Smith heaps praise on King

Warrington boss lauds Aussie centre's display

Last updated: 7th March 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Smith heaps praise on King

Smith: Delight at King display

He caused problems wherever he popped up and a few opponents will be going home with Matt King headaches.

Tony Smith
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Warrington coach Tony Smith paid tribute to Matt King after his performance helped the Wolves on their way to a convincing 46-12 win over Crusaders.

The Australian crossed the line twice and set up two more to follow up his impressive display at Huddersfield last Sunday.

Ben Westwood also grabbed a brace of tries in the dominant performance but Smith's highest praise was reserved for the 29-year-old centre.

"Matt was terrific both offensively and defensively. He bombed three or four chances and was still sensational. That shows how good he is," he said.

"He's in rampaging form but has been playing strong all year.

Headache

"He caused problems wherever he popped up and a few opponents will be going home with Matt King headaches.

"I was happy with three-quarters of our performance. We stepped up the pace of the game.

"Our opponents were dictating the early pace and I was a little worried in the first half it was going that slow. We then played some attractive rugby league."

Smith believes that Crusaders, who recorded only three victories in their previous incarnation last season, are a much better stronger this campaign.

He added: "Crusaders are a lot more committed than last year and far better organised. They probably need more depth."

Soft

Crusaders coach Brian Noble was disappointed that his side missed the opportunity to record three consecutive victories after back-to-back wins over Salford and Hull.

"We conceded a couple of soft tries before half-time and their quality came through in the second half," he said.

"We tried to play as individuals and that is never a successful formula.

"Warrington's offloads in the first half troubled us and we had to use a lot more energy.

"We have been the most disciplined team in the competition and we had a tough time today with some of the decisions.

"It was a little bit after the Lord Mayor's parade but we won't compete with teams like Warrington the way we played."

New signing Gareth Thomas was not at the match but Noble confirmed the Rugby union convert would be joining the set-up on Monday.

"He needed to get his belongings but will be with us from tomorrow onwards," the former Wigan coach said.

"He will give us a lift but we don't want anyone putting us in the Universe League yet.

"We will get another couple of troops in apart from Gareth.

"Our effort was good and no-one gave in and to have 500-600 fans from Wrexham cheering us on was very positive."