If you are a Wigan supporter and a keen believer in omens, it may be wise to cancel any plans you had for the first weekend of October. The Warriors are back on top of Super League, albeit for potentially 48 hours before Leeds get the chance to return serve on Sunday in York.

But this was a record-breaking night for Wigan, who set a club record for consecutive league wins in the summer era after a 12th straight triumph.

The three times they hit 11 consecutive wins were in 1998, 2013 and 2023. The final outcome in those years? Wigan were crowned Super League champions. Few would back against that becoming a reality again at Old Trafford.

Perhaps the biggest compliment you can pay Wigan is how rudimentary they are making games of this magnitude. Wakefield have been magnificent this season and while their own title charge has stuttered with back-to-back defeats they are no mugs, but Wigan made this look and feel straightforward.

Wakefield held their own in the early exchanges and They showed that again with their second-half effort when the game felt lost. But in Bevan French and Jai Field, Wigan arguably have Super League’s two most outstanding players who can decide matches.

French opened the scoring with a scintillating long-range break after a Wakefield attack broke down. That was the first of three tries in nine minutes that put Wigan in control.

Liam Marshall was the beneficiary of wonderful pieces of play to score in the corner on two occasions and with Adam Keighran converting both before adding a penalty on the half-time hooter, Wigan rode out a difficult opening 20 minutes to lead by 20. It was a passage of play few, if any, sides could have coped with.

Wakefield were much-improved after half-time and Corey Hall’s try to get them on the board was the least they deserved. A period of sustained pressure followed and had they scored again we could have had a grandstand finale.

However, with 15 minutes left Wakefield spilled the ball while probing the Wigan line, Field collected, nonchalantly stepped around Jack Sinfield, and raced the length of the field to put the result beyond doubt. It is a something we have seen so many times before, Field and French starring: but it does not get boring.

With 10 minutes left Ky Rodwell crashed over and Wakefield showed enough to suggest they will be a threat in the playoffs. But Wigan, without being on optimal form, showed there is one team really to beat.

The Wigan coach, Matt Peet said: “The run is going to end at some point, but hopefully it’s not the next game. I’ve got a group I love working with. There’s a lot left in us, but some of the good stuff comes through the imperfection. We can certainly be slicker, but we were very hard to break down against a good team.”

“It was a tough game we were in all the way through,” Wakefield’s coach, Daryl Powell, said. “We talked about their speed and what happens if you give them loose ball and we gave them two tries when we had the ball. Ultimately, that was the difference, but we should be proud of our effort.”