This was about everything the game has come to expect from the reigning Super League champions, Wigan. They have made it habitual to come good when play-off season rolls around, so this hard-earned victory which moves them a step closer to retaining their title taught nothing new. But for their opponents the story could not be much more different.
Salford are the story of this season. To finish third on a far smaller budget than nearly every other team led many to believe they would freeze under pressure when the play-offs came. But how those critics were proved wrong here. Wigan were taken to the limit by the Red Devils, with George Williams’ second-half try ultimately the difference.
The result means Wigan advance to a clash with St Helens next Friday, with the winner going straight to the Grand Final. The losers will face the winner of Salford’s clash with Castleford on Thursday. And if the Warriors and Salford meet again in the Grand Final, with the stakes even higher, it will be simply unmissable.
With a game as tight as this, any one of a number of key moments could be pinned as game-changing but the error from Krisnan Inu – a needless offload near his own line which allowed Tommy Leuluai to put Wigan 12-6 ahead – was perhaps the biggest. “Hopefully we learn from that for next week,” Salford’s coach, Ian Watson, said.
Prior to that the two sides could not be split, with tries from Oliver Gildart and George Griffin making it 6-6 at half-time. Inu’s error came moments after Ken Sio came desperately close to putting Salford ahead for the first time. He was edged into touch, allowing Wigan off the hook and, from there, they kicked into play-off mode.
“We’re ready for the challenge at St Helens,” Adrian Lam, Wigan’s coach, said. “We knew it would come down to the wire, but we’re ready for this.” Leuluai’s try was swiftly followed by Williams’ long-range effort and, with Zak Hardaker converting both to make it 18-6, the Warriors looked set to rack up a big scoreline.
But Salford are made of sterner stuff than that. Jackson Hastings’ wonderful solo try on the hour mark halved the deficit and, though they battled valiantly until the final whistle, Wigan’s magnificent last-ditch defending ensured it would be they, not the Red Devils, who take on the league leaders next week for a place at Old Trafford.