| Warrington (12) 32 |
| Tries: Thewlis 2, Ashton 2, Williams Goals: Ratchford 6 |
| Wakefield (12) 18 |
| Tries: Smith, Tanginoa, Ashurst Goals: Dagger 3 |
Warrington returned to the top of Super League as they eventually saw off valiant strugglers Wakefield Trinity.
It took the 53rd-minute dismissal of Kiwi forward Kevin Proctor to turn the contest after bottom club Wakefield had gone in drawing 12-12 at the break.
Morgan Smith and Kelepi Tanginoa crossed for the visitors to cancel out two early converted Josh Thewlis tries.
But second-half tries for Matty Ashton (2) and George Williams condemned Trinity to an 11th straight loss.
Matty Ashurst did score a third try for Wakefield, converted by Will Dagger, for his third successful kick, to bring back them almost within range at 26-18, but Wire again closed the door, with winger Ashton’s second converted try of the night.
Stefan Ratchford landed six successful kicks for Wire, whose ninth win of the season lifted them back above Thursday night’s surprise losers Wigan.
Having had their 100% start to the season ended by successive losses, to Wigan and St Helens, Daryl Powell’s Wire had Paul Vaughan and Joe Philbin back after suspension, while Joe Bullock returned after six weeks out with a broken thumb, and all six players who represented England in last weekend’s big win over France were included.
And they made a great start as Thewlis scythed his way to score twice inside the first 11 minutes.
But Trinity, who had won their last four most recent meetings with Warrington, battled back with two tries of their own – a fine solo try by Smith before Mason Lino released the fit-again Tanginoa to crash over from close range.
The scores were locked at 12-12 when Proctor was shown the red card by referee Marcus Griffiths 13 minutes into the second half for a high tackle on Thewlis.
Ratchford kicked the resulting penalty and then added another kick when Ashton went over in the corner to open up an eight-point lead.
Wire then sealed the two points when Williams raced over and, although Ashurst scored a late Wakefield consolation try, Ashton claimed his second of the night in the final minute to send the 10,000-plus crowd home happy.
Wakefield did not include their new signing, former Man of Steel Luke Gale, following his signing from Championship side Keighley.
Warrington coach Daryl Powell:
“Give credit to Wakefield, they worked really hard to get back in the game after we started how we wanted to. We went 12-0 up, then clocked off mentally and defensively. We started making errors and let them back into it.
“The red card was a big deciding factor in the game. It gave us the numerical advantage.
“It was important we got back on track and we did that without being as good as we wanted to be. We want to be ruthless and, at the moment, we aren’t. We won’t be winning next week playing like that, that’s for certain.”
Wakefield coach Mark Applegarth:
“The pivotal moment was the red card. You can’t play a quality team like Warrington with 12 men and expect to come away with a victory.
“There was no malice in it but he has mistimed it and slipped up and caught him high. We’ve no qualms with the red card.
“I was proud of the performance. It was a gutsy effort. They kept fighting until the end against one of the contenders, in difficult circumstances. Our lads fronted up really well. Now we have a few bodies back you can see the spirit in the squad.”
Warrington: Thewlis; Russell, Mata’utia, Ratchford, Ashton; Williams, Drinkwater; Harrison, Walker, Vaughan, Currie, Nicholson, McGuire.
Interchanges: Dufty, Kasiano, Philbin, Bullock.
Wakefield: Dagger; Kay, Pitts, Gaskell, Taufua; Smith, Lino; Whitbread, Bowes, Proctor, Tanginoa, Ashurst, Crowther.
Interchanges: Hood, Atoni, Bowden, Eseh.
Referee: Marcus Griffiths
Sent off: Proctor (53)
