Wigan Warriors face nervous disciplinary expectations after red card in Cup final precursor

Wigan Warriors could be without Adam Keighran at Wembley next week after the center was sent off in Saturday’s win at Warrington Wolves. The Cherry and Whites held on for a 19-18 win over Wire in a precursor to next weekend’s Challenge Cup final.

In what was an entertaining clash at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington fielded a young side with four debutants handed out, while Wigan were the much stronger side – on paper at least. Sam Burgess’ side didn’t follow the script from the start as a spirited display saw them build a 12-0 lead. However, Wigan pegged them back to lead 19-12 at half-time, with Keighran seeing red in the second half after a heavy tackle on Aaron Lindop.

Keighran, who hit a slumping Lindop with direct shoulder contact to the head, now faces a nervous wait ahead of the match review committee’s verdict on Monday and will almost certainly be charged for the tackle.

The severity of the scoring will attract a lot of attention, with the center ever-present for Wigan so far this year. Elsewhere, Tyler Dupree could also be brought in after what looked like a header on the ball. The Wigan man attacked former team-mate Sam Powell in the first half.

Liam Marshall also picked up a knock to his knee in the second half, but the winger should be fine to continue after finishing the game. Wigan’s win, meanwhile, keeps them level on points with St Helens at the top of the Super League table.

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