Wigan coach Adrian Lam has praised his side’s defence after they fought back to beat Leigh 30-16 in their first game since their Challenge Cup exit at the hands of Hull FC.

Wigan have yet to lose a game in Super League this year but were knocked out of the Cup by the Black & Whites.

On Monday night the Warriors came up against their neighbours Leigh in a derby encounter, the first in front of fans since mid-March 2020.

Down 10-0 early in the game, Wigan responded to notch their sixth victory in a row and remain unbeaten in Super League this season

The Warriors did not concede a point in the second half as they rebounded from their Cup disappointment.

“Physically yeah, defensively we responded really well,” Lam said.

“I thought the way we started was probably a little bit of a hangover from the challenge cup. It was a 10-day turnaround, there was a lot of errors in that part that was of concern.

“But in the second half we held them to nil, which is back to where we want to be.

“I thought our middles were better today, our bench was awesome.”

𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧 𝗨𝗣:

👹 @SalfordDevils on Saturday 🤝#SLSALWIG #NeverGonnaStop 🍒⚪️ #WWRL pic.twitter.com/ArgFAZVgpk

— Wigan Warriors 🍒⚪️ (@WiganWarriorsRL) May 18, 2021

Bevan French scored a try and set up two others at fullback, while Jake Bibby continued his hot scoring form with a double and Jack Hastings finished with several try assists.

“Jake’s been doing an amazing job for us,” Lam said.

“He just gets on with it wherever he is. He’s Mr Reliable.”

The match was played in front of fans for the first time since Covid-19 hit early last year. More than 1600 supporters were in attendance.

Lam admitted the atmosphere at the Leigh Sports Village was impressive and believes it will be an asset for the Centurions.

“Whoever comes here, any Super League team for the rest of the year, it’s going to be a real tough battle for them because the crowd gets right behind them,” he said.

“It sounded like it was full at times. I can imagine them getting on a roll and it being a really tough day for teams.

“Playing Leigh at Leigh is always a banana skin. I’m glad we’ve come here and got the two points.”

Wigan forward Morgan Smithies suffered a suspected high ankle sprain and will have scans this week.