MATCH DETAILS
Warrington Wolves humbled their League 1 opposition as they produced a stunning attacking display to down Bradford Bulls 54-6 at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
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Despite being on the wrong end of a convincing scoreline, the Bradford Side gave a good account of themselves in what was billed as the real test of their rebuild.
Steve Price’s were seemingly stunned for the first ten minutes as Bradford made a strong start, pinning the home side against their own line for most of the first quarter. However, for all their pressure, no points would prevail.
Warrington would take advantage of this as on their first accountable attack, Chris Hill crashed over from a Stefan Ratchford pass.
Bryson Goodwin was the next to cross as the Wolves piled on twenty points in as many minutes through Josh Charnley and Ben Currie.
As Warrington looked more and more threatening the worst could have been predicted for the Bulls, however, their resolute defence returned to halt the progress of the Wolves.
Yet, Charnley proved a thorn in the away side’s path as he grabbed a try either side of the half-time hooter.
From here on out, the home side entered cruise control and continued their flowing attacking rugby to pile on more points through Goodwin and Charnley yet again.
Joe Keyes would pull one back for the home side, giving their impressive away support something to cheer about on their visit to the Halliwell Jones.
Yet, the Super League side showed their class with a resounding win to move into the next round of the cup, as for Bradford it’s back to the chase for promotion.
WHAT WE’VE LEARNED
Super League needs Bradford Back
Not many teams can boast the travelling support that the Bulls do, it’s as simple as that.
The Halliwell Jones was rocking in the away end with cheers of Steve Crossley, Ross Peltier and the famous Bradford chant.
Throughout the season Bradford has shown they can outperform the Super League teams in terms of fan’s, some League 1 games having a higher attendance than those in the top tier.
To have a fanbase that loyal is one thing, especially after the troubles in recent times for Bradford. Super League is in a time of need for another strong fanbase and looking around, there’s no more so than Bradford.
Could it really be the Wolves year?
No-one at the club will be getting carried away with the scoreline; at the end of the day the Wolves were firm favourites in the game and nothing else would have been expected.
However, six games unbeaten in the league and now a resounding professional performance in the cup suggests Steve Price has finally got his side to match the hype built in pre-season.
Man Of The Match- Josh Charnley (Warrington Wolves)
Four tries, that is all that needs to be said. The winger showed his excellence, despite his tries often coming from the good work of his centre Ryan Atkins, Charnley held himself well and finished when needed.
His general play throughout the game showed he is one of the countries best, his strong kick returns got the Wolves on a roll and allowed his side to play off the back of him.
Once again, Warrington are counting their blessings with his return.
THE RESULT
Warrington- 54
Tries: Hill, Currie (2) Goodwin (3), Charnley (4)
Goals: Ratchford (3) Goodwin (4)
Drop Goals: n/a
Bradford- 6
Tries: Keyes
Goals: Keyes
Drop Goals: n/a
SQUADS
Warrington: Ratchford, Charnley, Goodwin, Atkins, Brown, Patton, Roberts, Hill, Smith, Akauola, Currie, Hughes, King, Philbin, Livett, Westwood, Moran.
Bradford: Pickersgill, Grant, Gibson, Oakes, Ryan, Keyes, Minchella, Kirk, Halafihi, Crossley, Garside, Johnson, Milton, Flanagan, Peltier, Bustin, Wood
Referee: Tom Grant
