Warrington secured their grasp on a top-four spot with an unconvincing but important win over Huddersfield Giants.
Wire started well with a try from Daryl Clark from dummy-half and had plenty of possession and territory but couldn't make it count. The Wolves were hit by injuries to Josh Charnley and Jason Clark which forced both players off. Huddersfield took the lead with tries either side of the interval but Wire hit back with an outstanding long-range try which started with Josh Thewlis and ended with Clark scoring his second of the evening. Wire further extended their lead with a try from Anthony Gelling after he crashed over in the corner, after replacing Charnley on the wing. This was enough for Wire to secure the two points although they made sure of the win with a Gareth Widdop drop-goal. Here are my six major talking points...
1) Cloud nine
The best thing about the last few games has been Daryl Clark's return to electric form. He's the best number nine in the competition but has had a pretty quiet year until recent weeks. He was unstoppable tonight and deserved his two tries.
2) Seventh heaven
I think this was the best I've seen Gareth Widdop play for Warrington. He was everywhere tonight and had a hand in a lot of Warrington attacks. The first try was scored in a repeat set gained by a Widdop kick and he pulled off the same trick shortly after. He was unlucky not to have a brace of tries himself, and kicked a drop-goal too.
3) Waiting in the wings
With Josh Charnley hobbling off with a shoulder injury, Wire are now down to the bare bones on the wings, with Tom Lineham missing the game through suspension and Jake Mamo through an injury of his own. Josh Thewlis did well out there but had to play on through the pain barrier. I'd be happy to see a Lineham/Thewlis wing combination in the next match if Charnley is unavailable.
4) The walking wounded
Josh Charnley and Jason Clark both couldn't finish the match after leaving the field with painful injuries and with Ben Murdoch-Masila only just returning, Josh Thewlis being knocked down a few times and Jake Mamo still out with injury, Wire's squad depth is being tested right now. Credit to the players for grinding out the win when effectively two men down.
5) Clunkety clunk
The attack. It's still a bit clunky, isn't it? Wire had tonnes of possession and territory in the first half yet couldn't make it count and somehow had only scored once at the break, courtesy of Daryl Clark's barge-over. This, combined with the fact that the second try came from range, just shows that once again, this team don't know how to attack and break down a line. At one point, Chris Hill was kicking on the fifth, for goodness' sake.
6) All roads lead to... Hull
So, the Grand Final will be played at Hull. Wire have probably done just about enough to qualify for the playoffs this week, with the club being awarded a win for the unfulfilled fixture against Salford, and picking up this result here means that a top-four spot is a near certainty now. Wire's defence is good enough to get to the Grand Final, but their attack at the moment certainly isn't.
Player Ratings
Stefan Ratchford - 8/10
A typically solid performance from Ratchford, barely put a foot wrong.
Josh Thewlis - 7/10
Fabulous play for the second Clark try. Didn't see a lot of the ball other than that.
Toby King - 7/10
A livewire as always and had a hand in Clark's second. Some questionable decisions though.
Anthony Gelling - 4/10
Some awful errors and defence. Decent try, though.
Josh Charnley - 5/10
Was doing okay. Then got a bad injury.
Blake Austin - 5/10
Kicking game was all over the show. Not a great performance.
Gareth Widdop - 8/10
One of our best players tonight. Ran the show with the ball in hand and influenced everything.
Chris Hill - 8/10
Hitting form. Ran so hard and was solid defensively.
Daryl Clark - 9/10
Two tries and the best player on the pitch all night. A colossus.
Mike Cooper - 7/10
As always, remarkable effort and very solid.
Ben Currie - 6/10
A quiet outing but didn't do a lot wrong.
Jack Hughes - 7/10
One amazing carry in the second half.
Jason Clark - 7/10
Was doing well until injury forced him off.
Joe Philbin - 6/10
Not the best performance with a timely knock-on.
Ben Murdoch-Masila - 5/10
Lucky to stay on the field.
Matt Davis - 5/10
Not a lot of impact.
Danny Walker - 6/10
Saw the game out.
Daniel (@ALooseWire)
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