You have to hand it to Leeds. When the chips are down and the pressure is on, is there a better team in the country?
All week prior to the Super League showpiece event I had favoured the Rhinos. I thought their general know-how and big game experience would see them through and so it proved.
To be honest this was one of the best Grand Finals, a tough, tense, tight encounter and I expect for Rhinos fans, completely makes up for missing out on lifting the Challenge Cup.
I know that Kevin Sinfield has his critics in the game and also for performances at international level but he is a superb captain, he marshalled his troops throughout and prompted and kicked well out of hand, despite being felled after one such kick with an almighty blow to the jaw. His 21 successive play-off goals points to nerves of steel and indeed he kicked five on the big Old Trafford stage. I have long been an admirer of his traits, his professionalism and suggest to the Headingley paymasters that if they are considering "making statues of them" to quote Brian McDermott then they look no further than Sinfield initially.
I thought that Carl Ablett would have got a lot closer to Sinfield in chasing man of the match. He played a varied centre/back row role and scored a crucial try in addition to having a hand in the clincher with the final movement and pass before Ryan Hall gleefully crossed at the corner.
Rob Burrow too was magnificent out of dummy half. Last season's Harry Sunderland trophy winner for me had far more control on his game and was more readily involved than his classy cameo from 2011 yet came nowhere near Leeds captain marvel in the end.
What of the losers Warrington?
They were brave, Ben Westwood played it tough and Richie Myler and Lee Briers never stopped while it was a fascinating confrontation in the centres between Ryan Atkins and Kallum Watkins and both Mickey Higham and Michael Monaghan. I also thought that Chris Hill did not disgrace himself and has certainly gone from strength to strength since stepping up from the Championship, but crucially for me Leeds had the edge.
The Wolves started the game superbly and deservedly edged the first fifteen minutes with Richie Myler spotting the slightest of gaps in Leeds line to cross for the opening try just a couple of minutes in with a combination of quick thinking and quick feet. Fullback Brett Hodgson converted but the Rhinos served notice of their danger when a long ball from Kevin Sinfield seemingly put Ryan Hall in at the corner, only to be ruled forward.
The sides swapped difficult hanging kicks with Ben Jones-Bishop being targeted by Warrington.
Leeds then steadied the ship and a towering kick from Sinfield was spilled under pressure by Joel Monaghan, allowing Carl Ablett the chance to step into an opening, twist in the tackle and offload for Sinfield, looping round to plant the ball over the line in the 18th minute and convert to level the match from an acute angle at six-all.
The next 15 minutes belonged to Leeds with Sinfield nudging the Rhinos in front with a 24th minute penalty and Jones-Bishop casting his earlier handling nerves aside to finish smartly on the right hand side for Sinfield to make it 14-6.
Similarly to their Elimination victory over St Helens, Warrington surged back in the last seven minutes of the half and gained momentum with quick play and when Leeds were split down the Wolves left side, clever link up work created space and numbers for Lee Briers to bullet a pass for right winger Joel Monaghan to claim his 22nd try of the season. Hodgson converted and was on hand to kick a penalty to level the game at 14-all on the stroke of half-time.
Early in the second half, Warrington enjoyed a greater share of field position and possession and Leeds saw skipper Sinfield felled after making a clearance kick, a clash of heads with Michael Monaghan putting the Leeds man on the floor. Somehow, Sinfield regained his feet and played himself back into the game. Clinically the Wolves took advantage of the confusion with Hodgson's smart work out of dummy half catching Leeds out and Ryan Atkins went one on one with Kallum Watkins and over the youngster to claim a try that put Warrington in front again.
Leeds kept their composure and laid on the pressure with only good defence holding the Rhinos at bay, but as the penalties began to stack up against Warrington, the Wolves reeled and Shaun Lunt spied the opportunity to dive forward out of dummy half and release the ball at the right time for Ablett to go over Briers to claim a crucial try with Sinfield again potting a difficult conversion to edge the Rhinos in front at 20-18.
Warrington tried to come up with a telling play but handling errors broke their rhythm and Leeds countered superbly to score the clinching try eight minutes from time with some excellent passing and poise that eventually saw Ablett stand up Joel Monaghan long enough for Hall to skirt around the outside and Sinfield converted magnificently to secure a sixth title in nine years for the Rhinos.
Showing posts with label Warrington Wolves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Warrington Wolves. Show all posts
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Saturday, 18 September 2010
RL Comment: Giants deserve shot at the big time (Spoiler Warning)
Huddersfield Giants are 80 minutes away from a trip to Old Trafford after they dumped much fancied Warrington out of the Super League play-offs by virtue of a 34-22 win at the Halliwell Jones Stadium tonight.
From the outset, Huddersfield ran harder with the likes of David Fa'alogo, Keith Mason and Darrell Griffin keen to make an impact. This laid the platform from where their little men bossed proceedings. With Luke Robinson and Danny Brough alternating things at dummy half and then later mixing things with Shaun Lunt, Warrington didn't know what to expect while linkmen Brett Hodgson and Kevin Brown gave excellent performances.
The Giants were first to trouble the scoreboard after three minutes when a switched pass by Robinson found Stephen Wild and the Salford-bound backrower cut through for the try and Brett Hodgson chipped in with his first goal.
Warrington then thought they had claimed a try to Chris Hicks after Lee Briers angled kick but the video referee felt otherwise.
The Wolves were then lulled into a false sense of security by Brough. He had been kicking early in the tackle count but as he feigned, the halfback instead stepped and blistered through the defence before Danny Kirmond supported at his shoulder for the second try of the game.
A near perfect first quarter was brought to an end when Brett Hodgson kicked through and Lee Gilmour cleverly controlled the ball with his foot to touch down. Again the fullback was on hand to convert and mae it 18-0.
Finally Warrington began to build a bit of pressure and two kicks down the left from David Solomona and Ryan Atkins saw Hodgson get the ball dead for a drop out.
That spell proved short lived as Huddersfield motored down the ground again and only good work from Chris Hicks denied a try for David Hodgson after a clever grubber kick by Kevin Brown. The next try was all Brown's doing after Larne Patrick drove close to the line. A quick play-the-ball then released Brown and he showed strength to get downward pressure despite the attentions of two players.
With just four seconds play remaining in the half, Brough struck a masterly drop goal from forty metres and Huddersfield led 23-0.
Warrington needed the first try in the second half and it came after four minutes when Michael Monaghan's pass was taken by Mick Higham who proved as slippy as an eel to get through the defence. Ben Westwood goaled before Brough's kicking and the Giants eager chase saw them force a couple of drop outs. From the first, Warrington conceded a penalty when Briers dumped Lunt but Hodgson missed the goal.
On 53 minutes, Hodgson converted an altogether more straightforward penalty and a 19 point lead looed too much for the Wolves to overcome. It was at this stage that mistakes started to creep into the Giants game.
Hicks grounded a try in the corner for the Wolves on the hour and Huddersfield were rocking five minutes later when Higham somehow broke through from dummy half after searching for the penalty and acquplaned over despite the best efforts of Brett Hodgson.
Brough appeared to give Huddersfield the edge with another blistering break and chip kick and when Briers again trangressed, Hodgson put over his fifth goal. Leading 27-16, Huddersfield threw the ball away and as a scrap broke out, Matt King sent Hicks in for his second try of the game. Westwood converted superbly from the touchline and this sparked a frantic finish.
If Brough's first drop goal was majestic, his second after seventy eight minutes was anything but. After referring the decision upstairs, referee Phil Bentham awarded the goal which just about scraped the crossbar on its way over.
At the restart, Warrington went short and regained possession through King. A miracle play on the left looked on but instead of finding an unmarked Chris Riley the lofted pass was plucked out of the air by Leroy Cudjoe who set off running, realised the tackler coming across was Adrian Morley and moved through the gears to touch down 90 metres down field. Hodgson converted for his sixth goal of the evening and the Giants will now wait on the result of "club call" tomorrow lunchtime before knowing who and when they will play next week.
HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS 34 (Tries: Wild, Kirmond, Gilmour, Brown, Cudjoe. Goals: B Hodgson 6/8, Drop Goals: Brough 2) defeated WARRINGTON WOLVES 22 (Tries Higham 2, Hicks 2. Goals: Westwood 3/4) at Halliwell Jones Stadium.
This was a cracker of a game with the right result. Huddersfield wobbled but managed to settle the ship while Warrington were shocked at the tenacity and pressure being put on them by their visitors in the first half.
From the outset, Huddersfield ran harder with the likes of David Fa'alogo, Keith Mason and Darrell Griffin keen to make an impact. This laid the platform from where their little men bossed proceedings. With Luke Robinson and Danny Brough alternating things at dummy half and then later mixing things with Shaun Lunt, Warrington didn't know what to expect while linkmen Brett Hodgson and Kevin Brown gave excellent performances.
The Giants were first to trouble the scoreboard after three minutes when a switched pass by Robinson found Stephen Wild and the Salford-bound backrower cut through for the try and Brett Hodgson chipped in with his first goal.
Warrington then thought they had claimed a try to Chris Hicks after Lee Briers angled kick but the video referee felt otherwise.
The Wolves were then lulled into a false sense of security by Brough. He had been kicking early in the tackle count but as he feigned, the halfback instead stepped and blistered through the defence before Danny Kirmond supported at his shoulder for the second try of the game.
A near perfect first quarter was brought to an end when Brett Hodgson kicked through and Lee Gilmour cleverly controlled the ball with his foot to touch down. Again the fullback was on hand to convert and mae it 18-0.
Finally Warrington began to build a bit of pressure and two kicks down the left from David Solomona and Ryan Atkins saw Hodgson get the ball dead for a drop out.
That spell proved short lived as Huddersfield motored down the ground again and only good work from Chris Hicks denied a try for David Hodgson after a clever grubber kick by Kevin Brown. The next try was all Brown's doing after Larne Patrick drove close to the line. A quick play-the-ball then released Brown and he showed strength to get downward pressure despite the attentions of two players.
With just four seconds play remaining in the half, Brough struck a masterly drop goal from forty metres and Huddersfield led 23-0.
Warrington needed the first try in the second half and it came after four minutes when Michael Monaghan's pass was taken by Mick Higham who proved as slippy as an eel to get through the defence. Ben Westwood goaled before Brough's kicking and the Giants eager chase saw them force a couple of drop outs. From the first, Warrington conceded a penalty when Briers dumped Lunt but Hodgson missed the goal.
On 53 minutes, Hodgson converted an altogether more straightforward penalty and a 19 point lead looed too much for the Wolves to overcome. It was at this stage that mistakes started to creep into the Giants game.
Hicks grounded a try in the corner for the Wolves on the hour and Huddersfield were rocking five minutes later when Higham somehow broke through from dummy half after searching for the penalty and acquplaned over despite the best efforts of Brett Hodgson.
Brough appeared to give Huddersfield the edge with another blistering break and chip kick and when Briers again trangressed, Hodgson put over his fifth goal. Leading 27-16, Huddersfield threw the ball away and as a scrap broke out, Matt King sent Hicks in for his second try of the game. Westwood converted superbly from the touchline and this sparked a frantic finish.
If Brough's first drop goal was majestic, his second after seventy eight minutes was anything but. After referring the decision upstairs, referee Phil Bentham awarded the goal which just about scraped the crossbar on its way over.
At the restart, Warrington went short and regained possession through King. A miracle play on the left looked on but instead of finding an unmarked Chris Riley the lofted pass was plucked out of the air by Leroy Cudjoe who set off running, realised the tackler coming across was Adrian Morley and moved through the gears to touch down 90 metres down field. Hodgson converted for his sixth goal of the evening and the Giants will now wait on the result of "club call" tomorrow lunchtime before knowing who and when they will play next week.
HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS 34 (Tries: Wild, Kirmond, Gilmour, Brown, Cudjoe. Goals: B Hodgson 6/8, Drop Goals: Brough 2) defeated WARRINGTON WOLVES 22 (Tries Higham 2, Hicks 2. Goals: Westwood 3/4) at Halliwell Jones Stadium.
