Warriors march on
Amos Roberts was the hat-trick hero as leaders Wigan beat Castleford 36-22 to move two points clear at the top.
Last Updated: 21/03/10 6:55pm
Amos Roberts scored his first hat-trick for Wigan as the leaders beat Castleford 36-22 to move two points clear at the top.
Super League's runaway leading scorer Pat Richards also notched a try and four goals to take his points tally to 110, while Joel Tomkins weighed in with a brace and Cameron Phelps got on the scoresheat.
For the home side, England centre Michael Shenton ran in two first-half tries, while Michael Wainwright and Michael Cooper notched second-half efforts and Joe Westerman kicked three goals, but the Warriors proved too strong at The Jungle.
It was another superb all-round performance from Michael Maguire's men, who have rattled up 254 points so far.
When play got underway, Richards and Joe Westerman traded early penalty goals before the Warriors hit their first purple patch of the game with two tries in three minutes.
Slick handling
First there was slick handling from Sam Tomkins and Sean O'Loughlin to create the opening try for Roberts, who then sent full-back Phelps over for a second.
Roberts was then forced to switch from the wing when Phelps went off with a leg injury, although it did not blunt the Australian's attacking flair.
The home side, who dropped Brent Sherwin to the bench, were equally dangerous in the early stages through the skilful probing of Ryan McGoldrick and Rangi Chase.
The pair combined to get Shenton over for two tries in a six-minute spell to haul the Tigers back into the game, before Westerman's second goal on 25 minutes then edged the home side into a 12-10 lead.
But that was as good as it got for Terry Matterson's side, who have not won at The Jungle since last September.
The league leaders went back in front on 28 minutes when Richards leapt into the air to bring the ball down and claim his 10th try of the campaign.
Second-half
Wigan then struck another rich vein of form with three further tries in eight minutes following the re-start which ultimately won the game.
A precarious 14-12 lead at the break quickly became a lop-sided 30-12 advantage during this period of play.
First Roberts was sent clear by a suspiciously forward-looking pass by Richards and Tomkins, who was switched from the second row to centre following the early reshuffle, was in support to touch down.
Roberts then grabbed his second, before 22-year-old forward Chris Tuson, who was playing for third-tier club Blackpool Panthers just a week ago, gained his Warriors debut a minute later.
Roberts turned creator once more by getting Tomkins away for his second to pull the Warriors further ahead, before the Tigers were reduced to 12 men on 64 minutes when Chase was sin-binned for throwing a punch.
But the home side still managed to fashion a third try, with winger Wainwright crossing at the corner, although it was mere consolation by then.
Roberts completed his hat-trick seven minutes from the end after a neat pass out of the tackle by Phil Bailey to restore the Warriors advantage.
There was still time for forward Cooper to score his second try in two games since joining the Tigers on loan from Warrington and Westerman kicked his third goal, but it was too little, too late for Matterson's side as the Warriors marched on at the top.
