Pictures Eddie Whitham
WARRINGTON Wolves bounced back from last week’s defeat to St Helens by sending London Broncos back to the bottom of the Super League table.
Steve Price’s men ran in six tries in a routine 36-6 victory in the capital, with rugby union convert Luther Burrell coming on for his debut.
The damage was done in the first half, with the Wolves averaging a point a minute as they led 24-0 with just over a quarter gone, and they stretched that lead to 36-0 at the break.
The procession started in the fifth minute with Tom Lineham crossing, and eight minutes later prop Mike Cooper powered over.
At the end of a week in which his expected departure at the end of the season was officially announced, Bryson Goodwin scorched over for a try down the left hand side, before full-back Jake Mamo broke down the middle for the Wire’s fourth try.
There was 10 minutes or so of respite for the relegation-haunted hosts, until Jack Hughes and Toby King added further scores to increase the visitors’ lead at the break.
London did come out fighting in the second half and got themselves on the board inside two minutes of the re-start through Matty Fozard, but the game was long gone and it was a mere case of damage limitation for them from here on in.
It was the ideal introduction to professional rugby league for Burrell when he came off the bench to replace Blake Austin on the hour mark, not too far away from where he earned 15 England rugby union caps in his previous career.
To their credit, the hosts kept battling and ended the game having managed to keep the Wolves scoreless for the whole of the second half, though that is unlikely to concern Price as his side tightened their grip on second place in the Super League table.
London: Walker, Dixon, Hellwell, Kear, Williams, Abdull, Smith, Richards, Cunningham, Butler, Adebiyi, Gee, Yates. Subs: Fozard, Battye, Fleming, Ioane.
Warrington: Mamo, Lineham, Goodwin, King, Charnley, Austin, Patton, Tasi, D Clark, Cooper, Currie, Hughes, Davis. Subs: J Clark, Philbin, Walker, Burrell.