This was a cracker of a game with the right result. Huddersfield wobbled but managed to settle the ship while Warrington were shocked at the tenacity and pressure being put on them by their visitors in the first half.
SL PREVIEW - THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS BUT THEY HAVE TO BEAT WARRINGTON
Huddersfield Giants haven't beaten Warrington in three attempts this season and in order to upset the applecart and upset the expected top four party, that is exactly what they need to do.
At the Galpharm in February, Warrington won through narrowly - 14-10 before an outstanding performance in the Challenge Cup saw a demolition job. It was expected to be a close game, afterall the two clubs got to the 2009 final but it turned into anything but with Warrington winning by 60-4. The worrying thing for the Giants is that cutting edge centre Chris Bridge is back, and in form.
The England international scored five tries against the Giants in May and since returning to the Wolves first team panel he has scored 3 tries and 6 goals in two games. This has come after he was tipped not to play again this term after an injury sustained in June against Leeds.
The last time the teams met was at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and once again, Warrington had the upper hand winning 36-20.
Tries on that day for the Wolves came from Paul Wood, Chris Riley, Adrian Morley, Bridge, Chris Hicks (2) and Matt King while Bridge also weighed in with four goals. Huddersfield registered tries by Luke Robinson, Jomahl Lolesi, and Leroy Cudjoe (2) with Brett Hodgson booting a couple of goals.
Brett Hodgson is looking to continue the Giants recent form, which took an upturn after coach Nathan Brown performed a U-turn and opted to stay at the Galpharm for the rest of his contract after earlier saying that he was going to return to Australia.
The experienced fullback, who enjoyed a lengthy NRL career with Wests Tigers and picked up the Man-of-Steel award last year, will take up a two year contract with the Wolves in November but until then he is fully committed to the Giants.
Huddersfield have some usefl players. Wingers Leroy Cudjoe and David Hodgson have scored 23 and 25 tries respectively while at halfback there is an embarrassment of riches with Kevin Brown, Luke Robinson and Danny Brough all taking on the roles at various times this season. Robinson is a tough character who has also worked a lot at hooker this season with former Workington Town number nine Shaun Lunt. Lunt has bagged himself 11 tries while in a solid pack David Fa'alogo, Larne Patrick, Lee Gilmour, Andy Raleigh, Eorl Crabtree and Darrell Griffin have all made an impact with Keith Mason looking to do likewise if he can force his way into selection having served his three match ban for an incident at Wigan.
Warrington are perhaps even more explosive.
In addition to Bridge, Chris Hicks, Chris Riley and Matt King have all claimed 20 or more tries this season and even if they can be contained, Ryan Atkins could cause untild problems. The brains trust will probably lie with Michael Monaghan and Lee Briers after Richie Myler failed to recover in time from his turned ankle and the Wolves pack is among the best in Super League with Morley, Ben Westwood and Ben Harrison all very consistent while Paul Wood and David Solomona really add to the team from the bench.
All in all it looks like another interesting game in prospect.
Although bookmakers are tipping a Warrington win, we only have to look back a month for what was the Giants result of the season - an 18-16 defeat of Wigan in their own back yard! That in itself offers caution.
At the Galpharm in February, Warrington won through narrowly - 14-10 before an outstanding performance in the Challenge Cup saw a demolition job. It was expected to be a close game, afterall the two clubs got to the 2009 final but it turned into anything but with Warrington winning by 60-4. The worrying thing for the Giants is that cutting edge centre Chris Bridge is back, and in form.
The England international scored five tries against the Giants in May and since returning to the Wolves first team panel he has scored 3 tries and 6 goals in two games. This has come after he was tipped not to play again this term after an injury sustained in June against Leeds.
The last time the teams met was at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and once again, Warrington had the upper hand winning 36-20.
Tries on that day for the Wolves came from Paul Wood, Chris Riley, Adrian Morley, Bridge, Chris Hicks (2) and Matt King while Bridge also weighed in with four goals. Huddersfield registered tries by Luke Robinson, Jomahl Lolesi, and Leroy Cudjoe (2) with Brett Hodgson booting a couple of goals.
Brett Hodgson is looking to continue the Giants recent form, which took an upturn after coach Nathan Brown performed a U-turn and opted to stay at the Galpharm for the rest of his contract after earlier saying that he was going to return to Australia.
The experienced fullback, who enjoyed a lengthy NRL career with Wests Tigers and picked up the Man-of-Steel award last year, will take up a two year contract with the Wolves in November but until then he is fully committed to the Giants.
Huddersfield have some usefl players. Wingers Leroy Cudjoe and David Hodgson have scored 23 and 25 tries respectively while at halfback there is an embarrassment of riches with Kevin Brown, Luke Robinson and Danny Brough all taking on the roles at various times this season. Robinson is a tough character who has also worked a lot at hooker this season with former Workington Town number nine Shaun Lunt. Lunt has bagged himself 11 tries while in a solid pack David Fa'alogo, Larne Patrick, Lee Gilmour, Andy Raleigh, Eorl Crabtree and Darrell Griffin have all made an impact with Keith Mason looking to do likewise if he can force his way into selection having served his three match ban for an incident at Wigan.
Warrington are perhaps even more explosive.
In addition to Bridge, Chris Hicks, Chris Riley and Matt King have all claimed 20 or more tries this season and even if they can be contained, Ryan Atkins could cause untild problems. The brains trust will probably lie with Michael Monaghan and Lee Briers after Richie Myler failed to recover in time from his turned ankle and the Wolves pack is among the best in Super League with Morley, Ben Westwood and Ben Harrison all very consistent while Paul Wood and David Solomona really add to the team from the bench.
All in all it looks like another interesting game in prospect.
Although bookmakers are tipping a Warrington win, we only have to look back a month for what was the Giants result of the season - an 18-16 defeat of Wigan in their own back yard! That in itself offers caution.
Friday, 3 September 2010
Warrington back up to second in Super League
Warrington won through in the capital, bouncing back from an early 12-0 deficit to eventually wrap up a 36-22 win that could yet see them finish the league season in second place to Wigan.
For the meantime, the Wolves are second, although St Helens know exactly what they need to do when they take on Castleford Tigers tomorrow evening.
For Quins it was a Bridge too far... literally, as Chris Bridge ran rampant on his return to first team duty.
The former Bradford player a few weeks ago thought he would be out for the season but better progress saw him force his way into the club's Wembley plans. Although he didn't make the game under the arch, he certainly lit up The Stoop with a twenty point haul.
Warrington built a 24-12 lead in response to their early problems. Andy Ellis and Luke Dorn scored for Quins before Jon Clarke, David Solomona, Mike Cooper and Bridge all went over before half-time.
Dorn scored his second try for the London team but Warrington responded with Solomona and Bridge notching their braces and although Dorn completed a fine night for him with a well-taken hat-trick, the winners were Bridge and Warrington.
For the meantime, the Wolves are second, although St Helens know exactly what they need to do when they take on Castleford Tigers tomorrow evening.
For Quins it was a Bridge too far... literally, as Chris Bridge ran rampant on his return to first team duty.
The former Bradford player a few weeks ago thought he would be out for the season but better progress saw him force his way into the club's Wembley plans. Although he didn't make the game under the arch, he certainly lit up The Stoop with a twenty point haul.
Warrington built a 24-12 lead in response to their early problems. Andy Ellis and Luke Dorn scored for Quins before Jon Clarke, David Solomona, Mike Cooper and Bridge all went over before half-time.
Dorn scored his second try for the London team but Warrington responded with Solomona and Bridge notching their braces and although Dorn completed a fine night for him with a well-taken hat-trick, the winners were Bridge and Warrington.
Thursday, 25 March 2010
SL Preview - Warrington v Wakefield
It has been a busy week for Wakefield overall with the signing of Paul Cooke, followed by a big win over Salford and news that Scotland international Danny Brough had joined Huddersfield. There is no doubting that the Wildcats will miss the influence of Brough who scored a try and banged over 18 goals before his high profile departure.
In Cooke however, Wakefield have a talismanic figure, who on his day is a real class player, he is a talent and easy to spot, standing 6'5!
Included in the Brough transfer was the permanent signing of Michael Korkidas who joined the Wildcats on-loan prior to the season, and the loan recruitment of Danny Kirmond who comes into contention for selection.
Kirmond used to play on the wing before joining Huddersfield in 2007 but has since successfully moved to the pack and second row. If selected Kirmond will debut but perhaps more important for him, it will be his comeback from a major knee operation.
Warrington are still smarting from defeat at St Helens last week where too many mistakes cost them. Hoping to continue his run of form will be former Australian international Matt King who has been outstanding for the Wolves this season. He has scored seven tries to tie with Chris Riley at the top of the club try charts but importantly all seven have come in the last four games.
The Wolves welcome back experienced halfback Lee Briers following his knee injury sustained on the 20th February against Wigan while there are a couple of former Wakefield connections amongst the Warrington ranks with Ryan Atkins facing the club where he made his Super League name and David Solomona and Ben Westwood playing against their former team.
For Atkins it is quite special and he told Adrian Jackson from Radio General's Final Hooter Show, "It's a game that has been ringed on the calendar since the fixtures were out." Atkins also revealed that there had been "a lot of banter" between former team-mates and spoke of his close friendships with Sean Gleeson and Tevita Leo-Latu.
Kick-off at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Friday night is 8pm.
In Cooke however, Wakefield have a talismanic figure, who on his day is a real class player, he is a talent and easy to spot, standing 6'5!
Included in the Brough transfer was the permanent signing of Michael Korkidas who joined the Wildcats on-loan prior to the season, and the loan recruitment of Danny Kirmond who comes into contention for selection.
Kirmond used to play on the wing before joining Huddersfield in 2007 but has since successfully moved to the pack and second row. If selected Kirmond will debut but perhaps more important for him, it will be his comeback from a major knee operation.
Warrington are still smarting from defeat at St Helens last week where too many mistakes cost them. Hoping to continue his run of form will be former Australian international Matt King who has been outstanding for the Wolves this season. He has scored seven tries to tie with Chris Riley at the top of the club try charts but importantly all seven have come in the last four games.
The Wolves welcome back experienced halfback Lee Briers following his knee injury sustained on the 20th February against Wigan while there are a couple of former Wakefield connections amongst the Warrington ranks with Ryan Atkins facing the club where he made his Super League name and David Solomona and Ben Westwood playing against their former team.
For Atkins it is quite special and he told Adrian Jackson from Radio General's Final Hooter Show, "It's a game that has been ringed on the calendar since the fixtures were out." Atkins also revealed that there had been "a lot of banter" between former team-mates and spoke of his close friendships with Sean Gleeson and Tevita Leo-Latu.
Kick-off at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Friday night is 8pm.
Sunday, 14 March 2010
SKY SL MATCH - WARRINGTON V BRADFORD - MINI SUMMARY
WARRINGTON 33
BRADFORD 8
A brilliant 25 minutes of second half play blasted the Bulls aside at Halliwell Jones Stadium tonight.
Warrington trailed 8-6 at half-time to tries from Andy Lynch and Paul Sykes. Lynch gave the visitors the advantage after 24 minutes following a missed penalty goal attempt by Matt Orford, before the Wolves took the lead with a converted try after Adrian Morley provided a quick play-the-ball, Mickey Higham scooted and Richie Myler supported to go under the posts for Chris Bridge to goal.
Sykes put the Bulls in front three minutes before the break after a disguised pass Matt Orford.
There was little between the teams at the start of the second half with Bradford shading the opening exchanges after a break from Brett Kearney and three sets of possession on the Warrington line.
A similar period occured in the first half with the Wolves in possession but they couldn't push through. Neither could Bradford and their frustration led to mistakes with experienced Steve Menzies being guilty of a couple of wild offloads.
It was the Bulls defence that eventually cracked when Ryan Atkins touched down after 52 minutes for Warrington after David Solomona's cut out ball and unselfish work from Matt King. Right until the last quarter this was a contest before 4 tries and 23 unanswered points secured a second successive win for the Wolves.
