Hull Kingston Rovers suffered from sin-binnings as they lost 24-20 in a crucial battle at the top of the table against Wigan Warriors, who produced a comeback win. Rovers were impressive for long periods but the yellows for Joe Burgess and Jai Whitbread were costly and raised issues, such as players staying down. The first yellow appeared fair enough but the second was controversial and Rovers could well have won without it - with Tyler Dupree staying down.
After an intense start to the first half, Rovers had broken through with a try from Matt Parcell before Mikey Lewis' characteristically dazzling try. Burgess' sin-binning then led to Wigan cutting the gap with Abbas Miski and Junior Nsemba tries while they were a man down.
Burgess made amends early in the second half by stretching Rovers' lead, following breath-taking work by Peta Hiku. But a moment of magic from Bevan French cut the gap. And Rovers suffered their second yellow of the night when Whitbread was sin-binned for a high hit on Dupree. That was followed by a Marshall double as Wigan that made it 20-20 then going ahead 24-20.
Rovers suffered a major blow before kick-off when Niall Evalds was ruled out of this game with a calf injury, meaning Jack Broadbent started at full-back. Broadbent passed his first test of the night when he collect Smith's high kick safely.
It was a hard-fought opening to the game, with Mikey Lewis seeking to test Wigan with his kicking game and the home side finding the answers. With the intensity and physicality high, clear openings were hard to carve out. Lewis threatened the Wigan defence after 15 minutes but Joe Burgess knocked on.
Rovers found the breakthrough though after Jesse Sue laid the platform with his power, then Matt Parcell showed his experience with a dummy and burst over the line from close range, as Wigan's defence was caught out, with Lewis adding the straightforward extras. Lewis then produced some trademark magic as they shifted the ball right to left, with Tyrone May teeing up Lewis, who beat three men on his way to weaving over the line, including Bevan French - and Rovers had a 10-0 lead.
Wigan came roaring back into the game though when Joe Burgess received a yellow card after he dragged down Field and laid on - after Oliver Gildart had done brilliantly to halt the Wigan star who had burst into Rovers territory. That was rapidly followed by a Wigan double strike of tries. Abbas Miski got the first of those with an agile finish, without much space to work in, after they swiftly capitalised on their numerical advantage with great build-up play from French and Field. Nsemba got the next one, powering over in the left-hand corner, as he was picked out in space by French. Rovers' defence were really struggling a man down.
Lewis added a two-pointer though to ease the strain, after Smith conceded a penalty, kicking the ball away when Parcell looked to play it. That gave Rovers their 12-8 half-time lead.
KR head coach Willie Peters had spoken about illegal actions on Lewis, before the game, and people winding him up. And a late tackle on Mikey Lewis by Tom Forber - aggressive and bad timing - led to a penalty being given, with Lewis not losing his head afterwards and adding the extras.
And it got even better for Rovers when a Hiku interception was followed by him bursting down the field with a stunning run then flinging out a pass for the supporting Burgess to finish for a try, with Lewis adding the extras for a two-score lead of 20-8.
French though produced some magic out of nowhere to get Wigan back into the game though, dashing forward, kicking and touching down. Broadbent was caught out but it was a moment of class that was so hard to defend for Rovers. And life then got harder for Rovers with a second sin-binning as Whitbread saw yellow for a high hit on Dupree.
Marshall went over in the left-hand corner as they Wigan took advantage of the extra man again, after another great run by French, and Keighran's impressive kick levelled it at 20-20. And there was heartbreak for Rovers when Marshall went over for his second try as the lack of cover on the right edge was exposed.
Wigan Warriors: 1 Jai Field, 2 Abbas Miski, 3 Adam Keighran, 4 Jake Wardle, 5 Liam Marshall, 6 Bevan French, 7 Harry Smith, 8 Ethan Havard, 17 Kruise Leeming, 16 Luke Thompson, 21 Junior Nsemba, 12 Liam Farrell, 13 Kaide Ellis. Subs: 10 Liam Byrne, 15 Patrick Mago, 19 Tyler Dupree, 27 Tom Forber. 18th man: 22 Sam Walters.
Hull KR: 36 Jack Broadbent, 35 Joe Burgess, 1 Peta Hiku, 4 Oliver Gildart, 5 Ryan Hall, 27 Tyrone May, 7 Mikey Lewis, 8 Jesse Sue, 14 Matt Parcell, 16 Jai Whitbread, 11 Dean Hadley, 12 James Batchelor, 13 Elliot Minchella. Subs: 9 Jez Litten, 15 Sam Luckley, 20 Kelepi Tanginoa, 17 Matty Storton. 18th man: 37 Jack Brown.
Scorers: Hull KR tries: Parcell, Lewis, Burgess. Goals: Lewis 4/5.
Scorers: Wigan tries: Miski, Nsemba, French, Marshall (2). Goals: Keighran 2/5.
Scoring sequence: 0-6, 0-10, 4-10, 8-10, 8-12, HT, 8-14, 8-20, 14-20, 20-20, 24-20.
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