Season review 2010 Wigan Warriors season

1 season review

1.1 february
1.2 march
1.3 april
1.4 may
1.5 june
1.6 july
1.7 august
1.8 september
1.9 october

season review

as super league xv clubs, regular season consists of 27 rounds of fixtures against other thirteen clubs, once home , once away, magic weekend fixture. wigan warriors, against huddersfield giants. finishing regular season in top 8 places means entering play-offs teams concerned, potentially additional 4 matches, including grand final itself. club compete in 2010 challenge cup, entering in fourth round.

february

an amos roberts brace gave wigan first win of season in opening round against crusaders rl, led warriors former head coach brian noble. roberts ran in 2 tries wigan comfortably won second match of season against hull kingston rovers, although cameron phelps sustained ankle injury , ruled out 4 weeks. regathered kick chipped space sam tomkins set move culminated in brother joel tomkins scoring match-winning try, register wigan s first win against warrington wolves @ halliwell jones stadium since opened in 2004. adverse weather conditions across united kingdom meant wigan not travel neath play friendly match against south wales scorpions. pat richards scored 5 tries , 9 goals break club s record points player in single match, breaking andy farrell s previous record of thirty-two points, wigan whitewashed catalans dragons 58–0 maintain perfect start season.

at start of february, 2 wigan players—shaun ainscough , liam farrell—were loaned out widnes vikings on dual-registration arrangement. ben davies moved widnes on three-month loan. on 15 february, club s president peter higginbottom died aged 66. following criticism condition of dw stadium s pitch wigan athletic s manager roberto martínez, football club announced dig , relay surface after rugby league match against catalans dragons, despite warriors head coach maguire stating thought pitch pretty , looked alright him. ainscough moved dual-registration widnes month-long loan castleford tigers.

march

in first match of march, matt orford brace helped overturn 0–20 deficit bradford bulls, meaning wigan suffered first loss of season , last perfect record of super league xv fell. darrell goulding , sam tomkins scored 2 tries each hull f.c. struggled cope wigan s front-row , consequently warriors moved 2 points clear @ top of league table. castleford beaten @ jungle, roberts form continued first hat-trick wigan in 2 seasons, joining richards league s leading try scorer ten in 7 games. injury-stricken leeds rhinos side beaten wigan, goulding scoring 2 tries against defending super league champions. having missed games against castleford , leeds, harrison hansen confirmed having been injured torn shoulder muscle, , ruled out 3 months.

following loss wigan, castleford signed month-long loan chris tuson, made second first-grade appearance warriors against them. ainscough s loan @ castleford extended last rest of season. joel tomkins given formal caution using knees in tackle on danny buderus. lee mossop quashed rumours may leave wigan career in nrl signing five-year contract extension, due expire @ end of 2014 season.

april

st helens r.f.c. fought in attempt overturn 0–14 deficit @ half-time, wigan held on 2 second-half penalties richards win final friday derby @ saints knowsley road. wigan followed on easter monday 54–14 win on wakefield trinity wildcats, although roberts sustained cruciate knee ligament injury , expected out approximately 8 weeks. richards scored 2 tries wigan comfortably completed sixth successive win on salford city reds. in wigan s first challenge cup fixture of season, richie barnett hat-trick sheffield eagles threatened repeat warriors infamous defeat them in 1998 challenge cup final, sam tomkins scored hat-trick of own ease wigan fifth round. seven-match winning streak came end, harlequins rl rallied 24–6 down beat wigan 26–38.

dual-registration deals signed whitehaven josh veivers , stefan marsh. ainscough recalled season-long loan @ castleford wigan s injury list grew. 2007 , 2009 nrl league titles maguire had earned assistant coach melbourne storm stripped after discovered club had cheated, using secret payments break league s salary cap. tuson s loan @ castleford extended on week-by-week basis, while ainscough loaned out again widnes. davies loan widnes extended dual-registration arrangement.

may

the magic weekend took place @ start of may, , wigan s win against huddersfield giants took them 2 points clear again @ top of table. sam tomkins , karl pryce both scored hat-tricks injury-hit widnes side—unable use loanees ainscough, farrell , davies—proved unable match wigan in fifth round cup match @ stobart stadium. huddersfield lost wigan again in ill-tempered match @ galpharm stadium, despite 2 sin-binnings warriors , david hodgson hat-trick giants. pryce claimed 4 tries , martin gleeson scored twice wigan beat crusaders 26–46. however, wigan s cup campaign came end in quarterfinal stage on rain-soaked headingley pitch, last-minute lee smith try handed victory leeds.

sean o loughlin received formal caution high tackle on luke robinson, despite huddersfield head coach nathan brown believing foul deserved two-month ban. gleeson dropped club second match of month against huddersfield due unidentified breach of discipline.

june

on returning league action following cup knock-out leeds, goulding hat-trick helped wigan make lead @ top of table more secure win on castleford. both of tomkins brothers o loughlin called play england against france on 12 june, , 3 played in win on wakefield in league next day, although o loughlin had been withdrawn after ten minutes strain quadriceps. late comeback not enough overturn 12–26 deficit against st helens, warriors lost first league match since harlequins in april. sam tomkins made first appearance @ fullback, stay rest of season, wigan won against harlequins richards brace.

mick hogan appointed new chief executive @ rugby union side sale sharks, moving similar role had occupied @ wigan since 2008. mark riddell announced intentions return home australia @ end of season ill mother.

