Warrington returned to winning ways in Round Two of Super League as they brushed aside Leigh Centurions with an attacking display full of intent as they won by 32 points.
Wire were dominant throughout and scored 44 points through braces for Gareth Widdop, Tom Lineham and Toby King, with Ben Currie and Jake Mamo also getting on the scoresheet. Here are my six talking points...
1) A very Good Friday
What a difference a week makes. Warrington were terrific today, playing with much more confidence and vigour, particularly in attack. Many players improved on their performances from the Castleford game and Wire, at times, looked like a completely different team.
2) The left is alright
Warrington's left edge is surely one of the most potent attacking outlets in the competition. The foursome of Gareth Widdop, Ben Currie, Toby King and Tom Lineham operate so well together and they are able to find each other in gaps as Wire moved through the field at pace on the left side today. Seven of the eight tries were scored from the left edge.
3) Star at seven
Today's most impressive performer was Gareth Widdop, who looked like the NRL-quality half-back that Wire worked so hard to secure the signature of. He took the line on, passed the ball superbly, ran good support lines, kicked well and got two deserved tries of his own. He was one of few who came out of last week with any credit, was the best player in the Chris Hill testimonial and was sensational today. It seems like he's finally coming into his own.
4) A red-hot Currie
Widdop rightly got Man of the Match but someone who continues their good form is Ben Currie. The second rower had an impressive 2020 and was quality today. Currie constantly ran dangerous lines and as a result, found himself in gaps after passes from Widdop or Ratchford. It's looking like he's back to somewhere near his 2015 and 2016 form.
5) A bigger bench
Many, including myself, were disappointed to see Matty Ashton not make the squad, but having four forwards on the bench, in Robbie Mulhern, Rob Butler, Jason Clark and Danny Walker, really helped as Wire continued to run over their opponents in the middle of the park. Ashton will surely start next week in the Challenge Cup.
6) Standard of opposition
As impressive as Warrington's performance was today, it must be remembered that Leigh are a newly promoted team and were without a lot of players, including Nathan Peats, Junior Sau, Ben Flower and Brendan Elliott. Before anyone goes and puts their life savings on a Wire Grand Final victory, let's see how we play against Hull FC in a few weeks.
Player Ratings
Stefan Ratchford - 8/10
Massively improved from last week. Had a hand in a number of tries and linked up well with Widdop. Defence and goal-kicking much better.
Tom Lineham - 8/10
Two very confident and composed finishes in the corner as well as a lovely ball to Currie for a second-half score. A big part of the potency of the left edge.
Toby King - 8/10
Another excellent performance from arguably the best centre in the league right now. Two tries in the game and hands in everything.
Jake Mamo - 6/10
Cool finish for his try but didn't have much of an effect on the game. A bit weak defensively at times.
Josh Charnley - 7/10
Much better than Castleford. Good play to set up the Mamo try and made up plenty of yardage.
Blake Austin - 7/10
Struggled to get into the game in the first half and put one horror kick in but was much better after the break and had some influence on proceedings.
Gareth Widdop - 9/10
Wonderful performance from Widdop. Had a hand in seven of the eight tries, scoring two of them himself, and ran the attacking show all day as well as doing his defensive duties.
Chris Hill - 9/10
Played like a man possessed today. Made tonnes of metres, carried on after what looked a painful injury, and got three really good offloads away.
Daryl Clark - 8/10
Much better with him starting the game. Made metres, distributed the ball quickly and made an unbelievable tackle to deny a try. Moved to 13 late in the game.
Mike Cooper - 7/10
Plenty of metres and work-rate in what was a solid, if unspectacular, performance from the prop.
Ben Currie - 8/10
Consistently ran great lines to link up with Widdop and deserved the try of his own. Looks to be somewhere near back to his best.
Jack Hughes - 6/10
Bit of a flat display from Hughes today, he didn't really get himself into the game as the right edge failed to perform as the left did.
Joe Philbin - 6/10
Philbin was really rather quiet today, I'm really not sure if this 13 role suits him, it limits his barnstorming carries that he's famed for.
Robbie Mulhern - 7/10
Really respectable showing from Mulhern today, constantly put his head in and gave it a great go, played more minutes than he would've expected too.
Rob Butler - 5/10
Wasn't massively impressed with him, didn't make many metres with the ball in hand.
Jason Clark - 7/10
Bright showing from the bench, with one particularly excellent tackle.
Danny Walker - 6/10
Wasn't on long but distributed the ball confidently.
@ALooseWire
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