Warrington Wolves secured a hard-fought and much-needed 14-12 victory over St Helens in round five of Super League at the Totally Wicked stadium.
It was Warrington who got the advantage on the scoreline in the first half, a converted George Williams try plus penalty from Marc Sneyd on debut putting them 8-2 up after the first 40, St Helens only finding points from the boot of Mark Percival.
Although St Helens hit back through a converted Morgan Knowles effort and a try for Dayon Sambou on debut, a converted length-of-the-field try from Matty Ashton proved the difference as the visitors ran in 14-12 winners.
Warrington now move fifth with a third win in five games, with Saints staying third in Super League despite the defeat.
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Matty Ashton sticks on the afterburners for Warrington’s second try of the night against St Helens.
Warrington inflict tough loss to move joint on points with Saints
With the fireworks and lights show setting the atmosphere for a big battle between Warrington and St Helens, these two local rivals were always going to deliver.
The first 20 minutes went the way of the home outfit with their forwards on top and their edges causing problems for Sam Burgess’ outfit, but it was only a penalty conversion from Percival that brought them points to go 2-0 up.
Despite having the majority of the early possession, the visitors pounced on their first opportunity as, on the back of a penalty, Sneyd sent through a beauty of a grubber for Williams to pounce on and go 6-2 in the lead.
A Sneyd penalty on the 30th minute extended Warrington’s lead to 8-2 with Saints pinged for offside and with Saints unable to use a last-moment chance, the Wolves went in with a six-point advantage at the break.
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Warrington takes the lead against St Helens with the first try of the game despite the bright start from the home side.
Much like the start of the first half, it was Saints who were putting on the pressure with ball in hand at the start of the second and finally, it paid dividends when Knowles barrelled over from short range on the 49th minute, Percival converting to bring the scores level at eight-a-piece.
However, only a moment later, a loose pass from Jack Welsby was picked up by Ashton who raced down the field to go over, Sneyd converting once gain to quickly reinforce their six-point advantage.
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Dayon Sambou marked his St Helens debut with this acrobatic try against Warrington.
St Helens managed to hit back with a flying finish from their debut winger Sambou in the corner on the 58th minute but with Percival scuffing the conversion, the hosts trailed by two points with 20 minutes remaining.
It was then the turn of Warrington to keep challenging the St Helens line though with Jonny Lomax and Percival having to come up with a try-saving tackle on the edge.
With fortunes then turning in the final moments in Saints’ favour, Lomax and Tristan Sailor made a mess of last-tackle plays for the hosts to all but nullify their chances of scoring any more points, with the Wolves coming away with a much-needed win.
Burgess: Victory took a lot of courage and spirit | Wellens: It is small margins
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Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess praised his team’s courage and spirit after they beat St Helens.
Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess told Sky Sports…
“I must say, it was a great game of rugby tonight, but we were so busted out there. We’ve got a lot of guys playing on one leg.
“It showed a lot of courage and a lot of spirit to get our job done tonight. It really required it.
“We’re probably going to be short four or five next week. They really deserve a lot of credit, the players. We needed that game tonight.
“I thought we looked more like ourselves. We were on the back foot a lot of today, we just never gave in. We’re really proud of them tonight.
“They’re a great bunch of boys. They know they’ve got to be better, but tonight I thought there were some really special efforts from some guys out there.”
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St Helens head coach Paul Wellens was pleased with his team’s performance despite picking up the loss against Warrington.
St Helens head coach Paul Wellens told Sky Sports…
“Very much small margins. We created a couple of opportunities there in the first half which we didn’t quite nail. If we nailed those we’d put some scoreboard pressure on the opposition but it’s small margins and if you don’t nail them you put yourself under pressure.
“But I’ve got to say I’m absolutely delighted with the team’s approach to that game and we really challenged them with the ball. We continue to work really hard defensively.
“There’s a lot to like about that performance however we are naturally disappointed with the result.”
Super League Round Five Fixtures (all live on Sky Sports)
Saturday March 22
- 3pm: Castleford Tigers vs Catalans Dragons
- 5pm: Leeds Rhinos vs Wigan Warriors (kick-off at 5.30pm)
Sunday March 23
- 3pm: Hull KR vs Leigh Leopards
Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining four matches each week shown on Sky Sports+ via the red button.