King touched down following great work by Louis Anderson and a long ball from Simon Grix and from the restart, King broke again before slowing for the supporting Atkins to take the ball at pace and blaze to the try line in spectacular fashion to complete an 80 metre raid. Bridge again goaled to make it 20-8 and the game was effectively over when an elusive run at dummy half by Michael Monaghan took him past some tired, targeted defenders to the try line. The boot of Bridge upped the score to 26-8 and Monaghan then potted a drop goal eight minutes from time before a high kick near the end led to King claiming his second try and Bridge added his fourth goal to confirm a 33-8 victory.
Warrington Tries: Myler (33), Atkins (53, 64), King (62, 78), Monaghan (68).
Goals: Bridge 4/6. Monaghan DG (72).
Bradford Tries: Lynch (24), Sykes (37).
Goals: Orford 0/2, Sykes 0/1.
BRADFORD 8
A brilliant 25 minutes of second half play blasted the Bulls aside at Halliwell Jones Stadium tonight.
Warrington trailed 8-6 at half-time to tries from Andy Lynch and Paul Sykes. Lynch gave the visitors the advantage after 24 minutes following a missed penalty goal attempt by Matt Orford, before the Wolves took the lead with a converted try after Adrian Morley provided a quick play-the-ball, Mickey Higham scooted and Richie Myler supported to go under the posts for Chris Bridge to goal.
Sykes put the Bulls in front three minutes before the break after a disguised pass Matt Orford.
There was little between the teams at the start of the second half with Bradford shading the opening exchanges after a break from Brett Kearney and three sets of possession on the Warrington line.
A similar period occured in the first half with the Wolves in possession but they couldn't push through. Neither could Bradford and their frustration led to mistakes with experienced Steve Menzies being guilty of a couple of wild offloads.
It was the Bulls defence that eventually cracked when Ryan Atkins touched down after 52 minutes for Warrington after David Solomona's cut out ball and unselfish work from Matt King. Right until the last quarter this was a contest before 4 tries and 23 unanswered points secured a second successive win for the Wolves.
King touched down following great work by Louis Anderson and a long ball from Simon Grix and from the restart, King broke again before slowing for the supporting Atkins to take the ball at pace and blaze to the try line in spectacular fashion to complete an 80 metre raid. Bridge again goaled to make it 20-8 and the game was effectively over when an elusive run at dummy half by Michael Monaghan took him past some tired, targeted defenders to the try line. The boot of Bridge upped the score to 26-8 and Monaghan then potted a drop goal eight minutes from time before a high kick near the end led to King claiming his second try and Bridge added his fourth goal to confirm a 33-8 victory.
Warrington Tries: Myler (33), Atkins (53, 64), King (62, 78), Monaghan (68).
Goals: Bridge 4/6. Monaghan DG (72).
Bradford Tries: Lynch (24), Sykes (37).
Goals: Orford 0/2, Sykes 0/1.
Saturday, 20 February 2010
What a hum-dinger - SL: WARRINGTON V WIGAN 20/02/2010
The new season may only be a few weeks old but there will be few games that better this evenings between old rivals Warrington and Wigan.
Prior to tonight Wigan had never won a competitive game at the Halliwell Jones Stadium where two 100% records went on the line.
At the end of eighty minutes of high drama and excitement, history was made with the Warriors moving to the top of the embryonic Super League table.
Warrington opened the game well and forced a couple of early drop outs without being fully able to escape the defence.
Somewhat against the run of play, Wigan opened scoring after 8 minutes when Andy Coley passed inside and Amos Roberts, deputising at fullback for the injured Cameron Phelps motored into the Wolves half before taking advantage of a Matt King slip to then hare over in the right corner. Pat Richards couldn't convert but Wigan led 4-0.
Finally the Wolves found a way through after 20 minutes when Michael Monaghan jumped left from dummy half and Richie Myler was on his shoulder for a Lee Briers converted effort.
Warrington grabbed a second try after 28 minutes when swift movement down the right created an overlap and a Chris Bridge dipping pass was well finished by Chris Riley for his seventh try of the season. The Wolves saw a try chalked off by video referee Phil Bentham in the 35th minute when he ruled against Monaghan from a Briers kick but this only delayed the inevitable and David Solomona went over two minutes later with a twisting effort from dummy half. Briers second goal gave the hosts a 16-4 half-time lead much to the satisfaction of most of the sell-out 13,024 crowd.
A mistake from youngster Lee Mossop heaped pressure on the visitors early in the second half but they tackled well to prevent a lively Warrington from scoring.
Video referee Phil Bentham again intervened to deny a Wolves try before 54 minutes in, an ankle injury forced Briers off and Warrington never fully recovered.
Spotting their chance Wigan upped their efforts in speed and intensity and it paid off. First the ever elusive Roberts created something out of nothing to score after 57 minutes; although it needed passing to Mr Bentham to rule on contact between Martin Gleeson and his former team-mate King on the try line.
Richards missed the conversion but more quick play down the right saw 21 year-old Darrell Goulding do no harm to his first team future when he took Roberts pass to ground in the corner.
Richards converted and Warrington were really on the back foot when they conceded consecutive penalties in the 66th minute. The second of these saw Paul Deacon opt for goal and Richards added his second to tie the game.
On their next possession, Wigan looked to be taking things steadily with drives from their forwards before Sam Tomkins provided the unexpected with a chip over the defence and regather. Thomas Leuluai streamed up in support and worked the position brilliantly for Joel Tomkins to go over for the try that put Wigan in front. This allowed Richards to add his third goal via the upright.
The game moved from one excitement to another and within a few minutes Louis Anderson scored a simple try when he ran strongly at the much smaller Leuluai but Chris Bridge saw his conversion attempt graze the wrong side of the posts.
Wigan's keen defence again kept the Wolves at bay with the likes of O'Loughlin, Joel Tomkins and Harrison Hansen well to the fore while Coley and Stuart Fielden came up with some good work alongside Paul Prescott.
A 40-20 from Monaghan gifted Warrington a chance with three minutes remaining but Coley's tackle on Bridge dislodged the ball while the Wolves turned down a kickable penalty attempt to push for the try.
Warrington thought they had produced a match winning play when Solomona drove low for the line. Referee Richard Silverwood referred the decision to Mr Bentham and after an agonising couple of minutes that saw several different views of the incident appear on the SKY big screen it was disallowed for Wigan to run down the clock and claim a thrilling and historic victory.
Warrington 20
Tries: Louis Anderson, David Solomona, Richie Myler, Chris Riley
Goals: Lee Briers 2/3 Chris Bridge 0/1
Wigan 22
Tries: Joel Tomkins, Darrell Goulding, Amos Roberts 2
Goals: Pat Richards 3/5
Half time: 16-4
Referee: Mr R Silverwood
Penalties: 10-9
Prior to tonight Wigan had never won a competitive game at the Halliwell Jones Stadium where two 100% records went on the line.
At the end of eighty minutes of high drama and excitement, history was made with the Warriors moving to the top of the embryonic Super League table.
Warrington opened the game well and forced a couple of early drop outs without being fully able to escape the defence.
Somewhat against the run of play, Wigan opened scoring after 8 minutes when Andy Coley passed inside and Amos Roberts, deputising at fullback for the injured Cameron Phelps motored into the Wolves half before taking advantage of a Matt King slip to then hare over in the right corner. Pat Richards couldn't convert but Wigan led 4-0.
Finally the Wolves found a way through after 20 minutes when Michael Monaghan jumped left from dummy half and Richie Myler was on his shoulder for a Lee Briers converted effort.
Warrington grabbed a second try after 28 minutes when swift movement down the right created an overlap and a Chris Bridge dipping pass was well finished by Chris Riley for his seventh try of the season. The Wolves saw a try chalked off by video referee Phil Bentham in the 35th minute when he ruled against Monaghan from a Briers kick but this only delayed the inevitable and David Solomona went over two minutes later with a twisting effort from dummy half. Briers second goal gave the hosts a 16-4 half-time lead much to the satisfaction of most of the sell-out 13,024 crowd.
A mistake from youngster Lee Mossop heaped pressure on the visitors early in the second half but they tackled well to prevent a lively Warrington from scoring.
Video referee Phil Bentham again intervened to deny a Wolves try before 54 minutes in, an ankle injury forced Briers off and Warrington never fully recovered.
Spotting their chance Wigan upped their efforts in speed and intensity and it paid off. First the ever elusive Roberts created something out of nothing to score after 57 minutes; although it needed passing to Mr Bentham to rule on contact between Martin Gleeson and his former team-mate King on the try line.
Richards missed the conversion but more quick play down the right saw 21 year-old Darrell Goulding do no harm to his first team future when he took Roberts pass to ground in the corner.
Richards converted and Warrington were really on the back foot when they conceded consecutive penalties in the 66th minute. The second of these saw Paul Deacon opt for goal and Richards added his second to tie the game.
On their next possession, Wigan looked to be taking things steadily with drives from their forwards before Sam Tomkins provided the unexpected with a chip over the defence and regather. Thomas Leuluai streamed up in support and worked the position brilliantly for Joel Tomkins to go over for the try that put Wigan in front. This allowed Richards to add his third goal via the upright.
The game moved from one excitement to another and within a few minutes Louis Anderson scored a simple try when he ran strongly at the much smaller Leuluai but Chris Bridge saw his conversion attempt graze the wrong side of the posts.
Wigan's keen defence again kept the Wolves at bay with the likes of O'Loughlin, Joel Tomkins and Harrison Hansen well to the fore while Coley and Stuart Fielden came up with some good work alongside Paul Prescott.
A 40-20 from Monaghan gifted Warrington a chance with three minutes remaining but Coley's tackle on Bridge dislodged the ball while the Wolves turned down a kickable penalty attempt to push for the try.
Warrington thought they had produced a match winning play when Solomona drove low for the line. Referee Richard Silverwood referred the decision to Mr Bentham and after an agonising couple of minutes that saw several different views of the incident appear on the SKY big screen it was disallowed for Wigan to run down the clock and claim a thrilling and historic victory.
Warrington 20
Tries: Louis Anderson, David Solomona, Richie Myler, Chris Riley
Goals: Lee Briers 2/3 Chris Bridge 0/1
Wigan 22
Tries: Joel Tomkins, Darrell Goulding, Amos Roberts 2
Goals: Pat Richards 3/5
Half time: 16-4
Referee: Mr R Silverwood
Penalties: 10-9
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Original Match Report - Paul Wood Testimonial - WARRINGTON 12 WIGAN 20 - 27/01/2010
WARRINGTON WOLVES 12
WIGAN WARRIORS 20
DAVE PARKINSON at Halliwell Jones Stadium, Wednesday
Ten days before the start of their respective Super League campaigns, Warrington and Wigan met in an entertaining friendly. Although the game was littered with mistakes you got the feeling both coaches got what they wanted out of the hit-out.
Wigan boss Michael Maguire speaking after Harrison Hansen’s late score made the game safe for the Warriors following an equally stirring defensive effort said, “As a team I feel that we are moving forward in the right direction. That’s what I was after in today’s game and I thought we competed in everything that we did. I don’t like to isolate too many individuals but Sean O’Loughlin with his effort and Amos Roberts, I thought he played well. Sam (Tomkins), his competitiveness, he fights for everything. Across the board there were a lot of good efforts.”
The Wolves were led out by testimonial man Paul Wood who started the game. Wood is something of a rare breed in a modern game where money talks and is celebrating ten years of being a Wolf in 2010. Afterwards Wood paid tribute to the 4,622 spectators that braved a cold night to pay tribute to the born and bred Wiganer.
“It was a good night and a good turn out.” He said. “Wigan travelled in numbers and Warrington were the same as usual. It was pretty special really.”
“I’ll try my best to maintain my form, but there are six other prop forwards in the squad that want the same. I’ve just got to keep playing and improving week in, week out. I’m confident but I’ve got a lot of work to do yet. All my family are Wigan fans and that gave it a bit of extra spice but I’m glad we played Wigan because it gives us a good indication of where we are at. I think Wigan are going to be up there this season and we hopefully want to be in the same situation.”
