Warrington coach Steve Price keen to retain Harvey Livett
Wolves 'too stiff for us', says Rhinos boss Brian McDermott
Friday 4 May 2018 23:38, UK
Warrington coach Steve Price says he will be moving quickly to secure the future of out-of-contract player Harvey Livett after his hat-trick of tries helped seal a thrilling 33-22 win over Leeds at Headingley.
The 21-year-old back rower got his chance due to injury to England forward Ben Currie and made the most of it by helping the Wolves extend their winning run to nine matches and consolidate their position in the top four of the Betfred Super League.
Livett scored one try and created another for Kevin Brown as Warrington stormed into an early 10-0 lead and, after switching to centre when Bryson Goodwin went off with a head knock, touched down twice in three minutes to halt Leeds' fightback.
Livett was facing an uncertain future as he waited for a new contract offer but Price confirmed after Friday's match that one will be coming his way very soon.
"Hopefully we'll sort that out very shortly," Price said. "He wants to stay here, he's a local junior and loves the club and I want to keep him for years to come.
"He's a natural footballer who likes getting his hands on the ball. When Bryson went off, he had to change a little bit but he just loves to play."
The Rhinos looked out of sorts in the first 30 minutes but full-back Ashton Golding pulled a try back eight minutes before half-time and second-half scores from Joel Moon, Ryan Hall and Carl Ablett looked to have turned the game on its head as they led 22-11 after an hour.
But Leeds-born centre Ryan Atkins sparked Warrington's late fightback and Livett's quickfire double restored the visitors' lead.
"I felt we were always in control of the game," Price said. "I was disappointed with the start of the second half, there were some calls that I couldn't get my head around.
"Credit to Leeds, they're a quality football team, and they scored a number of quick tries in succession but one thing I was pleased with was our ability to hang tough.
"I thought we showed a lot of resilience. I think we've started to turn the corner tonight in a lot of aspects.
"I'm really proud of the character. We've had a number of good wins as front-runners, where we haven't had to come from behind so it was really pleasing."
Leeds have now lost three of their last four matches to lose more ground on leaders St Helens.
Rhinos coach Brian McDermott said: "I thought Warrington's defence was just too stiff for us.
"We found it hard to break a tackle in the early stages and I thought we were ineffective with the ball.
"We played without momentum for the first 20, 25 minutes and, as a result, we ended up playing catch-up.
"We got back into it and showed some character and some skill and we went through a purple patch with the ball but I never thought we were quite in charge.
"They were never put to bed at all, which proved to be the case."
