| Wigan (30) 58 |
| Tries: Powell 2, Farrell 2, French 3, Hastings, Gildart 2 Goals: Hardaker 9 |
| Salford (6) 12 |
| Tries: Watkins, Lolohea Goals: Inu 2 |
Bevan French scored a hat-trick as Wigan cemented their claims for a Grand Final spot with a thrashing of last season’s finalists Salford.
Sam Powell and French both scored twice along with Liam Farrell in a one-sided first half, while Kallum Watkins replied for the Red Devils.
Tui Lolohea crossed to reduce arrears but Jackson Hastings, Oliver Gildart and Farrell tries added to the rout.
French notched his third and Gildart a second as Wigan capped an emphatic win.
The Cherry and Whites stay second, taking their win percentage to 73.3%.
French’s devastating individual display was a key hallmark of the performance of Adrian Lam’s side, as Wigan showed a ruthlessness to blow the Red Devils away.
French’s footwork, pace and skill carved open spaces, which brought two superb tries from deep, and his vision also led to scores for Hastings and Gildart.
Powell had earlier crashed in for two scores from dummy-half after good work by the pack, setting a platform for the glut of points to come.
Ian Watson’s Salford came into this game on the back of their Challenge Cup final defeat by Leeds last weekend, and they were never given a chance to bounce back.
They have made a habit of coming from behind in games, notably on their way to Wembley, but left themselves far too much to do following the whirlwind Wigan start.
They had to reshuffle with Olly Ashall-Bott going off for a head injury assessment, and Mark Flanagan also went off as the defeat proved an increasingly costly one.
Wigan: French; Bibby, Hardaker, Gildart, Burgess; Leuluai, Hastings; Bullock, Powell, Singleton, Isa, Farrell, Partington
Interchanges: Flower, Greenwood, Clubb, Smithies
Salford: Ashall-Bott; Williams, Watkins, Kear, Inu; Lolohea, Atkin; Mossop, Lussick, Yates, Roberts, Greenwood, McCarthy
Interchanges: Ackers, Flanagan, Burke, Pauli
