Warrington Wolves had to dig deep to record a 20-12 win over Huddersfield Giants in the opening round of the new Super League season.
Here’s our verdict.
The match
It’s been an opening round of shocks in Super League and for a large period of the game at the John Smith’s Stadium, it looked like Huddersfield were capable of producing another.
The Giants were the stronger side for much of the first half and took the lead through Tui Lolohea as Warrington proved to be their own worst enemy. After allowing a Lolohea kick to bounce and making an unsuccessful play at a Joe Greenwood knock through, the Wolves found themselves under pressure on their own try line.
A long Zac Woolford pass from the ruck caught the scrambling defensive line off-guard and from there Lolohea had the vision to step inside the challenge of Matt Ashton and put the Giants ahead.
Warrington’s attack looked blunted towards the interval as the Giants withstood set on set pressure. But, as the hooter neared, Aaron Lindop slipped through a hole to touch down and get Sam Burgess’ side on the board.
The Giants couldn’t show the same mettle in the second half, though, and within a few minutes of the restart, Matty Ashton was putting Warrington ahead after a neat cut out pass from Matt Dufty.
Dufty was the supplier again as Wire found a third try of the afternoon, putting Toby King through a gap in the line from close range.
Greenwood, who had a strong game against the Wolves, pushed himself over to set up a grandstand finish.
With five minutes remaining, though, Dufty came up with the goods to make sure of the points, kicking through the line into the in-goal area and touching down.
Star man
Matt Dufty. Two assists and a try for last season’s Dream Team full-back. He had to show creativity and nous to make the difference as Warrington Wolves’ attack struggled to carve out opinions for large periods.
Good day for
Luke Robinson. Huddersfield may have lost the game but Robinson can be extremely proud of his side’s efforts against the Wolves, especially after doing it tough over pre-season with injuries piling up. He’ll be confident about the Giants chances going into their clash with Leigh Leopards next week now.
Bad day for
Warrington Wolves’ attack. Warrington had the field position and chances to put the game to bed a long time before they did, but they stifled for large periods by the home side and had to rely on individual brilliance from Dufty.
Bigger picture
Warrington had to dig deep to get the win in West Yorkshire, with Huddersfield testing their mettle and credentials. And, with Wigan Warriors dropping points, that win could well be crucial come the back end of the season.
It was far from the perfect performance from Huddersfield, but they can take plenty of positives from the clash. It’s been a tough period for the Giants in terms of injuries, but Robinson will be proud of the effort, grit and determination his side showing throughout the full 80.
Teams
Huddersfield Giants: Jacob Gagai; Adam Swift, Sam Hewitt, Jake Bibby, Elliot Wallis; Tui Lolohea, Danny Richardson; Tom Burgess, Zac Woolford, Oliver Wilson; Joe Greenwood, Jack Murchie, Leroy Cudjoe.
Bench: Ashton Golding, Matty English, Fenton Rogers, Harry Rushton.
Warrington Wolves: Matt Dufty; Josh Thewlis, Arron Lindop, Toby King, Matty Ashton; George Williams, Stefan Ratchford; Paul Vaughan, Danny Walker, Luke Yates; Adam Holroyd, Dan Russell, Ben Currie.
Bench: Sam Powell, Jordy Crowther, Zane Musgrove, Joe Philbin.
