Top Ten performances under Steve Price

After Steve Price was asked if last Thursday's win over St Helens was the best performance under him, I got thinking about the contenders and have come up with a top ten...

The Australian has taken charge of 68 games at Warrington, winning 40, drawing 1 and losing 27. Price's first game in charge was back in February 2018 as Wire lost their opening game of the season to Leeds. I have picked the best 10 performances of the boss' first 68 games at the helm, so here goes...

10) WARRINGTON 22-14 HULL FC

Saturday 27th July 2019
Challenge Cup Semi-Final
University of Bolton Stadium
Attendance: 24,364

Kicking off the countdown is last summer's win over Hull FC in the Challenge Cup semi at Bolton to take Wire to Wembley for a second successive year. Despite being in an awful run of form, Wire put in a brilliant performance full of effort and heart. The Wolves defended superbly and resiliently to end Hull's run and make the final, courtesy of tries from Bryson Goodwin, Ben Currie, Toby King and Joe Philbin. Stefan Ratchford returned early from injury and put in a masterful performance while Blake Austin controlled the match brilliantly on a day in which Wire were incredibly mature and managed the conditions to a tee.

9) LEEDS 22-33 WARRINGTON

Friday 4th May 2018
Super League Round 14
Headingley Stadium
Attendance: 11,749

Wire travelled to West Yorkshire on a run of eight consecutive wins but away to the defending champions, that record was under some serious threat. The away side were comfortable at 10-0 up just before the break after tries from Harvey Livett and Kevin Brown, though a flurry of tries from Leeds had them 22-11 in front with just 17 minutes to go. However, Wire produced a stunning final quarter of the game, scoring 22 unanswered points to notch a massive win on the road. Two more tries for Livett saw him get his hat-trick, which was finished off with a beautiful passing move involving Daryl Clark, Stefan Ratchford and Tyrone Roberts - who had one of his only good games in a Warrington shirt. Ryan Atkins and Ben Murdoch-Masila also scored late on but it was Daryl Clark who stole the headlines for a monstrous performance and was the best player on the pitch by a country mile. A topsy-turvy game in which Wire showed resilience and were made of tough stuff. 

8) CASTLEFORD 6-18 WARRINGTON

Monday 2nd April 2018
Super League Round 9
Mend-a-hose Jungle
Attendance: 6,881

A display of grit and attitude as Wire came away from Castleford with a big win in horrendous conditions. Steve Price's team managed the weather brilliantly and showed tonnes of fight to get a precious result. The maturity of the team was clear as they chose to take every opportunity to register points in the wet and muddy climate, Stefan Ratchford kicking three penalty goals. A try from Toby King after good work from Josh Charnley out wide was the first touchdown and even when Oliver Holmes scored in the second half, a penalty from Ratchford and a late try from Daryl Clark confirmed the win. Ratchford kicked five out of five goals and Wire were terrific to get a thoroughly deserved win.

7) WARRINGTON 80-10 HULL FC

Thursday 30th August 2018
Super 8s Round 3
Halliwell Jones Stadium
Attendance: 8,108

Six days previous, Wire had been beaten in the Challenge Cup Final by Catalans. There was no hint of them letting Wembley get to them though, as Steve Price's team racked up a remarkable 14 tries and hit their highest ever number of points under the Australian coach against a woeful Hull FC team. Bryson Goodwin became just the second Warrington player ever to score five tries in a Super League match, the centre being unstoppable in attack. Kevin Brown, Stefan Ratchford and Tyrone Roberts pulled the strings and the latter two both got tries of their own, with Roberts kicking 12 goals. Toby King and Josh Charnley got braces apiece, while Jack Hughes, Joe Philbin and Tom Lineham also scored. An absolute destruction from Wire, who could've scored and scored all night long.

6) CATALANS 0-26 WARRINGTON

Saturday 17th March 2018
Super League Round 6
Stade Gilbert Brutus
Attendance: 6,585

Having lost four of his first six games, Steve Price was under plenty of early pressure. Wire travelled to France in search of an enormous win and that is exactly what they got. Kevin Brown's best performance in his three seasons at Wire saw him run the show from stand-off and guide his side to a magnificent performance of resilience. Mitch Brown and Daryl Clark were early scorers in Perpignan, with Ben Murdoch-Masila scoring twice and Harvey Livett crossing too. Most impressive about this performance though was the away side's remarkable defensive effort, earning their first shutout under their new coach, who when reviewing 2018, cited this game as a major turning point in the season. After this, Wire went on a run of eight consecutive wins. 

5) WARRINGTON 23-0 WIGAN

Saturday 2nd June 2018
Challenge Cup Quarter-Final
Halliwell Jones Stadium
Attendance: 10,213

Another brilliant nilling in 2018 from Warrington as they knocked out arch-rivals Wigan of the Challenge Cup and booked a place in the semi-finals. Kevin Brown opened the scoring by dummying and crossing for a try before an unstoppable run from Ben Murdoch-Masila secured the second. Josh Charnley scored against his former team, diving over after good hands from Ryan Atkins and Tyrone Roberts. Declan Patton put the seal on the win with a late score, though it was the nilling of the Warriors that was most impressive. Incredible defence and consistent forcing of Wigan errors helped Wire secure a famous win. 

