Wigan bury their demons with a rout

Wigan Warriors 70 Salford City Reds 4

Wigan drew level with Bradford at the top of Super League and did their points difference a power of good as they overwhelmed Salford.

Defeat at Salford in May was one of the results that led to Frank Endacott being sacked as Wigan coach, but there was never any sign of the side going the same way under Stuart Raper.

Straight from the kick-off, Andy Coley knocked on and Wigan's first attack ended with Andy Farrell's pass sending Mick Cassidy over: Farrell added the goal from the touchline and the pattern was set.

Brett Dallas leapt to take a high kick and slipped the ball to Paul Johnson for Wigan's second point. However, there were brief signs of Wigan turning the game into a struggle until Farrell and Kris Radlinski linked up to send Terry Newton away.

Matthew Johns, in his first game since the announcement that he is leaving at the end of the season, opened up the defence with equal ease for Farrell, who went through some woeful tackling for his second.

Newton's second came as Radlinski picked up John's chip-kick as the procession continued, and Newton returned the compliment to Radlinski to make it three tries in three minutes. Farrell's raking kick and Bryan Carney's exceptional pace produced the next, with Farrell's first missed conversion prompting ironic booing.

Radlinksi's second, early in the second half, took Wigan over the 50-point mark, before Salford achieved the moral victory of keeping them scoreless for 15-minutes.

That ended as Denis Betts forced his way over, and his' break also provided Radlinski with his third, before Newton also completed his hat-trick from David Hodgson's pass.

The winning margin could have been greater but for Salford doing the unthinkable by scoring through Nick Pinkney in the last minute.

Wigan Warriors: Radlinski; Carney, Renouf, Johnson, Dallas, Chester, Johns, Cowie, Newton, Howard, Cassidy, Furner, Farrell. Substitutes used: Stephenson, Betts, O'Connor, Hodgson.

Salford City Reds: Broadbent, Pinkney, Maloney, Littler, Arnold, Blakeley, Goulding, Driscoll, Alker, Coley, Highton, Nicol, Wainwright. Substitutes used: Hancock, Tassell, Harmon, Holroyd.

Referee: R Smith (Castleford).