Wigan's form remains uncertain

Wigan 42 Warrington 1

Wigan 42 Warrington 12

Wigan found Warrington a suitable vehicle for their rehabilitation after their Good Friday defeat by St Helens, writes Dave Hadfield. Any declaration that they are back to their best should be deferred, however, because last night's display was an uneven one, especially in a first half where neither side could handle the ball securely.

An error-strewn first half-hour was enlivened only by a marvellous Henry Paul solo try from 60 yards out. In the 10 minutes immediately before half-time, though, Wigan began to put some handling moves together and a desperately poor Warrington duly opened up to concede tries to Rob Smyth and Kris Radlinski.

When Shaun Edwards charged down Iestyn Harris' kick and gathered the rebound to score just one minute after the interval, Wigan were on their way to a comfortable winning margin.

There was some slight alarm when Warrington, with two Super League wins behind them going into this game, scored quick tries through Ian Knott and Toa Kohe-Love. The second was a handsome individual effort that spoke eloquently of the New Zealander's potential, but there was little else to give the former Wigan coaches, Alex Murphy and John Dorahy, now in charge at Warrington, any satisfaction on their return.

A second try for Edwards, laid on for him by the man of the match, Andrew Farrell, eased Wigan clear once more, with Simon Haughton and Andy Johnson adding further tries in the last six minutes as Warrington's resistance crumbled.

There are still too many Wigan players performing below their best, but it will take far more than Warrington showed last night to catch them out again.

Wigan: Radlinski; Robinson, Tuigamala, Connolly, Smyth; Paul, Edwards; Cowie, Hall, O'Connor, Quinnell, Cassidy, Farrell. Substitutes: Murdock, Skerrett, Johnson, Haughton.

Warrington: Penny; Forster, Kohe-Love, Finau, Henare; Harris, Ford; Jones, Hough, Hilton, Knott, Cullen, Sculthorpe. Substitutes: Rudd, Mafi, Shelford, Chambers.

Referee: C Morris (Huddersfield).