Warriors roasted by Roosters as Brett Morris hat-trick wins World Club Challenge
Sublime treble in first half an hour leaves Adrian Lam's side with too big a mountain to climb at the DW Stadium
TREBLE rouser Brett Morris smashed Wigan’s dreams of ruling the world with an uncanny repeat of his 2011 heroics.
Eight years ago Morris, now 32, bagged two tries for Aussie champs St George as they beat the Warriors at the DW Stadium in this battle of the Hemispheres.
Last night, on his debut for Sydney Roosters, he went one better with a hat-trick inside the first half-hour, to leave Wigan with just too big a mountain to climb.
It meant the Warriors’ bid for a record fifth World Club Challenge ultimately fell short and left Morris joking about his love affair with this particular arena.
He insisted: “I enjoy playing over here in England and there’s something about this field I really love.
“The crowds always get you fired up for these big games and I managed to be in the right place at the right time here. I was just given a job to do and I certainly tried my best. Coming into the club I wanted to impress the boys and I think I showed them what I can do.”
There is certainly no doubt about that, although Wigan did not exactly help themselves with some woeful defending for Morris’ first two.
Coach Adrian Lam admitted: “We were a lot better in the second half but let in a couple of soft tries at the start. We’ve had a poor start three times now.”
Skipper Sean O’Loughlin added: “We were chasing it from the off — you can’t give starts to sides like this. We knew we could put things right, but also that points would be hard to come by.”
Morris’ opener, inside three minutes, was a horror show for 22-year-old Oliver Gildart — swatted off twice — and Thomas Leuluai as he powered over to score.
Four minutes later the former Aussie Test ace doubled his tally with another touchdown that owed as much to his strength as the woeful efforts to hold him up.
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With no fewer than four men holding on — Leuluai, Gildart, Liam Farrell and George Williams — Morris somehow managed to wriggle an arm free to plonk it down.
With Sio Siua Taukeiaho’s conversion taking the lead to double figures, you feared it would get embarrassing for the English champions.
Yet suddenly, incredibly, Wigan cleared their heads after a cheap shot from Jared Waerea-Hargreaves left Sam Powell rubbing his.
The 6ft 2in Sydney prop flattened pint-sized 5ft 6in hooker Powell after the ball had gone — and then went in late on Farrell to compound the offence.
But that somehow stung the Warriors into life and Tom Davies got them up and running by scooting over down the right.
Yet just as fans were daring to consider only a second English win since Wigan themselves beat Cronulla in 2012, Morris pricked the balloon.
Once more it came down the same flank where he had already caused havoc, but this time Gildart and Davies had no chance as Luke Keary and Cooper Cronk moved it left, and he finished off.
Still Wigan refused to be shaken off, and back they came again, pounding the Roosters line as the Aussies’ lack of match practice — their seasons only starts next month — began to bite.
And they bagged a dramatic lifeline with 15 minutes left, courtesy of the vision of dynamic stand-off Williams, whose long pass to the left set up Liam Marshall.
It needed confirmation from video official Chris Kendall but was always a try — although Zak Hardaker’s missed touchline conversion crucially kept the gap at two scores.
And when Daniel Tupou leapt above Davies to touch down in the corner with two minutes left, the game was up in any case.