Warrington recorded their biggest win of the season so far with an away success at St Helens, Ben Currie's try being the only score of a tight game. Here are my six talking points...
1) What a win
Warrington's biggest result of the season. Saints were favourites going into this match but what a performance this turned out to be, putting in a display full of effort, commitment and heart to earn a deserved victory and put ourselves right amongst the upper echelons of the league table.
2) Defensive effort
A feature of this season has been Wire's defence, which has been sub-par at times. It was outstanding last night though, restricting St Helens to just two penalty points and not a single try. Time after time, Wire made tackle after tackle, limiting Saints' metres early on in sets and getting the upper hand as a unit.
3) Saints hoodoo
That's four wins in a row over St Helens, two in the league and two in the cup. Kristian Woolf has based his tenure at Saints on hard work in the forwards, with very little scope for throwing the ball around. Wire are very good at managing these types of games and so it isn't surprising that we've done so well against them over the last two years.
4) The number one
Stefan Ratchford. What a monumental show this was from the full-back. Didn't put a foot wrong all night, especially impressive considering he picked up a knock early on. He made tackle after tackle and was exceptional defensively, as well as playing a big part in the Currie try.
5) Props to the big men
The foundation of this result was the performance of the big men; Chris Hill, Mike Cooper and Joe Philbin, all of whom were terrific. The key to beating St Helens is to control Alex Walmsley, and the three I just mentioned did a very good job of that, laying the foundation for Wire to dominate territory.
6) Can we build on this now?
Wire are now right amongst it at the top end of the table. Next up is a home fixture with Leigh, a relatively simple task you might think, but one that will be complicated by a number of players being unavailable, due to the England v All Stars clash 24 hours later.
Player Ratings
Stefan Ratchford - 9/10
A phenomenal performance from the full-back, particularly in defence. Played a big part in the try. One massive moment to get Lineham out of trouble in the second half.
Tom Lineham - 7/10
Tremendous with ball in hand, and played a big part in the try with his run and pass. Lucky to get away with an error late on.
Toby King - 8/10
Defensively excellent and provided thrust and impetus with the ball in hand.
Jake Mamo - 8/10
A massive moment when he and Charnley forced Jack Welsby into touch and a few decent carries as well.
Josh Charnley - 8/10
Best performance of the season so far. Faultless defensively.
Blake Austin - 8/10
Likewise. Very good effort and hardly put a foot wrong defensively.
Gareth Widdop - 7/10
Good play for the Currie try and a big shift defensively. Not as influential in attack.
Chris Hill - 9/10
Magnificent performance. Yardage, effort and tackles galore.
Daryl Clark - 6/10
Saints managed to nullify his threat from dummy-half pretty well.
Mike Cooper - 9/10
Monstrous effort from the prop. Made a crazy amount of yardage carries and was solid defensively.
Ben Currie - 8/10
Moment of quality to run the line for the try and didn't do much wrong all night.
Jack Hughes - 8/10
Best performance of the season. Ran a few decent lines and was very good defensively.
Joe Philbin - 8/10
Looked to be back to his best. Especially with ball in hand.
Robbie Mulhern - 7/10
Helped lighten the load.
Sitaleki Akauola - 7/10
A few really good carries.
Matt Davis - 7/10
Got through a bit of work.
Danny Walker - 6/10
Brought a fair amount of pace to proceedings late on.
@ALooseWire
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