Huddersfield 6 Wigan 13: Five things we learned
1. And on they roll.
Wigan have now won their last seven matches, and victory against Huddersfield secured a second-placed finish - and with it a home semi-final, most likely against Castleford, in a fortnight.
If the Warriors beat Hull FC at home next Friday, they will become the first team to go through a top-tier Super-8s campaign victorious.
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Hide Ad2. As a spectacle, this was an ugly game littered with errors.
Only when Huddersfield closed the score to 7-6 did the excitement levels ratchet up, and Oliver Gildart sealed victory late on after Danny Brough had been sinbinned.
There was mitigation for the flat occasion - as Shaun Wane put it, “The atmosphere was terrible and the weather was shocking.”
Did the Thursday night time slot have an impact on the size of the crowd (4,197)?
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Hide Ad3. Morgan Escare started the match at full-back and made the most of his opportunity.
The Frenchman did well for his first-half try, added a drop-goal after the break and stopped a charging Matty English on the line.
Mid-season recruit Joe Greenwood, back after a one-game ban, also made his presence felt in the back-row to earn glowing praise from Wane.
“I like his manner off the field, he’s got into what we’re about, he digs in - I’m more impressed with him than I thought he’d be, if I’m honest,” said the Warriors boss.
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Hide Ad4. Josh Woods finally got a recall to the 17-man squad... but didn’t get on.
The halfback, a drop-goal hero against Warrington in July, has not figured during the Super-8s but was drafted back in when Thomas Leuluai withdrew with a groin strain.
Woods, though, never got off the bench. “It was unfortunate for him, but I was comfortable with the team I had on,” explained Wane.
5. Huddersfield have some good players in their squad. Some fantastic names, too - such as Colton Roche and Kruise Leeming.
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Hide AdBut when the Giants published the official team-sheet, the name of their second-rower took some beating - Dual Seal Glass!
Huddersfield quickly omitted the error, replacing ‘Dual Seal Glass’ with Oliver Roberts.
On a serious note, two of their young players - Innes Senior and Oliver Russell - may be in action against Wigan’s Under-19s in Saturday’s semi-final.