Wigan Warriors’ first match of 2026 ended in defeat as they were beaten 34-22 by North Wales Crusaders on Saturday.
The Cherry and Whites made the trip to Eirias Stadium with a young squad that featured just a handful of players with first-team experience, with assistant coach John Duffy taking charge for the day.
But, they were overpowered by the Crusaders, who scored seven tries on the day against, Wigan including a hat-trick from winger Ollie Brookes. The League 1 champions are preparing for their first season back in the Championship under Dean Muir and they were too strong for the Warriors’ young side, with Tiaki Chan, Tom Forber, George Hirst and new signing Jonny Vaughan amongst the most experienced on the day.
Brookes opened the scoring for North Wales before Chan hit a crash ball and powered over to give Wigan the lead for the only time in the game, with Nathan Lowe slotting the extras.
Crusaders hit the front again through Brookes in the 11th minute and managed to really take charge of the contest during the period that followed as former Warrington Wolves man Junior Westwood, Jayden Hatton and Luke Forber all touched down.
An effort from Leo Wadsworth gave Wigan a second try just before the break but Brookes completed his hat-trick in the 49th minute to all but seal a win that will live long in the memory for Crusaders fans.
New signing Dayon Sambou and full-back Noah Hodkinson got themselves on the scoresheet in the second half but North Wales’ Forber got a second with six minutes remaining to round off the scoring in front of a stadium record crowd of 1,509.
The Warriors will look a lot stronger when they return to action against Hull FC for Liam Marshall’s testimonial in three weeks’ time, but for North Wales, who were thumped by Barrow Raiders just after Christmas, they can head into their Challenge Cup second round tie against either Bedford Tigers or Medway Dragons with a huge spring in their step.
Wigan Warriors’ team: Noah Hodkinson; Josh Cartwright, Nathan Lowe, Jonny Vaughan, Dayon Sambou; Charlie Yeomans, Jack Purtill; Kian McDermott, Tom Forber, Tiaki Chan, George Hirst, Lukas Mason; Taylor Kerr.
Bench: Jaiden Drachenberg, Finn McMillan, Mike Porter, Shea O’Connor, Kalum Rathbone, Harlen Smith, Leo Wadsworth, Riley Dervan.
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