Warrington coach Tony Smith was fulsome in his praise of Wood. “Paul put’s his hand up every week. He’s been doing it for ten years and I’m glad we celebrated that here tonight. What you see is what you get with Woody. He goes hard and he did some good stuff out there. Whether it was his testimonial or not, he would have done that anyway.”
Of the game, Smith said, “I’ve learned some good and some not so good. We have some stuff to work on but it’s good that you find out now. We needed that hit-out against a quality opposition and it was good for us.”
Warrington made a good start to the game and following a penalty from French whistler Thierry Alibert they gained a foothold in Wigan territory. Michael Monaghan darted from dummy half and Adrian Morley forced his way past two defenders to the line. Lee Briers converted before Wigan hit back. George Carmont burst forward from a scrum only to be denied before two tries in three minutes nudged the game in the visitors favour.
A spell of constant Wigan pressure saw the Wolves finally falter when O’Loughlin slid an intelligent kick behind the Warrington goal line and former Wolves favourite Martin Gleeson grounded. Pat Richards missed the kick and his next conversion attempt after O’Loughlin unleashed Cameron Phelps and Sam Tomkins supported in midfield. Chris Bridge tackled back but quick ball to the right gave Gleeson the chance to flick a pass out to Roberts. The Australian had a lot of work to do but stepped, raced and then forced his way in at the corner.
The Wolves too had their moments but poor execution led to an opportunity bypassing Chris Riley while Louis Anderson was felled by a magnificent try saving tackle by Sam Tomkins when he looked in full flow for the line.
Trailing 8-6 at the interval, Warrington made a bright start to the second half but sloppy hands cost them dear and Wigan edged territory before breakthrough came in the 53rd minute. O’Loughlin was again the provider and his short pass put youngster Lee Mossop over for a Roberts converted try.
Warrington pressed for a score but superb rearguard defence from Wigan with O’Loughlin, Joel Tomkins and Hansen to the fore kept the hosts at bay for 28 minutes of the second half before an expansive move down the right saw Riley speed in at the corner from a one handed offload by Bridge. Briers added his second goal to put the Wolves within two points.
When Richie Myler was caught in possession on the last tackle a couple of minutes from the end, Wigan moved upfield and Paul Deacon linked with Sam Tomkins for the halfback to break and send Hansen over for the clincher which was goaled by Richards.
WIGAN WARRIORS 20
DAVE PARKINSON at Halliwell Jones Stadium, Wednesday
Ten days before the start of their respective Super League campaigns, Warrington and Wigan met in an entertaining friendly. Although the game was littered with mistakes you got the feeling both coaches got what they wanted out of the hit-out.
Wigan boss Michael Maguire speaking after Harrison Hansen’s late score made the game safe for the Warriors following an equally stirring defensive effort said, “As a team I feel that we are moving forward in the right direction. That’s what I was after in today’s game and I thought we competed in everything that we did. I don’t like to isolate too many individuals but Sean O’Loughlin with his effort and Amos Roberts, I thought he played well. Sam (Tomkins), his competitiveness, he fights for everything. Across the board there were a lot of good efforts.”
The Wolves were led out by testimonial man Paul Wood who started the game. Wood is something of a rare breed in a modern game where money talks and is celebrating ten years of being a Wolf in 2010. Afterwards Wood paid tribute to the 4,622 spectators that braved a cold night to pay tribute to the born and bred Wiganer.
“It was a good night and a good turn out.” He said. “Wigan travelled in numbers and Warrington were the same as usual. It was pretty special really.”
“I’ll try my best to maintain my form, but there are six other prop forwards in the squad that want the same. I’ve just got to keep playing and improving week in, week out. I’m confident but I’ve got a lot of work to do yet. All my family are Wigan fans and that gave it a bit of extra spice but I’m glad we played Wigan because it gives us a good indication of where we are at. I think Wigan are going to be up there this season and we hopefully want to be in the same situation.”
Warrington coach Tony Smith was fulsome in his praise of Wood. “Paul put’s his hand up every week. He’s been doing it for ten years and I’m glad we celebrated that here tonight. What you see is what you get with Woody. He goes hard and he did some good stuff out there. Whether it was his testimonial or not, he would have done that anyway.”
Of the game, Smith said, “I’ve learned some good and some not so good. We have some stuff to work on but it’s good that you find out now. We needed that hit-out against a quality opposition and it was good for us.”
Warrington made a good start to the game and following a penalty from French whistler Thierry Alibert they gained a foothold in Wigan territory. Michael Monaghan darted from dummy half and Adrian Morley forced his way past two defenders to the line. Lee Briers converted before Wigan hit back. George Carmont burst forward from a scrum only to be denied before two tries in three minutes nudged the game in the visitors favour.
A spell of constant Wigan pressure saw the Wolves finally falter when O’Loughlin slid an intelligent kick behind the Warrington goal line and former Wolves favourite Martin Gleeson grounded. Pat Richards missed the kick and his next conversion attempt after O’Loughlin unleashed Cameron Phelps and Sam Tomkins supported in midfield. Chris Bridge tackled back but quick ball to the right gave Gleeson the chance to flick a pass out to Roberts. The Australian had a lot of work to do but stepped, raced and then forced his way in at the corner.
The Wolves too had their moments but poor execution led to an opportunity bypassing Chris Riley while Louis Anderson was felled by a magnificent try saving tackle by Sam Tomkins when he looked in full flow for the line.
Trailing 8-6 at the interval, Warrington made a bright start to the second half but sloppy hands cost them dear and Wigan edged territory before breakthrough came in the 53rd minute. O’Loughlin was again the provider and his short pass put youngster Lee Mossop over for a Roberts converted try.
Warrington pressed for a score but superb rearguard defence from Wigan with O’Loughlin, Joel Tomkins and Hansen to the fore kept the hosts at bay for 28 minutes of the second half before an expansive move down the right saw Riley speed in at the corner from a one handed offload by Bridge. Briers added his second goal to put the Wolves within two points.
When Richie Myler was caught in possession on the last tackle a couple of minutes from the end, Wigan moved upfield and Paul Deacon linked with Sam Tomkins for the halfback to break and send Hansen over for the clincher which was goaled by Richards.
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Super League 2007 saw some good games. One I reported was WARRINGTON V HUDDERSFIELD
WARRINGTON WOLVES 22 HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS 34 Dave Parkinson at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, Friday.
With play-off time fast approaching, the top six of the Engage Super League is still far from decided as Huddersfield backed up their impressive win over Bradford with victory in a tough encounter at Warrington described as “patient” by Giants boss Jon Sharp.
“It was an important game.” He admitted. “We spoke very much about us having to be patient and build pressure, probably be ready for a really aggressive start from Warrington, which we saw and dealt with pretty good.”
“Overall I thought defensively we were fantastic, very aggressive, had plenty of linespeed about us and our line speed was good.Offensively we didn’t have much to play with and we didn’t have great field position early on, particularly in the first half.”
“This performance was a different type from us it was more dogged and more patient. We hung in there, weathered the storm and silenced the crowd.”
“We are in the top six on merit, but we aren’t there for sure. This group of players has achieved something really special, scoring 25 points, the most a Huddersfield Giants team has ever won in Super League which makes all of us really proud.”
The game gave the perfect opportunity for Chris Leikvoll, Brent Grose and Henry Fa’afili to bring the curtain down on their Warrington league careers. A fairy tale finish certainly looked on the cards early in the game as the Wolves dominated.
Lee Briers kicked a first minute 40-20 and after peppering the try-line without success a loose hand saw the tackle count zeroed. Warrington pushed the ball left and Ben Westwood was held over the line. From the resulting play-the-ball Fa’afili spotted loose markers, dancing past both and through another tackle to ground at the corner.
Ben Harrison knocked on from the restart and the Giants worked the field position well as Ryan Hudson teased a defender out of the line before shooting through the gap to score after six minutes. Thorman converted but the Giants lead was short-lived when Hudson saw the ball go loose in a tackle and Westwood was involved with Adrian Morley before taking a reverse pass to cross out wide. Briers was no nearer with his second conversion attempt.
The game really cranked up after 20 minutes with the arrival of Eorl Crabtree to the field. Immediately the Wolves forwards targeted the England International before he got an opportunity to respond with a crunching hit on Andy Bracek. Another heavy tackle then brought Paul Wood’s game to an end and the prognosis was not looking good according to Paul Cullen after the match.
“He has a very badly bust shoulder. The shoulder came out and we fear he broke it as well.”
As Warrington tried to counter Morley lost possession and from the opportunity Hudson fed Brad Drew and he moved past Leikvoll and inside Grose with ease. Thorman converted but missed a relatively simple penalty goal minutes later following a high tackle by Morley on Stuart Jones.
Although Drew forced a drop-out, Huddersfield could not add to their tally and it was the mercurial Briers who conjured up another touchdown for Kevin Penny. The young winger just can’t stop scoring, although this effort was reviewed several times by video referee Steve Ganson before being awarded. The Giants had one final opportunity of points before half-time but Drew’s attempted drop goal barely fluttered off the damp surface.
Warrington once again started the second half well with Grose carrying the hosts deep into Huddersfield territory and when Rob Parker chased an inch perfect kick, the Giants conceded a drop-out. Parker then rampaged to the line with only desperate defence preventing a try by the former Bradford forward before Rob Jensen intercepted and ran the full length of the field. Referee Richard Silverwood again referred the decision upstairs but the decision favoured the visitors and Thorman again put six points between the teams.
“He’s scored three 90 metre tries in his last four games. Said Sharp of Jensen. “He’s been a super buy for us and we are really excited about his improvement as well. I still believe he can become a better player than he already is.”
For five mad minutes the Wolves discipline faded with both Morley and Paul Rauhihi placed on report. The latter incident on Paul Jackson saw Thorman kick his fourth goal. Just past the hour mark, Huddersfield finally edged away when Drew angled a clever kick to the corner and Jamahl Lolesi got the faintest of touches, again confirmed by the video referee following a lengthy stoppage.
After 67 minutes, Warrington gave themselves a chance with a well worked try at the corner. Following good play from Jon Clarke and Grose, Westwood bulldozed through. Just when a comeback looked on the cards, the deck was toppled. Briers intended pass for Martin Gleeson went straight to Kevin Brown allowing the former Wigan stand-off a clear run to the line from forty-five metres. Thorman converted and although Westwood added a carbon copy hat-trick and goaled superbly, the Huddersfield skipper had the final word with his seventh goal after Lolesi was fouled in stoppage time.
“I think we got what we deserved.” Paul Cullen said. “I think our discipline simply wasn’t good enough. I really do appreciate the efforts of the players, I think we scored five very good tries, lot of width, lot of movement but in between, the discipline wasn’t good enough.
“Everytime we had good field position we gave a penalty away. We surrendered the battle of field position. I’m concerned with every penalty that we’ve given away. We’ve not been composed, we’ve not been disciplined enough and have squandered two points.”
“If we spend too much time looking at tables and numbers we may possibly take our eyes off what needs to be done.”
GAMEBREAKER: The final Huddersfield try put enough daylight between the teams to ensure even Westwood’s hat-trick heroics came to nought.
GAMESTAR: Brad Drew was in fine form and a major inspiration to the entire Giants effort.
TOP TACKLE: Eorl Crabtree’s thunderous effort on Andrew Bracek.
