30 June 2023 , 22:01
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Lebanon international Abbas Miski scored twice as Wigan extinguished any hopes of a Huddersfield reprieve.
The in-form winger, 27, now has 11 tries in 13 appearances this term and is full of confidence. He is out of contract at the end of the season but there’s an option of another year. And Wigan boss Matt Peet all but confirmed he'll be at the DW Stadium again in 2024. He said: “I’d really like him to stay with Wigan. I’d love him to be here beyond this season.
“I thought he was the man of the match tonight. Out of yardage he’s been excellent, he gets his tries and defensively he’s been good, too. He’s a pleasure to coach. He’s in the team now because he got an opportunity and took it. Overall, it was a pleasing win. It was a challenging game against a determined team who were desperate but we navigated our way through it well.”
How hapless Huddersfield could do with some of Miski's confidence. This was another Friday Night Horror for them, although not as gruesome as last week’s 54-0 battering at Leeds. Peet came out in support of under-fire Giants boss Ian Watson after he was given a grilling following that hammering.
But without needing to get anywhere near top gear, his side piled on more pressure, freefalling Huddersfield now having won just once in nine games. Even when Wigan’s England prop Ethan Havard was sin-binned on the hour, the beaten visitors couldn’t score.
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They butchered two glorious chances and, instead, Liam Marshall added the hosts’ fourth try to heap on the misery. The Challenge Cup holders stay third but it’s hard to see where Giants go from here. At least ex-Wigan centre Jake Bibby made sure they weren’t kept pointless two weeks running, scoring a consolation try in the 76th minute improved by Jake Connor.
Wigan Warriors' Jai Field scores the third try (Ed Sykes/SWpix.com)Watson had made changes to try and breathe life into his chastened side. Will Pryce and Innes Senior were left out of the team embarrassed at Leeds and Connor - who Watson sent to the reserves last week to improve his fitness - came in at full-back.
But the ex-Great Britain star, 28, had a miserable night, fumbling an easy grubber to gift Wigan position for Miski’s second try in the 36th minute.
He sent out two poor passes that saw Giants lose the ball and in the second half he was penalised in possession and then pinged again for arguing the decision. Wigan went ahead in the eighth minute when Jermaine McGillvary and Kevin Naiqama made a mess of Harry Smith’s kick, giving Wigan position for Bevan French to put Miski in.
The visitors battled hard before Miski’s second try knocked the stuffing out of them, Smith slotting the first of his three goals for a 10-0 interval lead.
Aussie Jai Field extended that in the 46th minute, slipping past Chris McQueen far too easily. Wigan’s defence, when down to 12 men, did brilliantly to bundle McQueen over the deadball line, summing up the visitors’ night. But things got worse when scrum-half Olly Russell limped off at the death following an incident that was put on report by referee Jack Smith.
But Watson insisted: “I thought the scoreboard didn’t reflect the game. They had four moments and took them. We had some but didn't have the execution. Overall, it was a big step forward. We looked more like a team. We asked them to be a team and play together, not like Leeds last week when we let it roll away.”