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Another moment of magic from Bevan French made the difference as Wigan Warrirors held off gallant Hull KR at Old Trafford to retain their Super League crown and become the first club to claim the quadruple of all four major titles in a single season.
The Australian’s trademark first-half streak through a hapless Rovers rearguard proved the only try of a bruising but engaging affair, with two kicks from Adam Keighran and a Harry Smith drop-goal nudging Matt Peet’s men to a 9-2 win.
Rovers, targeting their first domestic title in four decades, were far from over-awed in their first Grand Final appearance, but failed to take their chances to crack a resolute Wigan defence and had only a Mikey Lewis penalty to show for their efforts.
Willie Peters’ side, who had earned their chance the hard way after edging third-placed Warrington in last week’s nerve-jangling semi-final, threatened the champions’ line throughout but lacked the magic touch of Wigan’s irrepressible number six, who ended the night as the first recipient of the newly-named Rob Burrow man-of-the-match award.
French had hogged the headlines in the build-up to the final after his audacious try against Leigh, and in front of 68,173 – the biggest Grand Final crowd since 2017 – he delivered again when he wriggled through a gap and evaded a diving Niall Evalds to cross in the 23rd minute.
Until then it had arguably been the underdogs who looked most likely to break the deadlock during a crashing start in which Lewis came closest when his 11th-minute effort was ruled out for a knock-on by Tyrone May in the build-up.
Talismanic Wigan second row Junior Nsemba – the newly crowned Super League Young Player of the Year – exited for a HIA after being flattened in a tackle by James Batchelor on 15 minutes, but returned later to threaten a second try for Wigan only for Evalds to clip his heels.
Wigan captain Liam Farrell, who started after shrugging off the virus that had ruled him out of his side’s semi-final win over Leigh, briefly thought he had extended his side’s lead shortly after the opener but his kick through and touch down in the corner was denied for offside in the build-up.
Matt Parcell’s creativity proved fruitless as Rovers ended the half by driving hard at the Wigan line, but the massed ranks of Robins fans behind the posts were well aware their side had it all to do to end their four-decade trophy drought.
Rovers wasted two golden chances to claw back within minutes of the restart, Evalds failing to find the decisive pass to send Joe Burgess clear on the left before one pass too many saw Ryan Hall held up in the opposite corner.
Rovers got their first points on the board through a Lewis penalty but the newly-crowned Man of Steel looked far from happy and his silly tip tackle on Farrell allowed Keighran to swiftly restore Wigan’s seven-point lead.
Only a brilliant saving tackle from Hall on Jake Wardle denied the favourites what would surely have been the decisive score, but his intervention proved unnecessary as Wigan continued to hold out until the final hooter at which point they started celebrating another major domestic success.
