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Wigan's Australian stars earn another grand final date

Staff WritersAAP
Bevan French was brilliant again as Wigan reached another Super League grand final. (Daniel Pockett/AAP PHOTOS)
Camera IconBevan French was brilliant again as Wigan reached another Super League grand final. (Daniel Pockett/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAP

Wigan's brilliant Australian duo of Bevan French and Jai Field have come to the playoff party again, both getting on the scoresheet as the world champions raced into the Super League grand final with a shut-out 38-0 win over close neighbours Leigh.

With Liam Marshall and Sam Walters scoring two apiece, Wigan's six-try romp set them up for an Old Trafford showdown against Hull KR next Saturday, with Sydney centre Adam Keighran completing the big night for the defending champs' Aussie contingent as he contributed an impressive 14 points with the boot.

The visitors made the eight-mile trip to Wigan on Saturday without key man Josh Charnley and their own Australian star Kai O'Donnell due to injury, and in the middle of a run of 15 consecutive defeats at the home of their opponents that stretches back to 1983.

Marshall's first-half brace and one for Sam Walters - a replacement for Wigan captain Liam Farrell, who was suffering from a virus - effectively sealed Wigan's win and kept alive hopes of a calendar quadruple of grand final, League Leaders' Shield, Challenge Cup and World Club Challenge.

The hosts were in full control from the opening minutes, setting up camp in the visitors' half and breaking the deadlock after a moment of magic from French, whose clever kick eluded Lachlan Lam and gave Marshall the chance to break through in the left corner.

Wigan had already made the game safe when French scored their fifth try with an audacious bit of skill, casually bobbling the ball through the Leigh defence before nipping in between his bewildered opponents to bring up 30 on the increasingly overworked scoreboard.

By the time Field scampered over for Wigan's sixth with less than three minutes left on the clock, the Leigh end was rapidly emptying and the home fans had begun to celebrate their chance to clinch a seventh Super League crown next week.

The Game AFL 2024

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