MATCH FACTS:
WOLVES
5 Brent Grose
2 Henry Fa’afili
3 Martin Gleeson
12 Ben Westwood
26 Kevin Penny
9 Jon Clarke
7 Lee Briers
16 Paul Wood
14 Mark Gleeson
10 Paul Rauhihi
11 Adrian Morley
21 Andrew Bracek
22 Ben Harrison
SUBS (all used)
8 Chris Leikvoll
19 Steve Pickersgill
15 Rob Parker
29 Lee Mitchell
GIANTS
6 Chris Thorman
1 Paul Reilly
3 Jamahl Lolesi
11 Chris Nero
24 Rod Jensen
4 Kevin Brown
9 Brad Drew
18 Darrell Griffin
19 Ryan Hudson
10 John Skandalis
14 Stuart Jones
12 Andy Raleigh
13 Stephen Wild
SUBS
7 Robbie Paul
8 Eorl Crabtree
15 Paul Jackson
27 Michael Lawrence (Not Used)
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men-of-the-Match:
Wolves: Ben Westwood
Giants: Brad Drew
Penalties: 6-9
GLDO forced: 1-1
Half-time: 12-12
Referee: Richard Silverwood
Attendance: 8,843
Story of the Game
Mins Score
3 Henry Fa’afili try
Lee Briers missed conversion (0/1) 4-0 Warrington
6 Ryan Hudson try
Chris Thorman conversion (1/1) 4-6 Huddersfield
10 Ben Westwood try
Lee Briers missed conversion (0/2) 8-6 Warrington
23 Paul Wood game ending shoulder injury
26 Brad Drew try
Chris Thorman conversion (2/2) 8-12 Huddersfield
27 Chris Thorman missed penalty (2/3)
38 Kevin Penny try
Lee Briers missed conversion (0/3) 12-12 Warrington
HALFTIME
47 Rod Jensen try
Chris Thorman conversion (3/4) 12-18 Huddersfield
54 Chris Morley on report (suspected high tackle)
58 Paul Rauhihi on report (suspected dangerous throw)
58 Chris Thorman penalty (4/5) 12-20 Huddersfield
61 Jamahl Lolesi try
Chris Thorman conversion (5/6) 12-26 Huddersfield
67 Ben Westwood try
Ben Westwood missed conversion (0/1) 16-26 Warrington
70 Kevin Brown try
Chris Thorman conversion (6/7) 16-32 Huddersfield
71 Ben Westwood try (his hat-trick)
Ben Westwood conversion (1/2) 22-32 Warrington
80 Chris Thorman penalty (7/8) 22-34 Huddersfield
FULL TIME
With play-off time fast approaching, the top six of the Engage Super League is still far from decided as Huddersfield backed up their impressive win over Bradford with victory in a tough encounter at Warrington described as “patient” by Giants boss Jon Sharp.
“It was an important game.” He admitted. “We spoke very much about us having to be patient and build pressure, probably be ready for a really aggressive start from Warrington, which we saw and dealt with pretty good.”
“Overall I thought defensively we were fantastic, very aggressive, had plenty of linespeed about us and our line speed was good.Offensively we didn’t have much to play with and we didn’t have great field position early on, particularly in the first half.”
“This performance was a different type from us it was more dogged and more patient. We hung in there, weathered the storm and silenced the crowd.”
“We are in the top six on merit, but we aren’t there for sure. This group of players has achieved something really special, scoring 25 points, the most a Huddersfield Giants team has ever won in Super League which makes all of us really proud.”
The game gave the perfect opportunity for Chris Leikvoll, Brent Grose and Henry Fa’afili to bring the curtain down on their Warrington league careers. A fairy tale finish certainly looked on the cards early in the game as the Wolves dominated.
Lee Briers kicked a first minute 40-20 and after peppering the try-line without success a loose hand saw the tackle count zeroed. Warrington pushed the ball left and Ben Westwood was held over the line. From the resulting play-the-ball Fa’afili spotted loose markers, dancing past both and through another tackle to ground at the corner.
Ben Harrison knocked on from the restart and the Giants worked the field position well as Ryan Hudson teased a defender out of the line before shooting through the gap to score after six minutes. Thorman converted but the Giants lead was short-lived when Hudson saw the ball go loose in a tackle and Westwood was involved with Adrian Morley before taking a reverse pass to cross out wide. Briers was no nearer with his second conversion attempt.
The game really cranked up after 20 minutes with the arrival of Eorl Crabtree to the field. Immediately the Wolves forwards targeted the England International before he got an opportunity to respond with a crunching hit on Andy Bracek. Another heavy tackle then brought Paul Wood’s game to an end and the prognosis was not looking good according to Paul Cullen after the match.
“He has a very badly bust shoulder. The shoulder came out and we fear he broke it as well.”
As Warrington tried to counter Morley lost possession and from the opportunity Hudson fed Brad Drew and he moved past Leikvoll and inside Grose with ease. Thorman converted but missed a relatively simple penalty goal minutes later following a high tackle by Morley on Stuart Jones.
Although Drew forced a drop-out, Huddersfield could not add to their tally and it was the mercurial Briers who conjured up another touchdown for Kevin Penny. The young winger just can’t stop scoring, although this effort was reviewed several times by video referee Steve Ganson before being awarded. The Giants had one final opportunity of points before half-time but Drew’s attempted drop goal barely fluttered off the damp surface.
Warrington once again started the second half well with Grose carrying the hosts deep into Huddersfield territory and when Rob Parker chased an inch perfect kick, the Giants conceded a drop-out. Parker then rampaged to the line with only desperate defence preventing a try by the former Bradford forward before Rob Jensen intercepted and ran the full length of the field. Referee Richard Silverwood again referred the decision upstairs but the decision favoured the visitors and Thorman again put six points between the teams.
“He’s scored three 90 metre tries in his last four games. Said Sharp of Jensen. “He’s been a super buy for us and we are really excited about his improvement as well. I still believe he can become a better player than he already is.”
For five mad minutes the Wolves discipline faded with both Morley and Paul Rauhihi placed on report. The latter incident on Paul Jackson saw Thorman kick his fourth goal. Just past the hour mark, Huddersfield finally edged away when Drew angled a clever kick to the corner and Jamahl Lolesi got the faintest of touches, again confirmed by the video referee following a lengthy stoppage.
After 67 minutes, Warrington gave themselves a chance with a well worked try at the corner. Following good play from Jon Clarke and Grose, Westwood bulldozed through. Just when a comeback looked on the cards, the deck was toppled. Briers intended pass for Martin Gleeson went straight to Kevin Brown allowing the former Wigan stand-off a clear run to the line from forty-five metres. Thorman converted and although Westwood added a carbon copy hat-trick and goaled superbly, the Huddersfield skipper had the final word with his seventh goal after Lolesi was fouled in stoppage time.
“I think we got what we deserved.” Paul Cullen said. “I think our discipline simply wasn’t good enough. I really do appreciate the efforts of the players, I think we scored five very good tries, lot of width, lot of movement but in between, the discipline wasn’t good enough.
“Everytime we had good field position we gave a penalty away. We surrendered the battle of field position. I’m concerned with every penalty that we’ve given away. We’ve not been composed, we’ve not been disciplined enough and have squandered two points.”
“If we spend too much time looking at tables and numbers we may possibly take our eyes off what needs to be done.”
GAMEBREAKER: The final Huddersfield try put enough daylight between the teams to ensure even Westwood’s hat-trick heroics came to nought.
GAMESTAR: Brad Drew was in fine form and a major inspiration to the entire Giants effort.
TOP TACKLE: Eorl Crabtree’s thunderous effort on Andrew Bracek.
MATCH FACTS:
WOLVES
5 Brent Grose
2 Henry Fa’afili
3 Martin Gleeson
12 Ben Westwood
26 Kevin Penny
9 Jon Clarke
7 Lee Briers
16 Paul Wood
14 Mark Gleeson
10 Paul Rauhihi
11 Adrian Morley
21 Andrew Bracek
22 Ben Harrison
SUBS (all used)
8 Chris Leikvoll
19 Steve Pickersgill
15 Rob Parker
29 Lee Mitchell
GIANTS
6 Chris Thorman
1 Paul Reilly
3 Jamahl Lolesi
11 Chris Nero
24 Rod Jensen
4 Kevin Brown
9 Brad Drew
18 Darrell Griffin
19 Ryan Hudson
10 John Skandalis
14 Stuart Jones
12 Andy Raleigh
13 Stephen Wild
SUBS
7 Robbie Paul
8 Eorl Crabtree
15 Paul Jackson
27 Michael Lawrence (Not Used)
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men-of-the-Match:
Wolves: Ben Westwood
Giants: Brad Drew
Penalties: 6-9
GLDO forced: 1-1
Half-time: 12-12
Referee: Richard Silverwood
Attendance: 8,843
Story of the Game
Mins Score
3 Henry Fa’afili try
Lee Briers missed conversion (0/1) 4-0 Warrington
6 Ryan Hudson try
Chris Thorman conversion (1/1) 4-6 Huddersfield
10 Ben Westwood try
Lee Briers missed conversion (0/2) 8-6 Warrington
23 Paul Wood game ending shoulder injury
26 Brad Drew try
Chris Thorman conversion (2/2) 8-12 Huddersfield
27 Chris Thorman missed penalty (2/3)
38 Kevin Penny try
Lee Briers missed conversion (0/3) 12-12 Warrington
HALFTIME
47 Rod Jensen try
Chris Thorman conversion (3/4) 12-18 Huddersfield
54 Chris Morley on report (suspected high tackle)
58 Paul Rauhihi on report (suspected dangerous throw)
58 Chris Thorman penalty (4/5) 12-20 Huddersfield
61 Jamahl Lolesi try
Chris Thorman conversion (5/6) 12-26 Huddersfield
67 Ben Westwood try
Ben Westwood missed conversion (0/1) 16-26 Warrington
70 Kevin Brown try
Chris Thorman conversion (6/7) 16-32 Huddersfield
71 Ben Westwood try (his hat-trick)
Ben Westwood conversion (1/2) 22-32 Warrington
80 Chris Thorman penalty (7/8) 22-34 Huddersfield
FULL TIME
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Super League Memories: 2008: WARRINGTON V BRADFORD
WARRINGTON WOLVES 32
BRADFORD BULLS 28
DAVE PARKINSON at Halliwell Jones Stadium, Friday
With Jon Clarke and Michael Monaghan in top form, Warrington Wolves recorded their third win in a row to move four points clear of the Bradford Bulls and up into fourth place on the Engage Super League table.
The tussle between two of the play-off challengers was every bit as close as the scoreline suggested.
“It’s always pleasing to get a result.” Warrington boss James Lowes opened, “there’s still a lot of work to do, but once we get it right we’ll certainly be a force. Generally I thought our defence was good. I thought we controlled the ruck but we were just doing too much of it. I don’t want the lads to stop playing, they just need to smarten up sometimes, realise when the right time to play is and when the right time not to play is, and, on the back of that, a little bit of execution as well. That would give us more energy to play a little bit more with the ball. Generally we’ve got a few things to work on but we scraped by and got a win today against a decent team.”
“Monaghan is settling well while with Jon (Clarke), his confidence is growing week by week and while he knows there are one or two things to improve on he’s certainly making a play in the right direction and some of his skill tonight was pretty good. The character and pride and effort of this team is second to none since I’ve taken over and they are willing to roll their sleeves up and not drop their heads.”
The Bulls opened their account well with tries by Andy Lynch and Chris Nero in the first ten minutes. Both were converted by the returning Paul Deacon who enjoyed an influential first 45 minutes before Warrington got on a roll. Firstly, Deacon’s grubber kick deflected off the legs of Adrian Morley into the path of Lynch before a high quality play saw David Solomona offload superbly for Semi Tadulala. The winger dashed upfield, beating two defenders before passing inside for former Huddersfield centre Chris Nero to stroll over.
At 12-0 it needed something special to lift Warrington and their fans and this was provided by Martin Gleeson who Bulls boss Steve McNamara described as “someone there that’s got that X-factor.” He drew similar praise from Lowes:
“Martin Gleeson is playing really well, he’s going hunting for the ball. I’m pleased he is because he does make things happen and his first try summed that up. He came from the right side to the left, pushed on a play and scored a great try!”
Make that a 90 metre special. Ben Jeffries put the ball in the corner and on the next play Matt King ran into the defence before finding Gleeson at his shoulder. The England centre raced to halfway and deliberately slowed to force Michael Platt into a decision. He then danced past the beleaguered fullback and moved up through the gears again to score underneath the posts. Chris Hicks converted and there were chances at either end with only top drawer defence halting wingers Tadulala and Chris Riley while Ben Westwood saw an intended offload fall for Jeffries close to the Bulls line. More drama followed when impressive prop Craig Kopczak had a try disallowed by the video referee following an obstruction in back play.
