It was a successful Friday night for the Warrington Wolves, earning a second victory over Wakefield in 2019, by a comfortable scoreline of 30 points to 6. Let's see how the players rated on the night..
1) Jake Mamo
A very solid defensive performance with plenty of good takes from high balls. He also made a few really good breaks which sparked attacks, and this is how the play for the first try started. Was lucky to not have been penalised for a knock-on, but other than that this was a spot on display rounded off nicely with a lovely assist for Johnson. Should've actually had three assists, but for a Clark knock-on, and an earlier ball to Johnson floating into touch.
2) Daryl Clark
You hear about consistent players in sport who always give you solid and reliable shifts, but it's rare to have someone who performs so consistently at such a high level. Clark is so important to this team, as proven by last week's defeat, and this week he was at his usual high standard, being at the centre of the play both offensively and defensively. Should've had a try of his own.
3) Mike Cooper
As usual, a great shift from Cooper. He played big minutes and led the forward pack with his metres, and a nice offload too. Really good try, his third of the season. Still the most under-appreciated player in this team.
4) Ben Murdoch-Masila
Very good impact from the bench from Murdoch-Masila in arguably his performance of the season. A real battering ram in his first few carries, he made seven tackle busts and averaged 13 metres from each carry, a very healthy number.
5) Declan Patton
This was possibly the best Patton has played this season. His passing was very good and assisted tries for Currie and Cooper with a lovely grubber kick and an inch-perfect delayed pass. The only criticism of his performance was an appalling kick in the first half when it looked like Wire were in to score.
6) Blake Austin
An absolutely sensational try right at the start of the second period, though he struggled at the start of the game, with a knock-on and a few missed tackles. Miles better after half-time.
7) Toby King
Very impressive defensively, as well as an assist for Austin's try, and a fair hand in Charnley's, too. King also got a very impressive four offloads away.
8) Jason Clark
Probably the most impressed I've been with Jason Clark since joining. 20 completed tackles and not a single one missed, as well as some good carries with the ball.
9) Josh Charnley
It's three tries in a row for Charnley who has refound his scoring touch. Didn't miss a tackle and was a little unlucky not to have a hat-trick. Saw plenty of the ball.
10) Joe Philbin
Philbin started the game well, setting the tone from early on. He was less influential as the game grew on, but 78 metres from eight carries of the ball is good.
11) Ben Currie
Lovely to see him score the first try, the highlight of a decent performance. Missed a few tackles but there's no doubt he's getting back to his best, slowly but surely.
12) Jack Johnson
Great for Johnson to get his first try of the season right at the end of the game, capping off what was a fairly solid display. Made some nice runs from dummy half too. This was probably his best game of his three-match spell in the side.
13) Matt Davis
Good minutes from the bench again from Davis, always has a sound impact on the game. I'd like to bring you some stats from his game, but unfortunately the Super League website still has no stats about Matt Davis, and also lists him as a Bradford Bulls player.
14) Chris Hill
Big numbers from Hill in terms of carries and tackles, so that's good, but he ranks lowly for me because of two key moments: completely missing a tackle on Fifita for Wakefield's try and knocking on when looking certain to score.
15) Sitaleki Akauola
A very mixed stint on the field for Akauola. He put in some huge hits and made five tackle busts, though knocked on a few times.
16) Bryson Goodwin
Bizarre game from Goodwin. Fairly good in defence and should've had a try but for a shocking call from the ref, though made an utterly senseless decision to kick the ball when Mamo would've been through.
17) Jack Hughes
Six missed tackles for Hughes last night, his highest stat of the season. So unlike him. I posted on Twitter asking what people thought of his season and the consensus was that he isn't playing at the level he was in 2018.
Elsewhere in Round 19 of the Super League, St Helens condemned Leeds Rhinos to yet another miserable defeat, featuring a breathtaking try from Tommy Makinson. We take on the Saints next week in a mammoth clash, to hopefully keep our chances of finishing top alive. Meanwhile, Super League's joke club and all-round disgrace Wigan picked up a win at the John Smith's Stadium, meaning that their tally of away wins in 2019 moves ahead of the number of their players arrested for drink-driving this year for the first time. Salford took a great win against Castleford to move into the top five, owing largely to the performance of my favourite player to watch right now, Jackson Hastings, while London's excellent win over Hull KR on Thursday night continues to make the whole league fascinating. Say what you want about the quality of Super League this year (I actually think it's been fine), the competition is not short of drama and stories this year, with the battle for the League Leaders' Shield, the playoff places and the battle for avoiding the drop all very exciting.
It's always our year.
Daniel (@aloosewire)
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