Warrington cut down Giants

Warrington reclaimed second place in the Engage Super League table after a 36-20 triumph over Huddersfield.

The Wolves had thrashed the Giants 60-4 in the fifth round of the Carnegie Challenge Cup two weeks ago and once again proved too good for Nathan Brown's side.

The hosts ran in seven tries at Halliwell Jones Stadium, with Australian winger Chris Hicks crossing the line twice while Chris Bridge finished with a personal tally of 12 points.

However, the Wolves did not make a promising start as they were temporarily reduced to 12 men with less than a minute gone when Chris Riley was sent to the sin bin.

Riley had raced back to make a try-saving tackle on scrum-half Scott Grix but was ruled to have held the Huddersfield scrum-half down for too long by referee Ian Smith.

The visitors capitalised instantly with hooker Luke Robinson darting over the try-line from acting half-back.

Advantage

But the advantage lasted only three minutes as the Giants failed to deal with the resulting kick-off before Michael Monaghan sent captain Adrian Morley crashing over from close range and Bridge converted.

Warrington took the initiative and a long pass from Lee Briers allowed Chris Bridge to glide through for a try which he also converted to increase their lead to 12-4 midway through the first half.

Three minutes later, Briers linked up with Richie Mathers, who picked out Riley and the 22-year-old went over in the corner for his 16th try of the season.

Huddersfield continued to feel the pressure but Warrington lost possession as they pressed for another score and Leroy Cudjoe collected the loose ball before racing the length of the field to score.

Brett Hodgson kicked the conversion and despite being second best for most of the half the Giants found themselves still in with a shout at 16-10.

However, the Wolves increased their lead six minutes before half-time as more slick handling between Bridge, Mathers and Matt King created the space for Hicks to squeeze over in the corner.

Lead

Bridge again failed with the conversion attempt but Warrington led 20-10 as the two sides headed into the half-time break.

The Wolves added to their tally six minutes after the restart when Bridge broke clear from deep inside his own half and ran 50 metres before offloading to Hicks, who touched down beneath the posts.

Huddersfield then found themselves with a man disadvantage after a string of offences landed Lee Gilmour in the sin bin.

Two minutes later, Warrington scored their sixth try of the afternoon when a Briers kick was plucked out of the air by Hicks and the winger play in King to score in the corner.

Two tries in quick succession gave Huddersfield hope of a dramatic comeback as first a powerful break by Cudjoe allowed Jamahl Lolesi to score in the corner and Hodgson nailed a fine conversion.

Then Cudjoe grabbed his second try as he took Robinson's pass in to score, reducing the deficit to 10 points with 12 minutes left in the contest.

But despite some anxious moments in the final 10 minutes, the Wolves killed the game off when Paul Wood touched down in the last minute and Bridge converted to seal the win.