After seeing the Bulls concede 30 metres with a kick to the corner earlier in the game, Deacon returned to the tactic after 37 minutes and it came up trumps. Tadulala was like the artful dodger as he appeared from nowhere to snatch the ball at the second attempt from Riley and touch down. The scrum half’s boot made it 18-6 but Tadulala was to turn villain when he knocked on in front of his own posts with 39 seconds of the first half remaining. Warrington quickly packed the scrum and launched an attack down the right through Lee Briers. Gleeson then spied his chance to get between two defenders and over the line for his second try. Hicks converted on the hooter and it was 18-12 to Bradford at the break.
The Bulls made a rapid start to the second half when they were awarded their second penalty. One time Warrington favourite Iestyn Harris landed the ball in touch via Kevin Penny and Jeffries was halted close to the line. Warrington were slow to react at marker and Platt scored an easy try from dummy half. Deacon’s boot again increased the Bull’s lead to twelve points but when the fullback was halted for running an obstructionplay, Warrington grabbed the initiative. A seven pass play twice involving the impressive Clarke saw Gleeson hauled down but an error from the otherwise solid Dave Halley handed possession to the Wolves. Briers sparked a move from the scrum and Hicks cut back against the grain to glide over the line. The fullback converted and was again on target after 56 minutes after Monaghan found an unstoppable King from close range.
The game was locked up but Warrington’s third try in eleven minutes saw the hosts go in front for the first time. Clarke was the provider with a flat ball from dummy half that saw New Zealand international Louis Anderson crash through for Hicks to make it 30-24.
Bradford resorted to the high kick again, but this time Riley claimed possession confidently. Solomona was then shown the yellow card for a late hit on Briers after the stand-off had kicked downfield. “I thought it was a really poor decision.” McNamara said, “I don’t blame the referee at all it was the intervention of the touchjudge. For the life of me, I didn’t see what he saw. It’s two weeks running now that official has done it to us.”
Surprisingly, this spurred the Bulls on. James Evans combined with Jamie Langley and the big backrower found a hole in the defence. Jeffries followed up in support and was able to wrong-foot three chasers to the try line and a 69th minute score. The conversion was too far out for Deacon and the last ten minutes was like a chess game for Warrington as they ground out their sets and controlled play thanks to Monaghan and Clarke, the former all but securing the points after forcing a drop out in the last minute.
McNamara felt his side made four errors after opening the scoring in the second half.
“The four came back to back, one after the other and put us under a bit of pressure and probably got this Warrington ground buzzing.” He said. “It was pretty quiet up until that point when we were in charge but it certainly gave their team and their crowd a big lift. I’m pleased with the effort and commitment from the players. We really scrambled hard in the first half when Warrington had made some breaks on us and damaged us a little bit. I think you can only describe as some school boy errors really got us. It’s disappointing to lose the game.”
“Craig Kopczak was great for us and I thought the return of Paul Deacon certainly brought a lot back to our game. All across the park there were some very good performances from a squad that is a little bit down on numbers at this moment in time.”
“It’s a tight competition but we are delighted that we are in there fighting. Of course we’d love to be higher than we are, but we are in a situation now where we are all looking forward to the challenge of making the six, it’s nothing to be afraid of or phased by, it’s a challenge.”
GAMEBREAKER: Warrington’s control in the final ten minutes rarely gave Bradford a sniff.
GAMESTAR: Jon Clarke’s big workrate in attack and defence helped get the Wolves around the field.
TOP TACKLE: There were two in this game. On 25 minutes Riley’s tackle on Tadulala saw the Bulls winger in touch a metre from the tryline while five minutes later Solomona put everything into hauling down Riley. Those tries would have put an entirely different complexion on the game.
WOLVES
2 Chris Hicks
20 Chris Riley
3 Martin Gleeson
4 Matt King
5 Kevin Penny
6 Lee Briers
7 Michael Monaghan
8 Adrian Morley
9 Jon Clarke
10 Paul Rauhihi
11 Louis Anderson
12 Ben Westwood
13 Vinnie Anderson
Subs (all used)
19 Simon Grix
15 Rob Parker
23 Mike Cooper
22 Ben Harrison
BULLS
1 Michael Platt
2 Dave Halley
3 James Evans
23 Chris Nero
25 Semi Tadulala
22 Ben Jeffries
7 Paul Deacon
8 Joe Vagana
6 Iestyn Harris
10 Andy Lynch
11 David Solomona
19 Simon Finnigan
13 Jamie Langley
Subs (all used)
15 Matt Cook
20 Wayne Godwin
18 Craig Kopczak
14 Chris Feather
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Wolves: Jon Clarke
Bulls: Paul Deacon
Penalty count: 8-2
GLDO Forced: 2-0
Half-time: 12-18
Referee: Mr Ben Thaler
Attendance: 8,158
Story of the game
7 Andy Lynch try
Paul Deacon goal (1/1) 0-6
9 Chris Nero try
Paul Deacon goal (2/2) 0-12
22 Martin Gleeson try
Chris Hicks goal (1/1) 6-12
37 Semi Tadulala try
Paul Deacon goal (3/3) 6-18
39 Martin Gleeson try
Chris Hicks goal (2/2) 12-18
HALF-TIME
41 Michael Platt try
Paul Deacon goal (4/4) 12-24
51 Chris Hicks try
Chris Hicks goal (3/3) 18-24
56 Matt King try
Chris Hicks goal (4/4) 24-24
62 Louis Anderson try
Chris Hicks goal (5/5) 30-24
67 Sin bin: David Solomona (foul on kicker)
Chris Hicks penalty goal (6/6) 32-24
69 Ben Jeffries try
Paul Deacon missed goal (4/5) 32-28
BRADFORD BULLS 28
DAVE PARKINSON at Halliwell Jones Stadium, Friday
With Jon Clarke and Michael Monaghan in top form, Warrington Wolves recorded their third win in a row to move four points clear of the Bradford Bulls and up into fourth place on the Engage Super League table.
The tussle between two of the play-off challengers was every bit as close as the scoreline suggested.
“It’s always pleasing to get a result.” Warrington boss James Lowes opened, “there’s still a lot of work to do, but once we get it right we’ll certainly be a force. Generally I thought our defence was good. I thought we controlled the ruck but we were just doing too much of it. I don’t want the lads to stop playing, they just need to smarten up sometimes, realise when the right time to play is and when the right time not to play is, and, on the back of that, a little bit of execution as well. That would give us more energy to play a little bit more with the ball. Generally we’ve got a few things to work on but we scraped by and got a win today against a decent team.”
“Monaghan is settling well while with Jon (Clarke), his confidence is growing week by week and while he knows there are one or two things to improve on he’s certainly making a play in the right direction and some of his skill tonight was pretty good. The character and pride and effort of this team is second to none since I’ve taken over and they are willing to roll their sleeves up and not drop their heads.”
The Bulls opened their account well with tries by Andy Lynch and Chris Nero in the first ten minutes. Both were converted by the returning Paul Deacon who enjoyed an influential first 45 minutes before Warrington got on a roll. Firstly, Deacon’s grubber kick deflected off the legs of Adrian Morley into the path of Lynch before a high quality play saw David Solomona offload superbly for Semi Tadulala. The winger dashed upfield, beating two defenders before passing inside for former Huddersfield centre Chris Nero to stroll over.
At 12-0 it needed something special to lift Warrington and their fans and this was provided by Martin Gleeson who Bulls boss Steve McNamara described as “someone there that’s got that X-factor.” He drew similar praise from Lowes:
“Martin Gleeson is playing really well, he’s going hunting for the ball. I’m pleased he is because he does make things happen and his first try summed that up. He came from the right side to the left, pushed on a play and scored a great try!”
Make that a 90 metre special. Ben Jeffries put the ball in the corner and on the next play Matt King ran into the defence before finding Gleeson at his shoulder. The England centre raced to halfway and deliberately slowed to force Michael Platt into a decision. He then danced past the beleaguered fullback and moved up through the gears again to score underneath the posts. Chris Hicks converted and there were chances at either end with only top drawer defence halting wingers Tadulala and Chris Riley while Ben Westwood saw an intended offload fall for Jeffries close to the Bulls line. More drama followed when impressive prop Craig Kopczak had a try disallowed by the video referee following an obstruction in back play.
After seeing the Bulls concede 30 metres with a kick to the corner earlier in the game, Deacon returned to the tactic after 37 minutes and it came up trumps. Tadulala was like the artful dodger as he appeared from nowhere to snatch the ball at the second attempt from Riley and touch down. The scrum half’s boot made it 18-6 but Tadulala was to turn villain when he knocked on in front of his own posts with 39 seconds of the first half remaining. Warrington quickly packed the scrum and launched an attack down the right through Lee Briers. Gleeson then spied his chance to get between two defenders and over the line for his second try. Hicks converted on the hooter and it was 18-12 to Bradford at the break.
The Bulls made a rapid start to the second half when they were awarded their second penalty. One time Warrington favourite Iestyn Harris landed the ball in touch via Kevin Penny and Jeffries was halted close to the line. Warrington were slow to react at marker and Platt scored an easy try from dummy half. Deacon’s boot again increased the Bull’s lead to twelve points but when the fullback was halted for running an obstructionplay, Warrington grabbed the initiative. A seven pass play twice involving the impressive Clarke saw Gleeson hauled down but an error from the otherwise solid Dave Halley handed possession to the Wolves. Briers sparked a move from the scrum and Hicks cut back against the grain to glide over the line. The fullback converted and was again on target after 56 minutes after Monaghan found an unstoppable King from close range.
The game was locked up but Warrington’s third try in eleven minutes saw the hosts go in front for the first time. Clarke was the provider with a flat ball from dummy half that saw New Zealand international Louis Anderson crash through for Hicks to make it 30-24.
Bradford resorted to the high kick again, but this time Riley claimed possession confidently. Solomona was then shown the yellow card for a late hit on Briers after the stand-off had kicked downfield. “I thought it was a really poor decision.” McNamara said, “I don’t blame the referee at all it was the intervention of the touchjudge. For the life of me, I didn’t see what he saw. It’s two weeks running now that official has done it to us.”
Surprisingly, this spurred the Bulls on. James Evans combined with Jamie Langley and the big backrower found a hole in the defence. Jeffries followed up in support and was able to wrong-foot three chasers to the try line and a 69th minute score. The conversion was too far out for Deacon and the last ten minutes was like a chess game for Warrington as they ground out their sets and controlled play thanks to Monaghan and Clarke, the former all but securing the points after forcing a drop out in the last minute.
McNamara felt his side made four errors after opening the scoring in the second half.
“The four came back to back, one after the other and put us under a bit of pressure and probably got this Warrington ground buzzing.” He said. “It was pretty quiet up until that point when we were in charge but it certainly gave their team and their crowd a big lift. I’m pleased with the effort and commitment from the players. We really scrambled hard in the first half when Warrington had made some breaks on us and damaged us a little bit. I think you can only describe as some school boy errors really got us. It’s disappointing to lose the game.”
“Craig Kopczak was great for us and I thought the return of Paul Deacon certainly brought a lot back to our game. All across the park there were some very good performances from a squad that is a little bit down on numbers at this moment in time.”
“It’s a tight competition but we are delighted that we are in there fighting. Of course we’d love to be higher than we are, but we are in a situation now where we are all looking forward to the challenge of making the six, it’s nothing to be afraid of or phased by, it’s a challenge.”
GAMEBREAKER: Warrington’s control in the final ten minutes rarely gave Bradford a sniff.
GAMESTAR: Jon Clarke’s big workrate in attack and defence helped get the Wolves around the field.
TOP TACKLE: There were two in this game. On 25 minutes Riley’s tackle on Tadulala saw the Bulls winger in touch a metre from the tryline while five minutes later Solomona put everything into hauling down Riley. Those tries would have put an entirely different complexion on the game.
