Wolves too fierce for Warriors

Warrington claimed their fifth win in six matches with a 16-8 defeat of Wigan after a pulsating contest at the Halliwell Jones stadium.

The Warriors have not won in Warrington since 2003 and that sequence continues despite a brave effort in front of a passionate and noisy home crowd.

Wigan led for almost an hour of a contest between two old rivals that lacked nothing in intensity.

The visitors made a blistering start, launched by the perfect Pat Richards kick-off that bounced in goal and flew over the head of Gareth Carvell.

Warrington then twice charged Wigan kicks down on the last tackle and at the end of the third successive set of six, Thomas Leuluai slid in a grubber kick and Cameron Phelps touched down.

On the next set of six Ben Westwood gave away a penalty for interference and Joel Tomkins forced his way over only to be held up by a fine effort from former Warrior Richie Mathers.

Wigan immediately forced a goalline drop-out and Warrington faced a sixth successive set of six and had yet to handle the ball after eight minutes of the match.

They finally did when Amos Roberts touched down a Leuluai high kick, only for the try to be chalked off because of a Richards knock-on.

Pressure

Warrington had done well to only concede just six points in that sustained spell of pressure, but for the next 20 minutes it was mostly Wigan who were forced to defend.

That they did brilliantly, helped by a couple of errors at key moments by Warrington players, notably a poor Westwood pass when anything with a bit of quality on it would have put Chris Bridge in at the corner.

Lee Briers lofted a kick a yard too high for Matt King into the right corner but it was a repeat of that tactic which finally forced the breakthrough.

Wigan skipper Sean O'Loughlin gave away a penalty for a high shot and this time on the fifth tackle Briers' kick was perfectly weighted and King leapt above Sean Ainscough to collect and score.

Bridge missed the conversion and Wigan led 6-4 at the break, a lead they quickly doubled through Richards' boot after Westwood infringed at a ruck.

But that decision to go for goal hinted that Wigan may have been tiring first, and so it proved as Warrington dominated the last half hour.

Grabbed

On 55 minutes they finally grabbed the lead and never looked like surrendering it.

Andy Coley and Stuart Fielden - to his obvious fury - gave away successive penalties and after a superb handling move, Chris Riley finished well in the corner on his 50th appearance for the club. This time Bridge added the extras from the touchline.

It was fitting that such a superb contest was settled by a piece of brilliance, Michael Monaghan jinking past three defenders to score by the posts.