Given the standards Wigan have set in the past couple of years, there was plenty of intrigue over how they would perform here after the disappointment of their defeat to Hull Kingston Rovers last Friday.
The coach, Matt Peet, and his players made no secret of how poor they were in that loss and while off-colour performances are inevitable from time to time in a marathon Super League season, it is how sides respond to those setbacks that arguably define them the most. To that end, this was an emphatic box ticked by the Warriors.
For half an hour, the hangover seemed to be lingering. They fell 8-0 behind to a spirited Catalans Dragons side in a rematch of last year’s Grand Final courtesy of a try from Julian Bousquet and two goals from Arthur Mourgue.
It was attritional, and it was tough, but as half-time approached Wigan were growing into proceedings. The try from Luke Thompson five minutes from the break that narrowed the gap to two felt decisive.
The second half was one-way traffic in favour of the reigning champions, who were much too good for the Dragons and move level on points with the visitors and St Helens at the top of the table.
“We looked more like a team we can be proud of,” Peet said. “Even when we were 8-0 down I was delighted with how we turned up for one another.
“The lads deserved the win. We weren’t quite at our best with the ball, but defensively we were very good.”
That second half, which they won 24-0, looked much more like the Wigan we have become accustomed to see under Peet, as he pointed out. Two tries in four minutes shortly after the restart swung the game firmly in their favour.
The first of which came when Harry Smith instinctively chipped over the Catalans defence, collected and touched down. Smith was again centrally involved as a wonderful set play to the right freed Adam Keighran to score in the corner against his former club.
Suddenly, Wigan were 18-8 ahead and in control. There was no shortage of effort from Catalans, but the loss of their captain, Benjamin Garcia, did not help their cause midway through that second half just as they fell behind.
“To lose by that scoreline is really cruel,” said their coach, Steve McNamara. “We were unfortunate in a lot of areas.”
As that second half wore on, though, you began to sense that the Warriors were much the stronger of the two sides. Defensively, they were outstanding for most of the evening and that gave them the platform to put the game to bed with their fourth try.
Jai Field and Jake Wardle combined to send the centre through a gap, with Liam Farrell on Wardle’s shoulder to score his 150th career try, a remarkable number for a forward.
In the final moments, the Warriors’ brilliance in attack was underlined when Bevan French kicked from deep for Field. While he was hauled down just shy of the line, winger Abbas Miski crossed on the following play to get the champions back to winning ways.
As the season approaches its midway point, the fact it is Wigan, Catalans and St Helens level at the top with seven wins apiece from their first nine games underlines that, like last year, they will be the trio to beat once again.
