wigan to a single try, which was a thing of simple beauty, as Blake Green broke through the middle and found Joel Tomkins timing his supporting run to perfection.
As it was, they trailed only 8-4, albeit courtesy of a strange try that, while technically correct, highlighted the absurdity of some refereeing interpretations that have been allowed to fester in recent seasons. On the odd attack that Warrington’ mounted, they were thwarted and often driven back by the ferocity of the Wigan defence. It would clearly take something out of the ordinary to penetrate.
Wigan maintained a zealous intensity throughout, and for the first half hour the Wolves could barely escape their own half. But they restricted the champions to an early Matty Smith penalty followed by a single try, which was a thing of simple beauty, as Blake Green broke through the middle and found Joel Tomkins timing his supporting run to perfection. If there were any doubts, that was the moment when the eldest of the three Tomkins brothers confirmed Wigan’s wisdom in bringing him back from rugby union – with Sam, who is back home on a break at the end of his first season with the New Zealand Warriors – watching from the stand. That came when Richie Myler’s pass bounced off the head of Ben Currie, and Joel Monaghan was sharp enough to touch the ball down.
When Warrington managed to mount an attack, they were thwarted and often driven back by the ferocity of the Wigan defence. It would clearly take something out of the ordinary to penetrate. It turned out to be something truly bizarre. The try stood, the crowd booed and Wigan seethed, all the way to the break. “I just had to have a check on myself,” admitted Shaun Wane, their famously fiery coach. “I needed to let the players understand that we’d dominated that first half. But I have to credit Warrington for the way they defended. It must have been a great game for a neutral, and sets us up just right for next week.”
Warrington had already benefited from one decision that infuriated the Wigan players and supporters as the referee, Phil Bentham, ruled that a stray pass had bounced accidentally from the head of their second-row James Laithwaite, and therefore did not constitute a knock-on. Then, from the resulting pressure, Richie Myler seemed to have thrown a long ball to the right at least five yards forward before Joel Monaghan touched it down. But the replays showed that Myler’s pass had cannoned forward off the head of Ben Currie. Again, the lack of intent meant it could not be ruled a knock-on, in defiance of natural justice. The try stood, the crowd booed and Wigan seethed, all the way to the break. Wane admitted he was concerned when Warrington went ahead with a second try that was almost as peculiar as the first as Gareth O’Brien, a clever young half-back, hoisted a hopeful bomb to nowhere in particular, but Matty Bowen allowed it to bounce, and O’Brien gathered it himself to cross near the posts.
Warrington resumed with greater belief, Wigan perhaps with some first doubts, and after 46 minutes the Wolves had the most improbable 10-8 lead. However within six minutes Wigan were ahead again. They stuck to the orthodox and classical, with Burgess doing the initial damage down the left after being set free by his equally gifted centre partner Dan Sarginson, and Smith’s perfect pass giving Anthony Gelling the opportunity to power over on the right.
Their second try was almost as freakish as the first as Gareth O’Brien, a clever young half-back, hoisted a hopeful bomb to nowhere in particular, but Wigan’s full-back Bowen allowed it to bounce, and O’Brien gathered himself to cross near the posts. But Smith was unable to convert from out wide, meaning that when Liam Farrell was penalised near Wigan’s own posts, Stefan Ratchford seized the chance to bring the scores level with 15 minutes remaining. Warrington could spend the winter regretting the failure of O’Brien or Myler to land their drop-goal chances, although it took a desperate chargedown by Michael Monaghan in the heroic last stand of a magnificent career to deny Smith a matchwinning one-pointer for Wigan.
However within six minutes Wigan were ahead again, albeit by only a couple of points themselves. They stuck to the orthodox and classical, with Burgess doing the initial damage down the left, and clinical handling giving Anthony Gelling the opportunity to power over on the right. “We could be frustrated, but it isn’t going to change things,” said their coach Tony Smith. “Sometimes you’ve got to be gracious in defeat, even if you don’t want to be.”
But Smith was unable to convert from wide out, meaning that when Liam Farrell was penalised near Wigan’s own posts, Stefan Ratchford seized the chance to bring the scores level with 15 minutes remaining. At least they will have the consolation of a place in the expanded World Club Challenge – almost certainly against Brisbane Broncos on a Friday night at their Halliwell Jones Stadium.
Wigan Warriors Bowen; Charnley, Gelling, Sarginson, Burgess; Green, Smith; Flower, McIlorum, Crosby, Tomkins, Farrell, O’Loughin (capt). Interchange Powell, Pettybourne, Clubb, Bateman.Wigan Warriors Bowen; Charnley, Gelling, Sarginson, Burgess; Green, Smith; Flower, McIlorum, Crosby, Tomkins, Farrell, O’Loughin (capt). Interchange Powell, Pettybourne, Clubb, Bateman.
Warrington Wolves Ratchford; J Monaghan, Bridge, Atkins, R Evans; O’Brien, Myler; Hill, M Monaghan (capt), England, Laithwaite, Currie, Harrison. Interchange Russell, Higham, Asotasi, Waterhouse.Warrington Wolves Ratchford; J Monaghan, Bridge, Atkins, R Evans; O’Brien, Myler; Hill, M Monaghan (capt), England, Laithwaite, Currie, Harrison. Interchange Russell, Higham, Asotasi, Waterhouse.
Referee P Bentham (Warrington)Referee P Bentham (Warrington)