WARRINGTON Wolves kicked off the new Super League season with a 12-10 win at champions Leeds Rhinos.
Man of Steel Zak Hardaker missed a penalty three minutes from time as veteran new signing Kurt Gidley and Chris Sandow led Tony Smith’s men to a resilient victory.
It was backs against the wall for large parts of the contest at Headingley, but the Wolves defence had all the answers to the Rhinos attack, somewhat dented by the early exit of new captain Danny McGuire through injury.
There were debuts from the start for Gidley, Tom Lineham, Joe Westerman and Jack Hughes, while Benjamin Julien and Jordan Cox entered proceedings off the bench.
An error-strewn opening quarter was soon followed by a period of territorial dominance by the Rhinos, but Warrington stood firm.
It took 36 minutes for the season’s first try to be scored, and it came at the other end. After Sandow was poleaxed in a high tackle, the diminutive half-back dummied his way through the defence close to the line to reach over with his left arm to touch down.
Gidley’s first competitive conversion for the club put the Wolves 6-0 to the good at the break.
The second half followed a similar pattern territorially, and it took the Rhinos just six minutes to restore parity.
Rob Burrow ran across the line and sent Brad Singleton going in the opposite direction and through a gap, and he was given the try following inspection by the video referee, despite the presence of three Wolves defenders.
By the hour mark, Leeds led. Prolific winger Ryan Hall getting on the end of a move that was created by his centre, Joel Moon, with impressive youngster Jordan Lilley connecting the dots.
Of course now without legendary former skipper Kevin Sinfield, Leeds turned to Hardaker to kick the goal and he missed from wide out, but Leeds still led 10-6.
Despite spending a lot of time defending their own line, Warrington were proving capable of creating gaps going forward. The excellent Ben Currie got on the back of a Sandow break, only to be robbed of the ball by Tom Briscoe in a one-on-one tackle.
Warrington were pretty much starting every set of six inside their own 20, but their efforts in defence got a reward on 67 minutes.
The ball was shifted right by Gidley to Matty Russell running around the back and he created a gap and fed Tom Lineham who passed back inside for Rhys Evans.
He was tackled, but the Leeds defence broken and that was brilliantly spotted by Sandow, who took his time and put a kick over to the left for Currie who put winger Kevin Penny over for their second try.
The unflappable Gidley added the extras and Warrington had a lead that would prove decisive.
A big tackle by Evans denied Ferres close to the line and then Currie was at his best covering a break and forcing Burrow to stop in his tracks barely five metres out.
Leeds got an opportunity to tie the scores with barely three minutes to play when Lilley’s clever chip and chase on the last tackle saw him adjudged to have been taken out by Currie, giving Hardaker a tricky yet kickable penalty attempt from the best part of 40 metres.
He scuffed it wide, leading to the inevitable what might have been comments regarding the absent Sinfield, and Warrington’s defensive effort was perhaps best summed up by its final action, Currie with the assistance of Penny driving Watkins in to touch in the final minute as the England centre threatened to break.
Leeds: Hardaker; Briscoe, Watkins, Moon, Hall; Sutcliffe, McGuire (c); Galloway, Burrow, Cuthbertson, Ferres, Ablett, Delaney.
Interchanges: Singleton, Garbutt, Keinhorst, Lilley.
Warrington: Russell; Lineham, Evans, Currie, Penny; Gidley, Sandow; Hill (c), Clark, Sims, Hughes, Westwood, Westerman.
Interchanges: Dwyer, King, Jullien, Cox
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