The Toronto Wolfpack responded to their first Kingstone Press League One defeat in the strongest fashion with a 68 point victory over Workington Town in round 2 of the Super 8s at Derwent Park. Australian five-eighth Blake Wallace showcased his ball running skills for the visitors to score four tries. After a slow start the Wolfpack scored 60 points in the last 50 minutes to secure a dominant victory.
After an error riddled and ill-disciplined performance against York City last week, Toronto focused on holding possession and completing their sets in the wet conditions. After a scoreless opening ten minutes, Toronto’s Fui Fui Moi Moi was sin binned for a late shot on Workington Town’s hooker. Learning from the mistakes from last week’s match, the Wolfpack took an even more cautious approach during the sin bin period. Wolfpack captain Craig Hall elected to take a shot at a penalty goal, much to the derision of the local crowd. Halfback Ryan Brierley later deliberately found touch on a grubber kick just 15 metres from Workington Town’s try line.
The Wolfpack’s patience paid off when Moi Moi returned to the field with Blake Wallace scoring the opening try after running himself on the last tackle. Wallace followed up with another try chasing down a kick by hooker Bob Beswick. Workington Town’s winger shadowed the ball but waited too long before Wallace pounced. Replays showed the ball was grounded on the dead ball line, but with no video referee or in-goal referee the try was awarded.
Toronto’s fullback Quintin Laulu-Tagaga’e threw a cutout pass to centre Greg Worthington who hit a gap on Workington Town’s right edge defence before turning the ball back inside to Laulu-Tagaga’e to extend the Wolfpack’s lead. A moment of desperation on the stoke of halftime cost the home side, as livewire fullback Theerapol Ritson threw an offload to ground on a kick return which was scooped up by Toronto and finished by winger Jonny Pownall.
Toronto were unstoppable in the second half against Workington Town’s fatigued defence, posting another eight unanswered tries. Wallace completed his double hat trick with two more direct runs close to the line. The left edge combination of Liam Kay and Greg Worthington used their pace to pass by two Workington Town defenders. Hall scored a brace of tries, first chasing down a kick which held up in the boggy conditions and secondly capitalising on a Workington Town handling error, scooping up the loose ball before stepping Workington Town’s fullback to score untouched.
The win gives Toronto a 3 point buffer on their nearest rivals, the Barrow Raiders and Witehaven in the hunt for automatic promotion. Workington Town’s goal will be to sneak into fifth spot for the promotional playoffs and now have it all to do after sliding to eighth position.
Toronto Wolfpack 68 Tries: Wallace (21, 35, 47, 71), Laulu-Togaga’e (37), Pownall (40, 80), Kay (55), Laithwaite (59), Hall (61, 68), Emmitt (75)
Goals: Hall 10/13
Workington Town 0
