Wakefield Trinity 30-24 Warrington Wolves: Highlights, player ratings and talking points

Wakefield Trinity took on Warrington Wolves at Belle Vue this Sunday afternoon.

There was nothing to separate the two sides at the break, as two tries apiece made it 12-12 at half-time, Daryl Clark breaking the deadlock before James Batchelor replied for the hosts.

Gareth Widdop restored Warrington’s lead, but Matty Ashurst stormed onto a great Jacob Miller pass to level things at the break.

It was tit-for-tat in the second-half, too, with Warrington continually being pegged back by Trinity, until the home side struck the hammer blow three minutes from the end through Kelepi Tanginoa for their second successive win.

Highlights

Jai Whitbread making a 40 metre break down the centre of the field.

Kyle Amor doing exactly the same as Whitbread in the second-half to run 60 metres was a joy to behold.

Lewis Murphy’s tackle on Connor Wrench when the latter looked likely to score was incredible.

Talking points

1. Too many Warrington mistakes

Warrington’s attack was actually quite impressive with the likes of Kyle Amor and Connor Wrench making some big breaks, but they just weren’t clinical enough in attack. Too many errors – whether it was a dropped ball or a forward pass – often brought Wakefield back into the game when the Wolves could have turned the screw.

2. Warrington’s young lads

Josh Thewlis, Connor Wrench and Matty Ashton were impressive for Warrington which just proves that perhaps head coach Daryl Powell should trust his youngsters more. Wrench, in particular, looks every bit the finished article already.

3. Wakefield desperate

Wakefield certainly do not look like a team that could be relegated with a very competitive performance with the likes of Jacob Miller and James Batchelor impressing. They fought so brilliantly and were a credit to themselves and Willie Poching.

4. Batch the man of the match

Despite playing out of position in the centres, Wakefield’s James Batchelor was absolutely fantastic and deserved to be on the winning side. The forward has come on leaps and bounds in recent years at Belle Vue and is cherished amongst the stands and rightly so.

Player ratings

Wakefield Trinity

17 Lee Gaskell – 7
27 Lewis Murphy – 9
30 Corey Hall – 8
16 James Batchelor – 9
5 Tom Lineham – 7
6 Jacob Miller – 9
7 Mason Lino – 7
35 David Fifita – 8
9 Liam Hood – 8
15 Jai Whitbread – 9
11 Matty Ashurst – 8
13 Jay Pitts – 7
14 Jordy Crowther – 7
Substitutes
8 Eddie Battye – 7
10 Tinirau Arona – 6
12 Kelepi Tanginoa – 8
22 Yusuf Aydin – 7
Also in 21-man squad
1 Max Jowitt
21 Brad Walker
24 Harry Bowes
34 Rob Butler

Warrington Wolves

6 Gareth Widdop – 8
23 Connor Wrench – 9
22 Josh Thewlis – 8
4 Toby King – 6
5 Matty Ashton – 7
1 Stefan Ratchford – 6
7 George Williams – 7
19 Rob Mulhern – 6
9 Daryl Clark – 8
10 Mike Cooper – 7
11 Ben Currie – 6
12 Oliver Holmes – 7
17 Matt Davis – 6
Substitutes
8 Joe Philbin – 5
16 Danny Walker – 6
32 Kyle Amor – 7
33 Thomas Mikaele – 7
Also in 21-man squad
14 Jason Clark
15 Joe Bullock
18 Billy Magoulias
24 Ellis Longstaff