4) ST HELENS 13-18 WARRINGTON

Thursday 4th October 2018
Super League Playoff Semi-Final
Totally Wicked Stadium
Attendance: Unknown

A night I'll never forget. Wire went into this playoff semi having lost all three previous meetings in 2018 to the runaway league leaders Saints, who were seen by most as champions elect. However, the Wolves produced a performance to remember as they defied the odds to book a place in the Grand Final. Wire started well and were in front through a Tyrone Roberts penalty but couldn't make the most of their territorial advantage and Danny Richardson levelled things at 2-2 with a penalty, before kicking a drop-goal after Wire had missed one through Stefan Ratchford. Luke Douglas' try had Saints 9-2 in front just after the break before Jack Hughes scored a great try with a diagonal run out wide, though Roberts missed the kick and it remained 9-6 before a Richardson penalty made it 11-6. Tom Lineham took a slick pass from Bryson Goodwin and slid in in the corner, which Roberts converted for 11-12. It seemed like it wasn't going to be Wire's night when Richardson kicked two drop-goals, the latter of which off the bar, but rather than looking for a drop-goal of their own to equalise, Steve Price's team went for the try and got it when a flowing move ended in the hands of Lineham, who shook off three Saints defenders to score and send the away end into raptures. Wire held on for a famous victory and a trip to Old Trafford. An unreal night. 

3) WARRINGTON 18-4 ST HELENS

Saturday 24th August 2019
Challenge Cup Final
Wembley Stadium
Attendance: 62,717

Probably a bit controversial not to make number one, but it was certainly the biggest result of Price's tenure at Wire so far. The Australian's only piece of silverware to date for the Wolves came at Wembley in August 2019 as they overturned all the odds to beat a red-hot St Helens team to secure a ninth Challenge Cup trophy. Despite being in an appalling run of form and having lost three times to Saints in the regular season, Wire turned up on the day and put in a mega performance, even without talisman Blake Austin, who was injured. Jack Hughes moved into Austin's role at stand-off and played a brilliant pass for Ben Murdoch-Masila to crash over after Joe Philbin had earlier opened the scoring. A stunning tackle from Bryson Goodwin to force Tommy Makinson into touch epitomised Wire's defensive effort and though Theo Fages finally opened Saints' account, the man of the match by a mile Daryl Clark scuttled over from dummy-half to seal the deal and secure the cup for Wire. A historic day for the club in the capital. Before the game, Price rightly said that his team were the biggest underdogs in final history - yet look what they achieved. Incredible.

2) HULL FC 12-63 WARRINGTON

Friday 29th March 2019
Super League Round 8
KCOM Stadium
Attendance: 10,810

If the Wembley performance was about grit, mentality and desire, this was a display full of quality, invention and spark, and it is for that reason that it comes in ahead of the Challenge Cup Final. Wire travelled to Hull on a cold Friday night having started the season well but this was a new level to anything they had previously shown in 2019. Blake Austin put in one of the best individual performances in the club's recent history, scoring four tries, the second and third of which featuring beautiful dummies, while Daryl Clark and Ben Murdoch-Masila crossed and Josh Charnley got a hat-trick. Tom Lineham grabbed a brace too on a night of attacking adventure and brilliance for the Wire. There are some games where certain personnel are just unstoppable and this was one of those for a few players, particularly Austin, who completely fooled the FC defence for his second try and then led half the field a merry dance for his third. Magic.

1) WARRINGTON 19-0 ST HELENS

Thursday 6th February 2020
Super League Round 2
Halliwell Jones Stadium
Attendance: 12,562

Coming in as the best performance under Steve Price is the most recent one, his team's 19-0 whitewash of defending champions St Helens. Missing new signing Gareth Widdop and both co-captains Chris Hill and Jack Hughes, Wire were impressive in attack and imperious in defence to register a huge win over their North-West rivals. Daryl Clark was once again the maestro, scoring the opening try of the game after bundling over, before good hands from Ben Currie, Stefan Ratchford and Toby King sent Tom Lineham away to score in the corner. A fantastic sweeping move from right to left in the second half saw Josh Charnley go over for a lovely team try. Unlike the Wembley day, Wire did not need to ride their luck, for their defence was absolutely top-notch, Ratchford doing incredibly well to force Kevin Naiqama into touch when the centre looked certain to score. The line speed at the back end of the game was commendable as Wire defended for all their might and kept Saints scoreless. In defence and attack, the best all-round performance under Steve Price so far.

What are your thoughts? Which of these do you think were the best performances under our current coach? Are there any I missed?

Daniel (@aloosewire)