WARRINGTON Wolves continued their perfect start to the Super League season with a 38-30 win away at newly-promoted York.
But they were made to work for the points after York twice fought back, completing a remarkable turnaround from 16-0 down after 20 minutes to at one point lead 18-16 in the first half.
And then when Warrington thought they had done enough to win the game at 32-18 in the second half, the Knights came back at them again, reducing arrears to two points before Josh Thewlis sealed the points.
It was a first league meeting in 40 years and Warrington pounced on an error to score on five minutes, Nikau Williams’ knock-on bringing the ball out of his own end gifting the field position from which Sam Stone scored the first of his two tries.
Although Cai Taylor-Wray’s running game provided much of his excitement, it was a long pass from the young full-back that saw Thewlis cleverly knock the ball up, catch and then finish acrobatically in the corner.
And when Taylor-Wray weaved his way to the line with sheer pace from 15 metres out, it was 16-0 and Warrington were going at a point a minute.
York just couldn’t get any territory or ball in the Warrington half, which made their fightback in a blistering 10 minutes an even bigger shock.
Their first try back came from their first possession in the Warrington redzone, Ben Jones-Bishop powering over from close range, and they went back to back when impressive full-back Toa Mata’afa broke from deep and delayed his pass cleverly for former Warrington youngster Denive Balmforth to go in by the posts.
A mistake by Taylor-Wray, a knock-on after he had taken a difficult catch, then gave York position from which Mata’afa showed his power from close range, and Danny Richardson’s conversion made it 18-16 to the hosts.
But again a mistake proved costly from York as from the kick-off, Justin Sangare knocked on, and they were punished, Stone scoring his second to give Warrington the lead at half-time.
Another Sangare drop, after York had recovered their own short drop-out, then led to Warrington’s first try of the second half through George Williams, and then a lightning break by Taylor-Wray off a kick return eventually resulted in Ben Currie powering over for his 100th try for the club.
That again looked like game over, at 32-18 on 56 minutes, but York had other ideas.
Paul Vaughan went over under the posts in front of his former club’s fans after York had kept the ball alive, and then an excellent short Richardson kick on tackle four was touched down under the posts by Liam Harris, and it was game on again.
It took a Stone break down the right, and a smart pass while in the tackle, for Thewlis to ensure victory on 70 minutes, with Thewlis putting in an excellent try-saving tackle on Nofoaluma to make sure of the points.
York: Mata’afa, Jones-Bishop, Wood, Williams, Nofoaluma, Richardson, Harris, Martin, McShane, Vaughan, Field, Dee, Thompson. Subs: Balmforth, Va’a, Sangare, Griffin.
Warrington: Taylor-Wray, Thewlis, King, Hopoate, Smith, Williams, Sneyd, Yates, Walker, Byrne, Harrison, Stone, Currie. Subs: Powell, Sipley, Philbin, Tanginoa.
