Jack Harbidge reviews the Round 10 clash between Warrington Wolves and Wakefield Trinity at the Halliwell Jones Stadium….. Here’s how the game went.
MATCH TIMELINE
| Minute | Scoring Play | Score |
| 18th | Try Josh Charnley (Warrington) | Warrington 4-0 |
| 20th | Goal Stefan Ratchford (Warrington) | Warrington 6-0 |
| 26th | Try Blake Austin (Warrington) | Warrington 10-0 |
| 27th | Goal Stefan Ratchford (Warrington) | Warrington 12-0 |
| 32nd | Try Josh Charnley (Warrington) | Warrington 16-0 |
| 33rd | Goal Stefan Ratchford (Warrington) | Warrington 18-0 |
| 46th | Try Blake Austin (Warrington) | Warrington 22-0 |
| 47th | Goal Stefan Ratchford (Warrington) | Warrington 24-0 |
| 71st | Try Ben Currie (Warrington) | Warrington 28-0 |
| 72nd | Goal Stefan Ratchford (Warrington) | Warrington 30-0 |
| 76th | Try Blake Austin (Warrington) | Warrington 34-0 |
| 77th | Goal Stefan Ratchford (Warrington) | Warrington 36-0 |
MATCH SUMMARY
1st Half
The match got off to a breathless pace and with both sides going close early. Tom Lineham proved the sole negative difference between the two sides, costing Warrington a comfortable 12 point lead by bombing two stone cold try opportunities with poor pieces of skill. Warrington continued to press Wakefield and off the back of a slick shape to the left edge, Toby King made the wise move to dummy a pass to the error strewn Lineham and go himself to score under the sticks.
With King ending a 15 game try drought, Warrington took control of the game and registered the next score with another exceptional dummy and step, this time from Blake Austin who went over for the Wolves second try of the game. Despite conceding two on the bounce, Wakefield continued to stick in the game and held Warrington out until a slick shape down the Wolves’ right edge proved their undoing for a third time, with Josh Charnley diving over in the corner and give Warrington a comfortable 18-0 lead after the conversion with just under ten minutes of the half left.
2nd Half
The second half started in much the same fashion as the first with Austin crossing for Warrington just seven minutes in to extend the Wolves’ lead even further. Despite trailing by a large deficit, Wakefield put in a massive amount of effort and battled back with efforts of their own, albeit not being able to convert any while keeping Warrington under wraps for the majority of the middle 20 minutes of the second half.
Consequently, the 20 minute deadlock was broken by the home side with Ben Currie collecting a Trinity 5th tackle kick at short range to run 80 metres for a try under the sticks. With the Currie try somewhat taking the wind out of the Wakefield sails, Warrington were in the ascendancy once again and pressed the Wakefield line in the closing stages, eventually culminating in a late try from Austin to complete a third career hat-trick and seal a fifth win on the bounce for Warrington.
GAME HIGHLIGHT
Blake Austin’s hat-trick was undoubtedly the highlight in a rather routine 36-0 win for Warrington. While the game wasn’t as one-sided as the scoreline suggests, and therefore slightly more exciting than an actual walkover victory, Austin’s hat-trick was a fine example of an elite half back performance, comprising of an impressively agile close range effort, a support line and a long range running score off the back of structure. It was the type of complete play-making performance that Warrington signed up for.
SQUADS
Warrington Wolves: Ashton, Austin, Charnley, D.Clark, J.Clark, Cooper, Currie, Davies, Hill, Hughes, Kibula, King, Lineham, Mamo, Philbin, Ratchford, Widdop.
Wakefield Trinity: Tupou, Miller, K.Wood, Arona, Ashurst, Kirmond, Westerman, Batchelor, Green, Crowther, Jowitt, Croft, Hampshire, Tanginoa, Navarrete, Gigot, Senior.
