Warrington Wolves 20-26 Huddersfield Giants: Player ratings and major talking points

The Warrington fans were left disappointed in their return to the Halliwell Jones. The Wire were left to rue a poor first half performance that saw them trail 20-0 at halftime. A valiant second half from Warrington took them close but they couldn’t find an equaliser in the final minute.

Major Talking Points:

1. Dropping Blake Austin has worked a treat

A few weeks ago, Austin was dropped from the side after a lukewarm start to the season. However, it’s brought the best out of him in recent weeks including today. He was Warrington’s best player. he constantly tested the Huddersfield defence and his kicking game was magnificent.

2. This is a different Huddersfield side

The Giants started the season slow but in their last three outings have looked like a different animal. They’re physical down the middle, effective out wide and test teams across the park. They could very well make the play-offs at the end of the year.

3. D0n’t write Warrington off

Yes, the Wolves were sloppy in the first stanza, but in the second half they looked magnificent. They played some good rugby and have plenty of quality players. They perhaps lacked the leadership of skipper Jack Hughes today. Add him back to the side and the Wolves have a good blend of talent in their squad more than capable of claiming silverware.

Player Ratings:

Warrington Wolves
1 Stefan Ratchford – 7
23 Josh Thewlis – 7
3 Greg Inglis – 7
18 Jake Mamo – 6
5 Josh Charnley – 6
6 Blake Austin – 8
7 Gareth Widdop – 6
8 Chris Hill – 6
9 Daryl Clark – 8
10 Mike Cooper – 7
4 Toby King – 7
11 Ben Currie – 7
14 Jason Clark – 7
Substitutes
13 Joe Philbin – 7
15 Matt Davies – 6
19 Rob Mulhern – 6
20 Sitaleki Akauola – 8

Huddersfield Giants
6 Lee Gaskell – 8
2 Jermaine McGillvary – 7
3 Jake Wardle – 7
4 Ricky Leutele – 8
5 Darnell McIntosh – 6
16 Jack Cogger – 7
7 Aidan Sezer – 7
10 Michael Lawrence – 7
19 James Cunningham – 6
15 Joe Greenwood – 7
11 Kenny Edwards – 8
13 Josh Jones – 7
8 Luke Yates – 7
Substitutes
9 Adam O’Brien – 6
14 Matty English – 7
17 Chris McQueen – 6
25 Owen Trout – 7