Wigan Warriors v Bradford Bulls: Five takeaways as Matt Peet finds winning formula

Matthew Shaw 02 May 2026 5:13 PM

Wigan Warriors snapped their losing streak with a 38-14 victory over Bradford Bulls at the Brick Community Stadium.

Ahead of a Challenge Cup semi-final with St Helens next Saturday, Matt Peet’s side found some form with a commanding victory against a Bradford side finding the going tough at present. Here are the talking points.

Square pegs in square holes

Such have been the injuries across the Wigan squad in recent weeks, the Warriors have been shuffling their deck, with several players being moved away from their favoured positions.

It hasn’t worked. Wigan have struggled for fluency in attack, struggling to score the number of points they usually would.

To rectify that, Peet selected 17-year-old halfback George Marsden to partner Jack Farrimond, and with that, it allowed others to go back to their natural roles, with Adam Keighran at centre and Liam Farrell at second-row.

Wigan looked far better for it. They were crisp with the ball, dangerous from distance and looked capable of posting points at all times.

Harry Smith returns next week and can slot back in seamlessly, with an inclusion for Marsden inevitable. But crucially, having come through this game injury free, they should be able to have some continuity across the board, which will do them no harm at all.

Farrimond’s improvement

With neither Smith or Bevan French, Jack Farrimond has had to take a more senior role and it’s fair to say it hasn’t always gone his way.

But he put in a much-improved performance here, particularly from the boot. Wigan’s end of sets have come in for criticism but on the whole they were far better here, with Farrimond putting in a few beauties. He produced an outstanding kick assist for Noah Hodkinson too, wrapping around a play and seeing space for his winger behind.

Farrimond is by no means the finished package; his defence still has a lot of improvement in it, but this was a good outing from the young playmaker.

Bradford are in trouble

Like the other promoted clubs, Bradford started well and have subsequently dipped. This was their fifth straight loss and while the effort was there, the quality wasn’t for long enough periods, certainly in the middle of the park.

They have a heap of injuries, and that is the obvious factor in their current struggles. The worry is that key men are still weeks away from a return.

Right now, there doesn’t seem to be much light at the end of the tunnel, though the return of Andy Ackers is certainly a welcome one.

Wigan’s Academy remains healthy

It’s almost like stating the obvious at this point, but it’s hard to not be impressed with Wigan’s ability to keep producing players. Marsden and Josh Cartwright both were handed debuts here, the latest to come through the ranks and play first-team.

Both impressed too, with Marsden looking assured in the halves and Cartwright doing his job when coming off the bench. Hodkinson scored a hat-trick and had a great game on the wing. All have debuted this year.

They were three of ten academy players in Wigan’s matchday squad here.