Sam Burgess continued his impressive start to life as Super League head coach after his Warrington Wolves side recorded a third successive win with victory over Hull Kingston Rovers and moved into a tie at the top of the league early on.
Both Wolves and Rovers will be keen to have a chance of joining the mix for a place in the grand final this season, but on a night when the lead changed hands, the engrossing frenzy of events here was… Five times Burgess’ men came out on top. Inspired by great individual play from maverick fullback Matt Dufty and teenage halfback Leon Hayes, Dufty’s try with nine minutes remaining proved the difference.
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This means Burgess has led Warrington to a third successive win after losing to Catalonia Dragons on the opening weekend. Rovers started the season with two wins but are now on a losing streak and will be disappointed in their failed conversions on two tries in the second half.
The first half was a see-saw affair, with both teams holding the lead at various stages, but by half-time, as at full-time, only wayward goal-kicks were the difference. Rovers had the better start of the two teams, but a mistake from the home side gave Warrington the first opportunity to attack, with Dufty’s exquisite pass allowing England captain George Williams to break through from an angle. They duly complied when they scored 6 points. 0.
They extended their lead further seven minutes later when Hayes’ superb kick beat the Hull KR line and Matty Ashton landed under pressure to extend the visitors’ lead to ten. However, Rovers quickly regained their rhythm and Tyrone May took the lead after a powerful kick from Mikey Lewis.
Lewis was once again influential, timing his pass to Oliver Gildart perfectly, and the center unleashed a stunning offload to free Ryan Hall. Jez Litten scored both to give the hosts a two-goal lead. They could have, and probably should have, gone further, but James Batchelor dropped the ball in the scoring situation, which shifted the momentum back to Warrington as half-time approached.
And Burgess took advantage of it again. The team took the lead again when a free-flowing move centered around Hayes saw Lachlan Fitzgibbon send Toby King wide to give the visitors a two-goal lead. Then, just before half-time, Dufty burst downfield and fired the first kick to Connor Wrench, who finished well to extend Warrington’s lead.
The only downside for Warrington was that while Litten kicked both of Rovers’ converted attempts, Josh Thewlis and Hayes could only convert one of Wolves’ four converts, meaning they led by six points. That means it could have been even bigger. And it proved important as the hosts responded enthusiastically once again as the match drew to a close. After a somewhat cautious start to the second half, two tries in three minutes revitalized Rovers.
First, Hall and Gildart once again combined brilliantly, this time Gildart scoring a try before May’s looping pass found the free Tom Opasic to score in the corner. However, Batchelor missed both touchline conversions with Litten off the field, and although those tries gave Hull KR back the lead, they only led by two points. Then, as the game entered the final 10 minutes, Warrington fought back again to turn the game on its head.
It was Dufty again, this time scoring with a nice set move straight from the scrum, but again he failed to convert, this time to Hayes, and with seven minutes remaining Warrington’s advantage was slim. It was 2 points. And despite one or two tense moments in the second half, Wolves persevered under Burgess and did enough to continue their excellent start.
