Wolves rally to survive scare

Warrington maintained their unbeaten start to the Super 8s Qualifiers but were given an almighty scare by Kingstone Press Championship side Halifax at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

After wins over Betfred Super League sides Widnes and Catalans, this was expected to be an easy win for the Wolves. It was anything but.

Halifax certainly were not in awe of their opponents in the opening exchanges and came up with some tremendous defensive efforts to keep their line intact.

The sides were locked at 4-4 at halftime with Peta Hiku crossing for the Wolves and Chester Butler replying for Halifax.

Three early penalties against Halifax at the start of the second half saw them put on a team warning by referee Robert Hicks, and the Wolves took full advantage as captain Chris Hill crashed over from close range and Declan Patton converted to make it 10-4.

But once again Halifax would not lie down, and they responded when Butler collected Scott Murrell’s long pass and shrugged off Tom Lineham to cross for his second try of the game, cutting Warrington’s lead to two points before the conversion was missed.

Warrington eased their nerves and the tension that was building around the stadium when, with 15 minutes remaining, Kevin Brown’s cross-field kick was taken by Matty Russell, who managed to squeeze over in the corner.

Patton added the conversion and then put two scores between the teams with a penalty soon after to make it 16-8.

Two minutes from time, Andre Savelio ploughed through some tired defence to score the final try, which gave the scoreline a somewhat flattering look.

The Wolves made just one change from the side that defeated Catalans the previous week, with 19-year-old Morgan Smith making his first start for the club at hooker in place of the injured Daryl Clark, while Brad Dwyer came into the squad on the bench.

Halifax were without Will Sharp, who earned a one-match suspension for tripping in the defeat by Widnes, and they also made changes, with Butler, James Woodburn-Hall and Ed Barber coming into the starting line-up.