Wigan joined Hull KR back at the top of the Super League table with a hard-fought 22-4 win over their title challengers’ fiercest rivals.

Following four successive defeats for the Black and Whites, many thought Wigan would gain a measure of revenge for their loss last month with a convincing victory.

The expected avalanche of tries never materialised as Hull fought hard to remain in the battle for the majority of the game.

The score was 10-4 at the break and it remained that way until the 55th minute, but two tries in seven minutes from Junior Nsemba and Jack Farrimond put Wigan in full control.

Wigan had chances to kill the game off with Sam Walters and Jacob Douglas going close, but Hull had no way back.

The Warriors opened the scoring after eight minutes, with Douglas scoring his first senior try for the club. The home side started on the front foot and after forcing a dropout from a Kruise Leeming kick, they posted the first points.

The ball was spread to the right, with Adam Keighran and Farrimond combining before Jai Field fired out a cutout ball for Douglas to touch down in the corner.

Wigan extended their lead in the 19th minute with Field again involved. He received the ball on the right and sent a short ball for Zach Eckersley to cross over. Keighran converted for a 10-0 lead.

The hosts could have extended their lead when Keighran made a half break, but his offload sailed over the head of Liam Marshall with the try line at his mercy.

Hull did not offer much in the first 28 minutes and managed to score from their first real attack on Wigan’s line. Lewis Martin made a break before the ball eventually found Jed Cartwright and he touched down. Jack Charles was off target as they trailed 10-4 at half-time.

Hull started the second half well and forced a set of six inside Wigan’s half after Field was bundled into touch. The home side’s defence held firm as Will Gardiner, Leon Ruan and Charles were both held close to the line.

Wigan looked out of sorts after the break as Leeming kicked out on the full to give Hull good field position yet again. The Black and Whites tried to create an overlap on the right, but a knock on from Harvey Barron saw that chance go awry.

After a scrappy few minutes, Wigan posted the first points of the second half when Nsemba crashed over after a neat inside ball from Leeming. Keighran’s conversion made it 16-4.

Wigan looked confident with ball in hand with Field causing problems, while Luke Thompson was making plenty of yards up the middle. They extended their lead with Farrimond showing great footwork to touch down. Keighran extended the advantage to 22-4.

The Warriors were reduced to 12 men with 13 minutes remaining when Patrick Mago was shown a yellow card for a late hit on Jack Ashworth.