Rhinos’ third consecutive victory, and their first at Wigan since 2013, lifted them two places to fifth in the Betfred Super League.
They led 6-0 at halftime, despite having Zane Tetevano and Luke Briscoe in the trash and excellent defensive effort kept Wigan out in the second half.
A “really happy” Agar said: “I had a good feeling going into the game and I thought we defended very well.
“We had to get through a bit of adversity in the first half with the bondage of sin, that was hard to handle, but I think we did really well.”
Hagar admitted: “We have to change our halves on a regular basis and there is not the flow of our attack that we would like, but sometimes you have to find other ways.
“We did enough in that regard, but obviously keeping any team to zero, let alone Wigan at home, is a magnificent effort.”
With Callum McLelland ailing, prostitute Kruise Leeming teamed up with Rob Lui in the Leeds halves.
“It’s hard to choose who our best players were, but Kruise and Rob were two that come to mind,” Agar said.
“Rob has been a very, very good player. I know he’s closing the curtain at the end of this year, but he really knows how to play and he’s a tough player.
“Our halves were very good and overall it was a really committed performance.”
The first half was not the most entertaining in terms of chances to score attempts, but it was an end-to-end contest that simply lacked a bit of skill and composure on the part of both teams.
Wigan was heavily criticized for the way they attacked St Helens, and there was definitely an improvement with Jai Field and Harry Smith closing in, but they still lacked that killer touch in a 14-0 loss.
The Rhinos spent more than 20 minutes of the first half with 12 men, as Zane Tetevano and Luke Briscoe received yellow cards, but it was when the winger was out of bounds that the visitors hit the front with Brad Dwyer receiving a kick from Kruise Leeming. . score three minutes before the break.
A good try for Richie Myler after a big break from Rhyse Martin saw the Rhinos extend their lead to 14-0, while their defense should be given credit as they handled everything Wigan could throw at them.
Wigan has now spent more than 200 minutes of action without scoring a try.
It was a frenzied first 10 minutes with both teams having a chance to score. Martin appeared to have picked up a ball from Rob Lui to crash, but one last attempt by Smith saw him knock the ball down before Martin could pick it up.
The Warriors then blew an opportunity of their own. Hooker Joe Shorrocks made a break down the middle and it seemed all he had to do was unload Smith for support and it would finish, but unfortunately for Wigan the pass was poor and Leeds rebounded.
The Rhinos were reduced to 12 men in the 22nd minute when Tetevano received a yellow card for a high tackle on Liam Farrell; actually, he was fortunate not to receive the same punishment in the opening minutes for a shoulder load on John Bateman.
A quick kick from Jackson Hastings brought home fans to their feet, and seconds before Tetevano came out of the bin, Briscoe joined him for a professional foul as Hastings looked for a quick play of the ball. The Warriors opted to run it again, but still couldn’t find a way to get through it.
Wigan’s inability to turn pressure into points hurt them again three minutes before the break when Leeming’s in-goal kick came back off the post and Dwyer was available to land. Martin converted and Leeds led 6-0 at halftime.
It just wasn’t happening for the Warriors with Hastings dropping the ball in good position, and that mistake led them to lag even further behind.
Lui put Martin through a huge gap and kept his cool before sending a ball inside for Myler to get under the posts. Martin converted and the Rhinos led 12-0.
Leeds were in full control and Martin scored a penalty to put them up 14-0. Wigan was throwing caution to the wind now, Brad Singleton approached with a devastating run, before they tried to throw the ball wide, but Liam Marshall couldn’t pick up the ball with his boot laces with the try at his mercy. .
Leeds had Ash Handley to thank for keeping Wigan at bay when he got one foot for Hastings’ kick to the corner to concede another dropout. If that had failed, Jake Bibby would have scored. Once again, Wigan attacked down the left, but his inability to hold the ball was killing them.
Wigan won his fifth retirement, but in fairness that’s all they had in attack during the second half. A kick on the defense and pray for a mistake: the mistake never came. The home team thought they had scored through Bibby in the corner, but the …
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Source: www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-08-25 22:03:01
