York Knights came agonisingly close to another seismic Betfred Super League shock as they pushed Wigan Warriors to the brink in a nail-biting 23-22 defeat.
Wigan clawed back a 14-point early deficit and then held off a dramatic late rally by the newly-promoted Knights in the Thursday night clash at the Brick Community Stadium.
Ata Hingano’s late try set up the grandstand finish but the same player fluffed a chance to tee up Danny Richardson for a drop goal to potentially level matters in the dying stages.
Hingano was at the centre of the action throughout and it was his yellow card late in the first half that arguably cost his side the chance to build on their stunning opening day win over reigning champions Hull KR.
Early tries from David Nofoaluma and Paul Vaughan helped the visitors storm into an early lead before Hingano’s temporary departure sapped the visitors’ momentum and let Wigan back into the match.
Liam Marshall dived over for back-to-back tries and helped Wigan reduce their deficit to four points at the break, before second-half efforts from Noah Hodkinson and Adam Keighran – who also added six points with the boot – just about saw the hosts home.
Both sides went into the game afflicted by injuries, with Wigan missing talismanic duo Bevan French and Jai Field, and York coming to terms with the long-term absence of captain Liam Harris.
And despite a bright start, it was Wigan who seemed to struggle more as Nofoaluma flapped down Paul McShane’s kick, then Vaughan bundled over under the posts far too easily.
Once roused Wigan looked likely to run away with things and Marshall came close to a hat-trick after being sent in by Hodkinson’s fine pass but a last-ditch dive from Sam Wood saw him miss out by a fraction after an acrobatic dive.
Wigan finally nudged in front after 50 minutes when the impressive Hodkinson wriggled through the York rearguard to score his first Super League try before Keighran converted.
Richardson briefly booted York back level after Wigan strayed offside, but brilliant work by Jack Farrimond sent Keighran over, and after he duly converted, Harry Smith side-footed a drop goal to seemingly make the game safe.
But just when they seemed dead and buried, York fought back as Sam Cook burst out of the Wigan defence to send Hingano sliding over, and Richardson kicked them back within one.
As the minutes ticked down, York carved out a promising field position but as Richardson shaped to potentially level the scores, Hingano’s pass proved too casual and allowed Wigan to extend their unbeaten start to the new season.
2026 Super League – key dates and what to look out for
- Super League’s 30th birthday: Thu Mar 26: Castleford Tigers vs Bradford Bulls, 8pm (Sky Sports)
- Rivals Round: April 3-April 5
- Super League in Paris: Sat Jun 6: Catalans Dragons vs Wigan Warriors (Paris), 6:30 UK (Sky Sports)
- Magic Weekend: July 4-July 5
- Rivals Round reversed: July 23-July 26
- Elimination Play-offs: September 19-September 20
- Play-off semi-finals: September 26-September 27
- Grand Final: October 3, Old Trafford.
Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining five matches each week shown on Sky Sports+
