For the second time this season, Warrington nilled their opponents at home, putting 36 unanswered points on Wakefield to make it five wins in a row and move up to 3rd in the table.
Wire initially struggled to breach a resolute Wakefield line but eventually Steve Price's men found the breakthrough with a brilliant try from Toby King after good play from Gareth Widdop and Stefan Ratchford. King's first score of 2020 was converted by Ratchford for 6-0, and soon after the lead was doubled when Blake Austin produced a lovely show-and-go for his first try of the evening. Austin was at the centre of the third try too, sending a glorious looping pass to Josh Charnley for the winger to score in the corner. Another successful Ratchford conversion made it 18-0 at the break. Austin scored his second with another tremendous solo effort under the posts, and Wire's fifth try came when Ben Currie superbly collected a loose ball and raced to the opponent's try line. The win was rounded off with a stunning team try involving Jason Clark and Matt Davis, who set up Austin for his second hat-trick in Warrington colours. Here are my six major talking points from the win...
1) Austin powers again
This was Blake Austin at his best. He's been inconsistent this season but has come up with two match-winning contributions against Castleford and Huddersfield, and two superb match performances, away at Hull FC, and tonight. This was Austin in early 2019 mode. The Australian was everywhere, robust in defence, making tackle after tackle and showing outstanding work-rate, and then eye-catching and mesmerising in attack. He ran the lines well and reminded us of his remarkable sidestepping ability which can send defenders into a tizz. At his best, Austin is one of the very best players in Super League, and this was a reminder of that. More performances like that please.
2) The King of Warrington
Phil Clarke was going a bit too far last week when suggesting Toby King was already a Dream Team quality centre, but on current form, he won't be too far off making it. He has started in every Warrington game this season and grabbed his first try this time out with a cute dummy. Wire are going out wide to the left-edge often and it's because King (and Tom Lineham) are real threats in front of the line at the minute. It's hard to name a Super League centre who has been better than King this season.
3) The league's best defence?
This is the second time Warrington have nilled a team this season, and listen to this for their points conceded record in 2020's matches: 16, 0, 18, 38, 8, 4, 10, 18, 0. Apart from the Leeds debacle, Wire's defence has been absolutely outstanding this season and has conceded 110 points - only St Helens have conceded less, with 109. And the last four games in particular, opponents have found it incredibly difficult to get over Wire's tryline. It was clear from early into the second half that the team were desperate to keep a 'clean sheet'. The defensive shape was superb, as was the effort and commitment of each and every man to prevent Wakefield from coming close to scoring. It is very possible that Wire have the best defensive unit in Super League right now.
4) A different bench
With inclusions of Matt Davis and Samy Kibula, the Wire interchange bench looked very different to what it has done recently. Davis has really been frozen out, while 2020 signing Kibula was still waiting for his debut for the club ahead of this one. Davis was very impressive from the bench. His industry, work-rate and the way he changed the pace of the game upon entering the field were mighty. I'm a big fan of Davis and I want to see much more of him this season. Kibula, meanwhile, had a solid enough debut, with a few good carries, although also made one or two errors.
5) It's finally clicking
I don't want to get too carried away as Wakefield are struggling badly at the minute, but the attack was very good tonight. Wire looked threatening every time they got in front of the Wakefield line and had a variety of plays up their sleeve. Ratchford, Austin, Widdop and Clark are working well together and the two halves in particular are finally showing signs of the thrilling partnership we were all hoping for. The invention and creativity was noticeable tonight, and Wire were not afraid to throw the ball around. I don't think our edges have seen that much of the ball in a long time.
6) 2019's imports coming good?
I was highly critical of Jason Clark last season as I struggled to see what his contribution was or how he was justifying his salary. However, the Australian has improved markedly this campaign and this was probably his best game of the season. Back in the loose forward role in which he has started nine times this season, Clark was instrumental in defence, making tackle after tackle. He also had a big hand in two tries - his alertness to put pressure on the Wakefield man helped free Ben Currie with the ball, and also showed quick hands to contribute to Austin's third try. Similarly, Jake Mamo has done very well since coming back into the side last time out and had a really good game this evening.
Player Ratings
Stefan Ratchford - 7/10
A typically reliable performance from Ratchford. Very solid in defence and fantastic hands in attack to set up the first try.
Tom Lineham - 7/10
Unlucky not to have a try of his own tonight after a break went wrong, but he continued his good form, particularly in defence.
Toby King - 8/10
One of the best centres in Super League right now. Made a mistake early on but soon made amends with a brilliant try.
Jake Mamo - 8/10
Very good performance. Didn't put a foot wrong in defence and looked threatening with the ball in hand.
Josh Charnley - 7/10
Took his try really well and had some good yardage carries. He saw more of the ball tonight.
Blake Austin - 10/10
Three tries and an assist, a world-class performance. Can run the show in Super League when he wants it.
Gareth Widdop - 7/10
A more cerebral performance from Widdop in attack tonight, but he was very good in defence again.
Chris Hill - 7/10
An early knock-on but other than that he was solid enough and well-disciplined.
Daryl Clark - 8/10
Contributed to a lot of Wire's attacking play and looked threatening every time he got the ball.
Mike Cooper - 7/10
Didn't have to spend as long on the pitch tonight but didn't put a foot wrong.
Ben Currie - 9/10
Very positive signs that twice he was able to run 70 metres. He's getting his pace back and he's nearly back to his best. A great try and fantastic in defence.
Jack Hughes - 6/10
Didn't notice Hughes much tonight, but he did come up with the odd flimsy tackle in the first half.
Jason Clark - 9/10
A fantastic performance from Clark at loose forward. Some great defensive plays and had a hand in two of the tries.
Joe Philbin - 6/10
Fabulous yardage as always but a couple of handling errors.
Matt Davis - 9/10
Rare for an interchange to affect the match so much, but Davis changed the pace of the game and was involved everywhere. Want to see plenty more of him.
Samy Kibula - 6/10
Not a bad debut, a few good carries but a few errors too.
Matty Ashton - 6/10
Not much time on the pitch but was dangerous with the ball in hand running at the line.
@ALooseWire
No comments:
Post a Comment