WIGAN RAISE THEIR SHIELD
STEPHEN IBBETSON
LEIGH LEOPARDS 6
WIGAN WARRIORS 10
► Leigh Sports Village, Friday
ON a night with all manner of possible permutations, Wigan made things simple by securing victory.
That is not to say that achieving that win was simple, however -Leigh made them give everything to secure the League Leaders’ Shield.
The Warriors began the night ahead of Catalans and St Helens on points difference and finished it in the same place, as all three picked up final-day wins.
Instead the calculators were reserved for Leigh, who at one late stage were level on both points and points difference with Hull KR. In the end, the latter’s thumping win at Wakefield and Leigh’s inability to snatch something from this gripping clash meant the Robins jumped to fourth, and will now host Adrian Lam’s side in the first round of the play-offs this Friday.
Wigan can sit back and watch that clash, but they know how close they came to a very different fate. One late Leigh try would have pushed them down to third, seeing not only the Shield - stationed at Leigh Sports Village in correct anticipation of a Warriors victory - ripped from their grasp but an automatic semi-final berth taken too.