Pictures Eddie Whitham
WARRINGTON Wolves won only the second tryless game in Super League history as they beat Hull 4-0.
In a dour game in front of the Sky Sports cameras, two Stefan Ratchford second-half penalties were the only points.
The last tryless game in Super League was back in 2007, when Salford beat Harlequins 5-2.
It was also the joint lowest scoring game in the competition’s history, with the 4-0 score having been registered on three previous occasions.
The positives for Warrington were that it ended their five match losing streak, and lifted them within two points of the play-off places.
The impact of recent signing Thomas Mikaele on his home debut was a positive too, while the home fans also got to see off-season signing James Harrison for the first time.
The former Featherstone and Leeds forward suffered an ACL injury last year and has been sidelined since.
The big talking point pre-game was the absence of Toby King, dropped from the side and expected to play for the reserves this weekend.
That meant Connor Wrench started at centre, with Stefan Ratchford playing in the other centre, with Peter Mata’utia in at stand-off.
Josh Thewlis started on the wing and it was announced pre-game that he had signed a new deal until the end of 2026.
Neither side offered much in the way of attacking play in the first half, with two underperforming sides low on confidence.
The last tackle kicking was ordinary and both sides were coughing up errors.
The only real try scoring chance saw Luke Gale put Manu Mau through a gap, he returned the ball and Gale dived over the line only to be denied by a try-saver from Mikaele.
Not only that, but the impact of the tackle ruled Gale out of the rest of the match.
The game remained pointless at half-time, and the start of the second half offered little in the way of inspiration either.
Even the manner of the deadlock being broken summed up the quality of the game – Jack Brown penalised for offloading the ball after a tackle had been complete.
That gifted Warrington a penalty 35 metres out, and Ratchford converted to ironic cheers from all around the ground.
Hull were short due to injuries to Gale and Adam Swift, but they started to build momentum – and it was surprising when they opted to take a difficult penalty from wide out.
They had been building pressure close to the line, but opted to take the two and Darnell McIntosh dragged his kick in front of the posts as the game remained 2-0.
A further penalty for offside, with 16 minutes to play, enabled Ratchford to double the Wolves lead, and despite some late Hull pressure, they held on for a clean sheet and a much-needed victory.
Warrington: Widdop, Thewlis, Wrench, Mata’utia, Ashton, Ratchford, Williams, Mulhern, Clark, Cooper, Currie, Holmes, Davis. Subs: Philbin, Walker, Harrison, Mikaele.
Hull: Shaul, McIntosh, Vulikijapani, Wynne, Swift, Lovodua, Gale, Evans, Houghton, Satae, Lane, Ma’u, Sao. Subs: Hookem, Fash, Brown, Taylor.
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💬 “I’m so glad to be back and to get the win as well.”
It’s fantastic to have you out there, @jamesharrison96! 🐺 pic.twitter.com/FZimmQy4fR
— Warrington Wolves (@WarringtonRLFC) June 24, 2022
What a win man ! A lot of guts and determination from the brothers . Would take a win like that any day ! Proud of the effort . Loved my first game at HJ . Mad love to the fans n dat 💙💛 #NMNL #Fullcredittotheboys https://t.co/1BCw29VwGa
— Thomas Mikaele (@MikaeleThomas) June 24, 2022
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