july

two tries clint greenshields of catalans dragons not enough victory wigan replied 5 tries of own keep four-point lead in league table. o loughlin returned injury score try wigan defeated salford fifty points, helped hat-trick goulding , brace sam tomkins. in first super league game broadcast in 3d display, wigan lost warrington, result reduced lead in league table 2 points 5 games remaining. however, team responded whitewashing hull @ kc stadium week later, richards scoring third hat-trick of season, while warrington s loss catalans in same weekend restored wigan s four-point advantage. in july s final fixture, wigan defeated leeds in ill-disciplined match, carl ablett , ryan bailey both being put on report rhinos.

andy coley received red-card against catalans , consequently picked two-match ban. club signed 8 of academy players on professional contracts. following salary cap breaches @ melbourne stripped them of 2007 , 2009 titles, ryan hoffman released join wigan on twelve-month contract, , followed brett finch , jeff lima, 3 joining squad 2011 season. joel tomkins charged late tackle against warrington did not receive match ban. maguire returned home australia during july gravely ill father, meaning shaun wane, assistant coach, took control of matches against hull , leeds.

august

as challenge cup semifinals played on first weekend of august, wigan s first team had week off, although mossop ruled out rest of season after suffering shoulder injury during under-20s match. team returned action on 16 august home fixture against huddersfield, , squandered chance secure league leader s shield sure, losing 16–18. win @ craven park against hull kingston rovers meant wigan no longer caught @ top of league table @ 4 points ahead 1 game left, , consequently, warriors won league leader s shield first time in ten years, first trophy since 2002. final weekend of august occupied challenge cup final, meaning wigan had week away action.

davies named in welsh national squad international fixtures during autumn. club featured in carnegie floodlit nines competition first time, , beat bradford 20–16 in final win tournament. riddell s departure club confirmed, release of phil bailey , iafeta paleaaesina contracts due run out @ end of 2010 season , not renewed. ainscough, featured in flootlit nines victory, signed bradford 2011 season.

september

wigan won final match of regular rounds against bradford, league leader s shield won, eyes on richards attempted break several records. 2 tries, broke club record tries in super league season, bringing tally twenty-nine , breaking kris radlinski s previous record of twenty-eight. placed him @ third in overall super league records, behind danny mcguire s thirty-five tries , lesley vainikolo s thirty-six, both achieved in 2004. 3 goals well, richards equalled league record points in season, matching andy farrell s 2001 record of 388. win meant wigan ended regular season twenty-two wins , 5 losses, beating nearest rivals in st helens , warrington top of table 4 points. virtue of this, play fourth-placed leeds in first weekend of playoffs.

a drop-goal kevin sinfield proved difference wigan lost first playoff match in controversial circumstances, in final minute of game, mcguire took out carmont , scott donald took out richards wigan breaking down left wing, foul play injured mcguire s knee , ruled him out rest of playoffs, , gave wigan penalty forty metres out have won game had richards not missed it. consequence of defeat leeds match against hull kingston rovers, warriors missing deacon due groin injury received during previous match. however, despite being behind twice during match @ 6–12 , 12–14, wigan overcame hull kingston rovers 42–18 place playoff semifinals. st helens choosing play huddersfield in other semifinal match, wigan left away trip face leeds again. 6–26 victory, wigan time won, ending leeds three-year run super league champions, result placing wigan grand final face st helens.

leuluai announced in new zealand preliminary squad 2010 4 nations. stuart fielden , andy coley both signed new contracts keep them @ wigan, 2 years , 1 year respectively. 4 wigan players announced in super league dream team 2010: richards, o loughlin , both of tomkins brothers. 2 days after wigan had defeated leeds place in grand final, confirmed terry newton, former wigan player had been banned in february testing positive human growth hormone while playing wakefield, had been discovered dead @ home near wigan. death later given open verdict rather 1 of suicide coroner, due doubts on newton s mental state @ time of death.

october

2010 wigan s fourth appearance in grand final, 3 less opponents , local derby rivals st helens, held record finals , playing @ old trafford fifth consecutive time having lost previous 3 finals leeds. wigan s previous final had been defeat bradford in 2003, , o loughlin survivor in 2010 team played day. compared st helens grand final record of 4 wins seven, wigan s record poor, super league championship after playoffs introduced coming in 1998 against leeds. league s statistically best defence in wigan opposing league s best attack in st helens, , top 2 teams regular season league table playing each other, final deemed several commentators close match call.

the match preceded minute s silence newton. wigan earned advantage former st helens player, gleeson, scoring game s opening try after 3 minutes following iosia soliola knock-on. deacon continued put st helens under pressure threatening kicks richards, gleeson scored , wigan s second try move started in warriors half sam tomkins , deacon. deacon kick not controlled st helens, , goulding touched down easy try in sixteenth minute. richards scored second goal conversion attempt, did not last first half suffered injury achilles tendon ended participation in final. after coming close try through matty smith, st helens replied through andrew dixon reduce margin ten points @ half-time.

richards injury cost wigan points, riddell, stand-in kicker, missed 2 relatively easy penalty attempts. however, sam tomkins scored first try of second half on right wing, riddell managing kick conversion. liam farrell had try disallowed obstruction, before st helens scored second try of match through francis meli. final try of game though, wigan managed run down clock without conceding again win first grand final in twelve years. 22–10 victory meant wigan crowned super league xv champions.

in addition o loughlin , tomkins brothers played against france earlier in season, fielden , goulding both selected join england squad in post-season 2010 4 nations tournament. confirmed day after grand final injury richards had sustained meant out of action @ least 5 6 months, included post-season international matches start of next season, although richards stated, if d known happen , d still end winning, d have taken it.