WOLVES
2 Chris Hicks
20 Chris Riley
3 Martin Gleeson
4 Matt King
5 Kevin Penny
6 Lee Briers
7 Michael Monaghan
8 Adrian Morley
9 Jon Clarke
10 Paul Rauhihi
11 Louis Anderson
12 Ben Westwood
13 Vinnie Anderson
Subs (all used)
19 Simon Grix
15 Rob Parker
23 Mike Cooper
22 Ben Harrison
BULLS
1 Michael Platt
2 Dave Halley
3 James Evans
23 Chris Nero
25 Semi Tadulala
22 Ben Jeffries
7 Paul Deacon
8 Joe Vagana
6 Iestyn Harris
10 Andy Lynch
11 David Solomona
19 Simon Finnigan
13 Jamie Langley
Subs (all used)
15 Matt Cook
20 Wayne Godwin
18 Craig Kopczak
14 Chris Feather
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Wolves: Jon Clarke
Bulls: Paul Deacon
Penalty count: 8-2
GLDO Forced: 2-0
Half-time: 12-18
Referee: Mr Ben Thaler
Attendance: 8,158
Story of the game
7 Andy Lynch try
Paul Deacon goal (1/1) 0-6
9 Chris Nero try
Paul Deacon goal (2/2) 0-12
22 Martin Gleeson try
Chris Hicks goal (1/1) 6-12
37 Semi Tadulala try
Paul Deacon goal (3/3) 6-18
39 Martin Gleeson try
Chris Hicks goal (2/2) 12-18
HALF-TIME
41 Michael Platt try
Paul Deacon goal (4/4) 12-24
51 Chris Hicks try
Chris Hicks goal (3/3) 18-24
56 Matt King try
Chris Hicks goal (4/4) 24-24
62 Louis Anderson try
Chris Hicks goal (5/5) 30-24
67 Sin bin: David Solomona (foul on kicker)
Chris Hicks penalty goal (6/6) 32-24
69 Ben Jeffries try
Paul Deacon missed goal (4/5) 32-28
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
A trip in the Parkinson time machine: Match Report from Super League 2005: Round 2
WARRINGTON WOLVES 26LEIGH CENTURIONS 22
Dave Parkinson from the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
Leigh Centurions gave Warrington Wolves a real fright with an impressive performance at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
Leading 14-10 at the interval thanks to tries from Jason Kent and Rob Smyth, and 3 goals from the boot of Phil Jones, the Centurions were well worth their lead and although they could not hang on for victory there were lots of positive signs for the Centurions coaching staff to work on.
Darren Abram speaking afterwards said of the game "It was a big improvement on last week's performance but I thought we should have won this game. Not many teams will come to the Halliwell Jones and come away with two points. We should have got that today.
"We moved a bit away from the gameplan that we had in the first half and after forty minutes we were the better team - the scoreboard showed it.
"Our kicking game in the second half fell down. Lee Briers was superb - every kick that he did asked questions of our back three and Warrington's kick-chase was superb too.
"I was very pleased with our discipline today. There's loads to build on. It's just a pity that we didn't come away with the two points."
Warrington started well, eager to make amends for their shock opening day loss in London and had their first opportunity after just three minutes when hooker Mark Gleeson momentarily broke but could not keep hold of the ball following a textbook one-on-one tackle from Leigh skipper Jason Ferris.
The Wolves, offering a little more invention, cut Leigh open a second time when Briers put NZ international Henry Fa'afili into space and he drew fullback Ben Cooper before turning the ball inside for Jon Clarke to score under the sticks. Briers converted and the next ten minutes were all Warrington with the visitors getting through a ton of defensive work. Dean Gaskell and Nathan Wood both showed their pace only for Leigh to track back and deny them.
Sticking doggedly to the task, Leigh harried and harassed Warrington and the visitors seemed to lift when an almighty charge from Craig Stapleton swatted aside hooker Gleeson in midfield.
Finally Leigh's moment came after 23 minutes when Fa'afila offloaded on the last tackle only to see Jason Kent snap the ball up and run 75 metres. He just had enough pace to hold off the closing cover to the corner. Jones struck a magnificent touchline conversion and followed that with another well-struck effort when Ferris threaded a kick behind the Wolves goal line and Brent Grose kicked the ball dead only to see Smyth get there first with an athletic leap any salmon would have been proud of!
Warrington were under the cosh and compounded matters with several handling errors in the face of stern defence and when James King was obstructed on the line, Jones was on hand to make it 14-6.
Leigh saw their line breached four minutes from the break when Briers kick gave Warrington a repeat set and the halfback laid a ball out to Martin Gleeson for the centre to evade Jones and score but the visitors were well worth their slender advantage.The Wolves regained the lead after two minutes of the second half when Briers inviting grubber kick was touched down by Nathan Wood for a converted try under the posts.
Leigh had the chance to tie things up ten minutes later with a penalty for interference but Jones saw this more kickable attempt go wide. It was all Leigh, but they couldn't get through the defence despite a good chip and chase for Jones and Smyth by Cooper.Sensing the visitors were close to scoring a try, Warrington gave away a penalty for holding down and Jones made it all square on 62 minutes.
A further chance fell to Jones moments later when Grose completely misread an innocuous kick from Kent but he could not control the ball with his foot.A high quality game was reaching fever pitch and finally swung back in the Wolves favour thanks to the kicking and prompting of Briers. First his kick trapped Smyth behind the line, and then he created space brilliantly for centre Gleeson to exploit, forcing the best of tackles from Cooper.
Leigh could not hold out however and Clarke scored his second of the game from close range.
With seven minutes left, Warrington all but secured the points when Briers supported Mark Gleeson and finished from 25 metres but Leigh had other ideas, clawing a converted try back from Ferris, toe-poking past Grose after Mark Leafa's delightful grubber kick.
Unfortunately for the Centurions however, time and luck just ran out when the enthusiastic John Duffy was penalised in possession on halfway in the final minute.
Warrington coach Paul Cullen was full of praise for the Centurions effort.
"The Leigh completion rate from our stats for the full game was 90% - a very, very decent effort from Leigh. They completed, they kicked and chased, and worked exceptionally hard. They need to be credited for a whole-hearted effort. They are an enthusiastic side and a very hard working side. As we found out today, if you give them ball, if you give them field position they will test your defence."
"We had a twenty minute spell where we never completed a set. We can't continue that way and it needs to be corrected. I was happy with the way that we constructed our play today. Lee Briers simply punished Leigh with every time he completed a kick and turned them back around."
MATCH FACTS:
Warrington Wolves
1. Brent Grose
2. Henry Fa'afili
3. Martin Gleeson
4. Toa Kohe Love
5. Dean Gaskell
6. Lee Briers
7. Nathan Wood
8. Chris Leikvoll
14. Mark Gleeson
10. Mark Hilton
11. Logan Swann
12. Mike Wainwright
9. Jon Clarke
Replacements:
15. Ben Westwood
17. Danny Lima
13. Paul Noone
20. Warren Stevens
Tries: Clarke (6, 70) Martin Gleeson (36), Wood (42), Briers (73)
Goals: Briers 3/5.
Leigh Centurions
1. Ben Cooper
24. John Wilshere
8. Rob Jackson
9. Phil Jones
19. Rob Smyth
10. Jason Kent
2. John Duffy
20. Craig Stapleton
3. Jason Ferris
21. Matt Sturm
11. James King
16. Steve McCurrie
13. Mark Leafa
Replacements:
18. Paul Rowley
7. Kevin Henderson
25. Richard Moore
23. Ian Knott
Tries: Kent (23), Smyth (25), Ferris (76)
Goals: Jones 5/6.
Man of the MatchLeigh: Jason Ferris - again full of running, organisation and enthusiasm.
Warrington: Lee Briers - just had that touch of class to separate the sides.
Penalties: 6-8
Halftime Score: 14-10 to Leigh
Attendance: 11,412
Progressive Scores:6-0, 6-6, 6-12, 6-14, 10-14, 16-14, 16-16, 20-16, 26-16, 26-22.
Dave Parkinson from the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
Leigh Centurions gave Warrington Wolves a real fright with an impressive performance at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
Leading 14-10 at the interval thanks to tries from Jason Kent and Rob Smyth, and 3 goals from the boot of Phil Jones, the Centurions were well worth their lead and although they could not hang on for victory there were lots of positive signs for the Centurions coaching staff to work on.
Darren Abram speaking afterwards said of the game "It was a big improvement on last week's performance but I thought we should have won this game. Not many teams will come to the Halliwell Jones and come away with two points. We should have got that today.
"We moved a bit away from the gameplan that we had in the first half and after forty minutes we were the better team - the scoreboard showed it.
"Our kicking game in the second half fell down. Lee Briers was superb - every kick that he did asked questions of our back three and Warrington's kick-chase was superb too.
"I was very pleased with our discipline today. There's loads to build on. It's just a pity that we didn't come away with the two points."
Warrington started well, eager to make amends for their shock opening day loss in London and had their first opportunity after just three minutes when hooker Mark Gleeson momentarily broke but could not keep hold of the ball following a textbook one-on-one tackle from Leigh skipper Jason Ferris.
The Wolves, offering a little more invention, cut Leigh open a second time when Briers put NZ international Henry Fa'afili into space and he drew fullback Ben Cooper before turning the ball inside for Jon Clarke to score under the sticks. Briers converted and the next ten minutes were all Warrington with the visitors getting through a ton of defensive work. Dean Gaskell and Nathan Wood both showed their pace only for Leigh to track back and deny them.
Sticking doggedly to the task, Leigh harried and harassed Warrington and the visitors seemed to lift when an almighty charge from Craig Stapleton swatted aside hooker Gleeson in midfield.
Finally Leigh's moment came after 23 minutes when Fa'afila offloaded on the last tackle only to see Jason Kent snap the ball up and run 75 metres. He just had enough pace to hold off the closing cover to the corner. Jones struck a magnificent touchline conversion and followed that with another well-struck effort when Ferris threaded a kick behind the Wolves goal line and Brent Grose kicked the ball dead only to see Smyth get there first with an athletic leap any salmon would have been proud of!
Warrington were under the cosh and compounded matters with several handling errors in the face of stern defence and when James King was obstructed on the line, Jones was on hand to make it 14-6.
Leigh saw their line breached four minutes from the break when Briers kick gave Warrington a repeat set and the halfback laid a ball out to Martin Gleeson for the centre to evade Jones and score but the visitors were well worth their slender advantage.The Wolves regained the lead after two minutes of the second half when Briers inviting grubber kick was touched down by Nathan Wood for a converted try under the posts.
Leigh had the chance to tie things up ten minutes later with a penalty for interference but Jones saw this more kickable attempt go wide. It was all Leigh, but they couldn't get through the defence despite a good chip and chase for Jones and Smyth by Cooper.Sensing the visitors were close to scoring a try, Warrington gave away a penalty for holding down and Jones made it all square on 62 minutes.
A further chance fell to Jones moments later when Grose completely misread an innocuous kick from Kent but he could not control the ball with his foot.A high quality game was reaching fever pitch and finally swung back in the Wolves favour thanks to the kicking and prompting of Briers. First his kick trapped Smyth behind the line, and then he created space brilliantly for centre Gleeson to exploit, forcing the best of tackles from Cooper.
Leigh could not hold out however and Clarke scored his second of the game from close range.
With seven minutes left, Warrington all but secured the points when Briers supported Mark Gleeson and finished from 25 metres but Leigh had other ideas, clawing a converted try back from Ferris, toe-poking past Grose after Mark Leafa's delightful grubber kick.
Unfortunately for the Centurions however, time and luck just ran out when the enthusiastic John Duffy was penalised in possession on halfway in the final minute.
Warrington coach Paul Cullen was full of praise for the Centurions effort.
"The Leigh completion rate from our stats for the full game was 90% - a very, very decent effort from Leigh. They completed, they kicked and chased, and worked exceptionally hard. They need to be credited for a whole-hearted effort. They are an enthusiastic side and a very hard working side. As we found out today, if you give them ball, if you give them field position they will test your defence."
"We had a twenty minute spell where we never completed a set. We can't continue that way and it needs to be corrected. I was happy with the way that we constructed our play today. Lee Briers simply punished Leigh with every time he completed a kick and turned them back around."
