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TRY! Wigan 30, Warrington 0
That took all of about 10 seconds after Warrington’s attacking raid petered out.
Field throws a great cutout to Liam Marshall to put him away down the left wing and he throws it back inside to Jai Field to score.
Awful organisation in defence from the Wolves there but you have to hand it to Wigan for the surgical way they took advantage of it.
Keighran has a shot about 10m in from touch and nails it.
Good chance for the Wolves goes begging
Warrington forced a line-dropout and have good field position for this set.
However, Wigan aim up in defence with some powerful hits and Nsemba takes a crossfield bomb to get his team out of trouble.
Second half: We’re back underway in Vegas
Wigan get us rolling and Junior Nsemba has just smashed through Ben Currie to continue his outstanding display this morning. It’s the sort of play that will put him on the radar of NRL clubs – a great blend of power, athleticism and skill.
Sam Burgess’s unexpected halftime talk
The dressing room cameras just showed the former Souths firebrand addressing his men – and completely opposite to Daily Mail Australia’s prediction, he was cool, calm and collected as he made his point after that shocker of a first half.
No yelling, no swearing – just calm instructions to his men.
Reminiscent of his former coach at the Bunnies, Wayne Bennett, who’s not one for histrionics in the sheds.
How did Abbas Miski score this?
You’d think he had superglue on his hands with this level of ball control under extreme pressure from former St George star Matt Dufty…
Halftime: Wigan 24, Warrington 0
The Wolves tried to break their duck with a strong attacking set but the grubber kick from George Williams is about 10cm too big and it dribbles out of the in-goal.
TRY! Wigan 24, Warrington 0
Some bad work in the ruck from the Wolves gifts Wigan a quick play the ball, Bevan French cuts them apart down the short side, then delivers a nice inside ball to halfback Harry Smith, who strolls over and plants it under the black dot.
Another easy conversion and Burgess’s men will need a stunning turnaround in the second half to pull this out of the fire.
Sam Burgess is blowing up
And not just because of the scoreline…
Matt Dufty just blew a golden chance to set up a try with a lofted pass that fell at his winger’s feet.
Had that gone to hand, the Wolves were in for all money. The camera switches to Burgess in the coaching booth and let’s just say his halftime speech might just feature some top-volume swearing, judging by the looks of his reaction.
TRY! Wigan 18, Warrington 0
Former Parramatta star Bevan French – who was named Super League’s Man of Steel as the comp’s best player in 2023 – crosses the stripe with ease after Junior Nsemba broke down the Wolves’ right-side defence.
Video ref checks to make sure a fumble by Wigan went backwards and it gets the all clear. Good to see the refs in Australia aren’t the only ones who feel the need to check obvious decisions with the third eye to cover themselves – that one was blindingly obvious.
An easy conversion and this is turning into a bit of a rout with 10 minutes left in the first half.
Re-live the first try in Vegas this year
TRY! Wigan 12, Warrington 0
Wigan are easily the most impressive of the two sides so far and they go further ahead thanks to Abbas Miski, who somehow manages to plant the ball despite a crashing tackle from Matt Dufty, who smashed him in midair as he flew over the corner post.
The video ref ruled that he never lost control of the ball with his right hand but it was bloody close. Outstanding effort from Miski – and Keighran, who lands the conversion from the sideline.
Super League, super fans
Here’s a shot of the scenes outside the ground just before kickoff today.
Warriors coach Matt Peet told Fox this morning that his men were the last to arrive in Vegas and he wants them to be the last to leave the party. Judging by this photo, the fans are on board…
TRY! Wigan 6, Warrington 0
Tyler Dupree grounded it over the line after Warrington’s Jordy Crowther spilled a bomb just in front of their tryline.
Easy conversion for Adam Keighran and the Warriors draw first blood…
NO TRY! Spectacular effort ruined at the last second for Wigan
Junior Nsemba fielded a crossfield bomb on the last, then got a pass off to Liam Marshall, who flew through the air and looked to have grounded it while about three feet off the ground with his feet over the sideline – only to lose control of the ball just before hit hit the turf. That would have been a special meat pie.
No try, says the video ref
Just moments after they were lucky not to let in a try, Warrington have gone desperately close to scoring one of their own.
Toby King thought he’d scored after reefing the ball away from a Wigan back who fielded a bomb near to his tryline, only to have the video ref rule that the Warriors player was tackled before he lost control.
Wigan blow a golden chance
The Warriors had the right-hand defence of the Wolves in all sorts there, breaking through without a hand being laid on them before the last pass went straight over the sideline with a try beckoning. Coach Matt Peet might need a chill pill already.
And we’re off!
Wigan have just kicked off and it’s a typical bash-up on the first set as coach Sam Burgess’s charges try to bring it off their own line while the English fans launch into song.
Today’s schedule
We’re just minutes away from the first kickoff in Vegas. Here’s how the footy fest will run today (all times AEDT)
8.30am: Wigan vs Warrington
11am: Canberra vs New Zealand
1pm: Jillaroos vs England
3.30pm: Penrith vs Cronulla
The view at ground level
The NRL are hoping for a crowd of more than 50,000 – and here’s how the turnout looked just minutes before Wigan take on Super League rivals Warrington in the first of the four matches today.
G’day and welcome
The day footy fans have been hanging out for since the grand final has finally arrived as the 2025 NRL season begins with four games from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Stay with Daily Mail Australia as we bring you all the latest scores, updates, headlines and reaction from Sin City.
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NRL in Las Vegas LIVE: All the latest updates as four teams kick off the season in Sin City