WARRINGTON Wolves opened up a five-point gap over St Helens to cement second place in the table following a 22-12 victory at Langtree Park -their first victory on St Helens’ soil since 1994!
Early tries from full-back Brett Hodgson and young forward Chris Hill put the visitors in control before Michael Shenton pulled one back for the home side.
Second-half tries from Trent Waterhouse and Chris Riley wrapped up the two points, although Paul Wellens did manage a late consolation with a 75th-minute score.
St Helens went into the game on the back of an unbeaten seven-match run going back to May but they were always second best.
Double-chasing Warrington made it five wins on the bounce and appear to be hitting form just at the right time.
Half-backs Richie Myler and Lee Briers worked the ball out wide for Hodgson to cut through for the opening try, and it was 10-0 on seven minutes after prop Hill picked up a loose ball to touch down.
Saints had no answer to the briliance of Briers and were fortunate not to be further behind when Joel Monaghan’s 15th minute effort was ruled out by the video referee.
Saints clawed their way back into the game and missed a great opportunity when Francis Meli broke down the left wing only to see Jonny Lomax spill the final pass – but Shenton got over the line midway through the first half when he took Wellens’ pass to twist and turn his way over.
Makinson’s conversion cut the gap to 10-6, which is how it remained up to half-time, but the Wolves regained a 10-point advantage within three minutes of the restart.
Second rower Trent Waterhouse timed his run to perfection to burst onto Hodgson’s short pass with Hodgson kicking his second goal.
Warrington were denied another try by the video referee when slow-motion replays indicated winger Chris Riley had put a foot in touch.
A desperate tackle by St Helens stand-off Lance Hohaia denied Myler a long-range try and Riley had another effort disallowed for a forward pass.
Riley finally got his reward when he picked up a looping pass from Ryan Atkins to go over on 62 minutes.
Hodgson kicked his third goal but St Helens gained some consolation when Wellens supported a break by substitute Mark Flanagan to score six minutes from the end.
Makinson kicked his second goal but Warrington still had time for Briers to have another try disallowed!
St Helens: Paul Wellens; Tommy Makinson, Michael Shenton, Josh Jones, Francis Meli; Lance Hohaia, Jonny Lomax; Josh Perry, James Roby, Anthony Laffranchi, Tony Puletua, Chris Flannery, Jon Wilkin. Subs: Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Mark Flanagan, Paul Clough, Andy Dixon.
Warrington Wolves: Brett Hodgson; Joel Monaghan, Stefan Ratchford, Ryan Atkins, Chris Riley; Lee Briers, Richie Myler; Adrian Morley, Micky Higham, Chris Hill, Trent Waterhouse, Ben Westwood , Tyrone McCarthy . Subs: Michael Monaghan, Simon Grix , Paul Wood , Mike Cooper
Atten 16,000
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