Wigan welcomed Hoylake to Douglas Valley this weekend in a fixture that saw two sides from opposite ends of the table take to the field.
Wigan’s quality showed immediately as a deep kick off was fielded by the home side before Nathan Butler made a characteristic break down the right wing. Butler made ground into the Hoylake half before putting Will Morgan away for his first try of the afternoon. Cassidy added the conversion.
It was only 5 minutes later that Wigan scored again. This time Danny Cassidy made a break through the middle which saw him score under the posts and then convert his own try for a 14-0 lead.
Credit to Hoylake, who regrouped and managed to stop the flow and indeed, fought back with a score of their own. Having found good territory in the Wigan 22 they recycled the ball time and time again before eventually forcing their way over. After the conversion it was 14-7 with just 13 minutes on the clock.
Wigan put their foot on the gas once again. This time it was Chris Carr who made the initial break before managing to offload to Harry Barker. Barker forced his way through the Hoylake defence before being hauled down. In the process he popped the ball up and it was Chris Carr who was on hand to finish. Cassidy added the conversion.
Indiscipline now crept into the Wigan ranks and a series of penalties put Hoylake within touching distance of the line. With the ball kept tight, Hoylake ground out another score to keep themselves in touch with the league leaders, with the scores at 21-14 on the half hour mark.
Wigan opened the gap just before half time, when Luke Sutcliffe pounced on a loose ball before making a break down the middle of the park. Sutcliffe pinned his man before finding Tom Whelan on his inside, who went over for the score. Cassidy added another conversion on the stroke of half time.
Wigan started the second half with renewed focus and vigour and set about dismantling the visiting side. Sutcliffe, once again searching for ball carries in midfield, broke the defensive line and went over to score under the sticks. Cassidy added the conversion.
Wigan were making ground now with every attack and having worked onto the edge of the 22, they set the ball loose through the hands of the backline to a waiting Will Morgan who went over out wide. Cassidy added the conversion.
With only 10 minutes of the second half elapsed, Wigan opened Hoylake up again. Riley Dervan making the break and offloading to Whelan. Whelan attempted to offload but a Hoylake hand spoiled the pass and the ball bounced free. Sutcliffe was on hand once again to clear up and went over for another score. Cassidy’s conversion made the score 49-14 with half an hour of the game still to play.
Wigan were running free now and Cassidy was making hay. A break from deep within his own territory saw the stand off make good ground before putting Nathan Butler over for the score. Cassidy added the conversion.
Zack Barker joined the fray from the subs bench and continued the onslaught. A quick tap penalty saw Wigan break the line again and Kilian Wallace was on hand to crash over for the score. Cassidy converted.
More classy handling saw the provider become the scorer as this time it was Cassidy who went over for his second of the game. He added another conversion.
Wigan finished the game with a fantastic break by Riley Dervan, who is proving to be a real talent in the centres. He found Zack Barker who, with the line at his mercy, selflessly put his team mate, Will Morgan over for his hat trick score. Cassidy added the conversion to finish the game with a perfect 11 from 11 conversions and the final score was 77-14.
Wigan welcome Tyldesley to Douglas Valley this Saturday 16th November for a battle of the borough, with kick off scheduled for 2.15pm.