MATCH FACTS:
Warrington Wolves
1. Brent Grose
2. Henry Fa'afili
3. Martin Gleeson
4. Toa Kohe Love
5. Dean Gaskell
6. Lee Briers
7. Nathan Wood
8. Chris Leikvoll
14. Mark Gleeson
10. Mark Hilton
11. Logan Swann
12. Mike Wainwright
9. Jon Clarke
Replacements:
15. Ben Westwood
17. Danny Lima
13. Paul Noone
20. Warren Stevens
Tries: Clarke (6, 70) Martin Gleeson (36), Wood (42), Briers (73)
Goals: Briers 3/5.
Leigh Centurions
1. Ben Cooper
24. John Wilshere
8. Rob Jackson
9. Phil Jones
19. Rob Smyth
10. Jason Kent
2. John Duffy
20. Craig Stapleton
3. Jason Ferris
21. Matt Sturm
11. James King
16. Steve McCurrie
13. Mark Leafa
Replacements:
18. Paul Rowley
7. Kevin Henderson
25. Richard Moore
23. Ian Knott
Tries: Kent (23), Smyth (25), Ferris (76)
Goals: Jones 5/6.
Man of the MatchLeigh: Jason Ferris - again full of running, organisation and enthusiasm.
Warrington: Lee Briers - just had that touch of class to separate the sides.
Penalties: 6-8
Halftime Score: 14-10 to Leigh
Attendance: 11,412
Progressive Scores:6-0, 6-6, 6-12, 6-14, 10-14, 16-14, 16-16, 20-16, 26-16, 26-22.
A look at how Warrington's 2009 Challenge Cup Run got started: My report from the game v York
WARRINGTON WOLVES 56
YORK CITY KNIGHTS 10
DAVE PARKINSON at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
Warrington marched into Round Five of the Carnegie Challenge Cup with a 56-10 victory that was comprehensive but did not paint the full picture of the game.
Wolves Head of Coaching, Tony Smith, spotted plenty of positives in the defeat of their Championship One opponents. He said, “I thought we were great with the ball, very good and and very professional. We didn’t make many errors. Defensively I was a little disappointed in the first half, but we lifted in the second and to have a nil scoreline shows that we improved.”
Warrington made a good start to the game when a short pass from Chris Bridge put Simon Grix over after two minutes. Chris Hicks missed the conversion and York came at their illustrious opponents with a try of quality. Quick movement put the ball out to the right and former Featherstone winger Wayne McHugh sped down the wing before turning the ball back inside for Danny Ratcliffe to romp over for his 5th try of the season. Richard Knight converted but the Knights joy was soon dampened when Kiwi International Vinnie Anderson scored and Hicks tagged on the first of 8 goals.
Ben Harrison crossed for the Wolves third try after seventeen minutes but York responded well and on the back of a couple of penalties, they held onto possession for four successive sets. Mike Mitchell was stopped on the line but with the Wolves back tracking, Paul Hughes plunged through from dummy half. With Ben Westwood returning from his suspension and Gareth Carvell playing his first game in six weeks, the Wolves had two of the most influential forwards on show and it was the former who was next on the scoreboard following the distribution of Lee Briers and a run against the grain in the 26th minute. York adapted a holding pattern with brothers Paul and David March well to the fore alongside Adam Sullivan and Mark Applegarth and this worked for ten minutes before Hicks spilled the ball in the act of scoring. With that, confidence flooded back and the Wolves nabbed the final try of the half when Jon Clarke dummied his way through and had youngster Mike Cooper on his shoulder to go under the posts.
Trailing 28-10 at halftime, York needed the first score of the second half but that went the way of the hosts when Bridge showed quick feet and strength to beat two men from ten metres before he handed off another tackler on the line. York fashioned half a chance when McHugh took a kick near his own line and linked with Tom Haberecht and Ratcliffe but the fullback was ankle tapped. 34-10 was a fair reflection of the game before a couple of mad moments changed the landscape.
First Knights replacement Chris Clough alleged biting in a tackle which saw the referee put the incident on report without specifying a potential culprit, then when Warrington were awarded a penalty prop Danny Ekis seemed to raise his forearm in tackling Louis Anderson. Both teams piled into the disagreement and referee James Child sent Ekis from the field and again put the incident on report.
As the Knights tired, Warrington clinically ran in tries from Briers and Vinnie Anderson (his second), before two stoppage time raids brought further scores from Louis Anderson and Paul Johnson to take the Wolves past fifty points.
The City Knights Director of Rugby, James Ratcliffe was upbeat after the game. “We stuck at it.” He said. “It was really hard in the last fifteen minutes when we were down to twelve men. It’s hard enough playing a Super League side with thirteen men! I think we’ve gained a lot from it from our point of view. I do see it as a springboard and I think it was a good performance against full-time opposition and World Class stars.”
GAMEBREAKER: When Chris Bridge opened second half scoring after 49 minutes, it was always going to be too big a job for the plucky Knights to complete.
GAMESTAR: Gareth Carvell was immense in the Warrington engine room. A consummate prop forward performance, full of running, controlled aggression and a couple of offloads for good measure.
WARRINGTON
23 Chris Hicks
2 Paul Johnson
13 Vinnie Anderson
20 Simon Grix
4 Matt King
25 Chris Bridge
6 Lee Briers
16 Gareth Carvell
14 Mick Higham
15 Paul Wood
22 Lee Mitchell
12 Ben Westwood
24 Ben Harrison
Subs (All used)
10 Paul Rauhihi
18 Mike Cooper
11 Louis Anderson
9 Jon Clarke
Tries: Grix (2), Ratcliffe (6), Vinnie Anderson (10, 73), Harrison (17), Westwood (26), Cooper (39), Bridge (49), Briers (70), Louis Anderson (79), Paul Johnson (80).
Goals: Hicks 8/10
Field Goal:
On Report: (63) unspecified player – alleged biting on Chris Clough
(65) unspecified players – Brawl
Sin bin: (TIME) – offence
Dismissals:
CITY KNIGHTS
32 Danny Ratcliffe
3 John Oakes
28 Mike Mitchell
12 Tom Haberecht
34 Wayne McHugh
27 Danny Grimshaw
7 Paul March
8 Danny Ekis
9 Paul Hughes
10 Adam Sullivan
11 Rob Kelly
13 Richard Knight
21 David March
Subs (All used)
14 Tom Hodgson
29 Mark Applegarth
15 Chris Clough
17 Scott Woodcock
Tries: Ratcliffe (6), Hughes (23)
Goals: Knight 1/2
Field goal:
On Report: (65) unspecified players - Brawl
Sin bin:
Dismissal: (65) Ekis – use of elbow in tackle.
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Warrington: Gareth Carvell
York: Adam Sullivan
Penalty count: 9-11
Half-time: 28-10
Referee: Mr J Child
Attendance: 4,709.
SCORING SEQUENCE:
4-0, 4-6, 10-6, 16-6, 16-10, 22-10, 28-10, 34-10, 40-10, 46-10, 52-10, 56-10.
YORK CITY KNIGHTS 10
DAVE PARKINSON at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
Warrington marched into Round Five of the Carnegie Challenge Cup with a 56-10 victory that was comprehensive but did not paint the full picture of the game.
Wolves Head of Coaching, Tony Smith, spotted plenty of positives in the defeat of their Championship One opponents. He said, “I thought we were great with the ball, very good and and very professional. We didn’t make many errors. Defensively I was a little disappointed in the first half, but we lifted in the second and to have a nil scoreline shows that we improved.”
Warrington made a good start to the game when a short pass from Chris Bridge put Simon Grix over after two minutes. Chris Hicks missed the conversion and York came at their illustrious opponents with a try of quality. Quick movement put the ball out to the right and former Featherstone winger Wayne McHugh sped down the wing before turning the ball back inside for Danny Ratcliffe to romp over for his 5th try of the season. Richard Knight converted but the Knights joy was soon dampened when Kiwi International Vinnie Anderson scored and Hicks tagged on the first of 8 goals.
Ben Harrison crossed for the Wolves third try after seventeen minutes but York responded well and on the back of a couple of penalties, they held onto possession for four successive sets. Mike Mitchell was stopped on the line but with the Wolves back tracking, Paul Hughes plunged through from dummy half. With Ben Westwood returning from his suspension and Gareth Carvell playing his first game in six weeks, the Wolves had two of the most influential forwards on show and it was the former who was next on the scoreboard following the distribution of Lee Briers and a run against the grain in the 26th minute. York adapted a holding pattern with brothers Paul and David March well to the fore alongside Adam Sullivan and Mark Applegarth and this worked for ten minutes before Hicks spilled the ball in the act of scoring. With that, confidence flooded back and the Wolves nabbed the final try of the half when Jon Clarke dummied his way through and had youngster Mike Cooper on his shoulder to go under the posts.
Trailing 28-10 at halftime, York needed the first score of the second half but that went the way of the hosts when Bridge showed quick feet and strength to beat two men from ten metres before he handed off another tackler on the line. York fashioned half a chance when McHugh took a kick near his own line and linked with Tom Haberecht and Ratcliffe but the fullback was ankle tapped. 34-10 was a fair reflection of the game before a couple of mad moments changed the landscape.
First Knights replacement Chris Clough alleged biting in a tackle which saw the referee put the incident on report without specifying a potential culprit, then when Warrington were awarded a penalty prop Danny Ekis seemed to raise his forearm in tackling Louis Anderson. Both teams piled into the disagreement and referee James Child sent Ekis from the field and again put the incident on report.
As the Knights tired, Warrington clinically ran in tries from Briers and Vinnie Anderson (his second), before two stoppage time raids brought further scores from Louis Anderson and Paul Johnson to take the Wolves past fifty points.
The City Knights Director of Rugby, James Ratcliffe was upbeat after the game. “We stuck at it.” He said. “It was really hard in the last fifteen minutes when we were down to twelve men. It’s hard enough playing a Super League side with thirteen men! I think we’ve gained a lot from it from our point of view. I do see it as a springboard and I think it was a good performance against full-time opposition and World Class stars.”
GAMEBREAKER: When Chris Bridge opened second half scoring after 49 minutes, it was always going to be too big a job for the plucky Knights to complete.
GAMESTAR: Gareth Carvell was immense in the Warrington engine room. A consummate prop forward performance, full of running, controlled aggression and a couple of offloads for good measure.
WARRINGTON
23 Chris Hicks
2 Paul Johnson
13 Vinnie Anderson
20 Simon Grix
4 Matt King
25 Chris Bridge
6 Lee Briers
16 Gareth Carvell
14 Mick Higham
15 Paul Wood
22 Lee Mitchell
12 Ben Westwood
24 Ben Harrison
Subs (All used)
10 Paul Rauhihi
18 Mike Cooper
11 Louis Anderson
9 Jon Clarke
Tries: Grix (2), Ratcliffe (6), Vinnie Anderson (10, 73), Harrison (17), Westwood (26), Cooper (39), Bridge (49), Briers (70), Louis Anderson (79), Paul Johnson (80).
Goals: Hicks 8/10
Field Goal:
On Report: (63) unspecified player – alleged biting on Chris Clough
(65) unspecified players – Brawl
Sin bin: (TIME) – offence
Dismissals:
CITY KNIGHTS
32 Danny Ratcliffe
3 John Oakes
28 Mike Mitchell
12 Tom Haberecht
34 Wayne McHugh
27 Danny Grimshaw
7 Paul March
8 Danny Ekis
9 Paul Hughes
10 Adam Sullivan
11 Rob Kelly
13 Richard Knight
21 David March
Subs (All used)
14 Tom Hodgson
29 Mark Applegarth
15 Chris Clough
17 Scott Woodcock
Tries: Ratcliffe (6), Hughes (23)
Goals: Knight 1/2
Field goal:
On Report: (65) unspecified players - Brawl
Sin bin:
Dismissal: (65) Ekis – use of elbow in tackle.
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Warrington: Gareth Carvell
York: Adam Sullivan
Penalty count: 9-11
Half-time: 28-10
Referee: Mr J Child
Attendance: 4,709.
SCORING SEQUENCE:
4-0, 4-6, 10-6, 16-6, 16-10, 22-10, 28-10, 34-10, 40-10, 46-10, 52-10, 56-10.
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