There was a bike to be remounted for the Warrington Wolves
after they limped home to the UK after an embarrassing showing in Las Vegas
where they were put to the sword by a rampant Wigan Warriors, in their way a
resurgent Wakefield Trinity who themselves lost out to St Helens last time out.
The sides came into the game in seventh and eighth in the table,
Warrington had a chance to climb to fourth with any kind of victory but a win
by six or more from the visitors would lift them above their hosts.
Warrington were the bookies favourites with home advantage
and two wins from their three matches so far, the visitors being given a ten-point
start on the handicap coupon.
Warrington flexed their muscles early on with an opening try
un under three minutes. A neat chip to the corner from skipper George Williams
was caught by a flying Arron Lindop who dropped over the line to ground. Josh
Thewlis failed to add the conversion first conversion of the game.
Mason Lino bounced the ball as he lunged for the line on
thirteen, insufficient evidence for the video official to overrule the NO TRY
opinion of Marcus Griffiths.
Wakefield were back on level terms on eighteen with the
simplest of tries, Jack Croft chasing, collecting and grounding a neat grubber
kick from Max Jowitt. Jowitt added the conversion to edge his side into the
lead.
The lead moved switched again on twenty-four with a
magnificent Williams miss-out pass finding Alfie Johnson to use his pace down
the left to score in the corner. Thewlis hit the target this time for a 10-6
lead to the home side.
The seesaw continued on twenty-seven, Liam Hood scooting
from acting half back to score from five metres out, far too simple against no
defensive effort from Warrington. Jowitt added the conversion, now it was
Wakefield with the advantage.
A delightful try down the left wing from Trinity, Matty
Russell the man holding the ball at the end of a seventy metre move and
crossing to score in the corner. Jowitt added the conversion from wide to
extend the Trinity lead to eight points.
The game was drifting beyond Warrington on fifty-four when
Matty Storton crashed down the centre of the field after taking a Liam Hood
pass and going in from twenty metres. Jowitt added his fourth conversion of the
afternoon for a 24-10 lead.
Warrington were really scrambling, Trinity seemingly in
total charge.
Wakefield’s fifth try came on the hour mark when Caleb
Hamlin-Uele took a short pass a couple of metres from the line to crash over.
Jowitt was on target again to bring up the thirty. The Wolves now needed to
score four times, an unlikely proposition.
On sixty-four Thewlis chased down a Stefan Ratchford kick to
the corner, collecting the ball and dotting down in the corner. Thewlis
converted his own try.
Wakefield had let their hosts in again, but it was the last
time in the game that they would be broken. It was a big enough points win to lift
Trinity above the Wolves on the league ladder. A brilliant win on the road for
Daryl Powell’s men, a second consecutive disastrous showing for Sam Burgess’s
boys who will be doing a lot of navel-gazing over the next week.
Warrington Wolves: Taylor-Wray, Thewlis (T, G 2/3), Lindop
(T), Tai, Johnson (T), Williams, Ratchford, Harrison, Walker, Vaughan, Currie,
Russell, Yates. Subs: Powell, Crowther,
Philbin Holroyd. 18th Man: Leyland.
Wakefield Trinity: Jowitt (G 5/5), Russell (T), Pratt, Hall,
Johnstone, Trueman, Lino, Storton (T), Hood (T), Hamlin-Uele (T), Croft (T), Vagana,
McMeeken. Subs: Atoni, Smith, Cozza, Faatili. 18th Man: Russell.
Half-Time: 10-12.
Full-Time: 16-30.
Score Progression: 4-0, 4-4, 4-6, 8-6, 10-6, 10-10, 10-12. :
HT: 10-16, 10-18, 10-22, 10-24, 10-28, 10-30, 14-30, 16-30 :FT.
Lead Exchanges: Warrington -
Square – Wakefield – Warrington – Square - Wakefield.
Referee: Marcus Griffiths.
