Warrington 30-6 Wakefield: Wolves win to keep pressure on Saints
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 21/06/19 11:14pm
Warrington kept in touch with Super League leaders St Helens with a 30-6 victory over Wakefield at the Halliwell Jones stadium.
The win keeps the Wolves in second spot behind the Saints before the two sides meet next Friday night, live on Sky Sports, while for Trinity it was their fifth straight Super League defeat and they are in danger of being dragged into the relegation dogfight as they continue to tumble down the table.
Winger Josh Charnley celebrated his 200th Super League appearance with a try, with others coming from Blake Austin, Mike Cooper, Jack Johnson and Ben Currie, with Dec Patton kicking five goals.
Wakefield's points came from a first-minute try from Ryan Hampshire and a Danny Brough conversion.
Daryl Clark and Joe Philbin returned to the Warrington line-up after missing the surprise defeat at Hull KR, with Harvey Livett and Danny Walker dropping out of the team.
Wakefield were boosted by the return of David Fifita and Mason Caton-Brown after injury as they replaced Danny Kirmond and Tyler Randell from the side that lost last time out at Salford.
It was the returning Fifita who made an instant impact when in the opening minute of the game he went on a rampaging 40-metre midfield run and the supporting Hampshire took the pass and touched down to give the visitors a dream start.
Brough added the conversion and Trinity were certainly causing the Wolves plenty of problems in the opening exchanges with their aggressive approach to the game but they would not add to their tally for the rest of the game.
Warrington weathered the early storm and responded with three tries to take a 16-6 lead at half-time.
Currie claimed his side's opening try in the 18th minute when he touched down Patton's grubber kick and the scrum-half converted to level matters at 6-6.
Another kick, this time from Austin, was fumbled by Hampshire which allowed Charnley to touch down.
And four minutes before half time a short pass from Patton allowed Cooper to charge through a gap in the Trinity defence to score and Patton converted to give the Wolves a 10-point advantage at the break.
And the home side extended their lead three minutes after the restart with another superb solo try from Austin, who stepped his way through the Trinity defence to score, and Patton converted to stretch the lead to 22-6.
There was plenty of effort from Trinity as they looked to get back into the game but they were guilty of numerous handling mistakes and errors.
Patton kicked a penalty just after the hour mark and the win was rounded off when Johnson touched down seconds before the final hooter.
