By Jack White
Warrington Wolves Women defeated Castleford Tigers 54-4 in the National Women’s Championship to bounce back from their Challenge Shield Final to continue their push for the playoffs.
The Wire comfortably regained momentum with the help of two tries each from Michelle Davis, Teneisha Fairbrother and Georgia Westwood at the OneBore Stadium.
The home fans were silenced as early as the eighth minute with the first from Fairbrother after slick passing down the middle then saw the ball switched to the left for the winger to rash through the Tigers’ last line of defence.
Davis converted with an impressive kick from the far left of the posts.
Davis grabbed the second of the game just moments later as the Wolves pressed immediately from the restart, good footwork from the half back allowing her to split through two opposing defenders to stretch the lead.
Fairbrother then grabbed her second before Ellie Costello, Georgia Westwood and Shannon Stephens also added to the scoresheet much to the frustration of their hosts in orange and black.
Warrington dominated the first half with debutant Daisy Carroll displaying an impressive set of skill both defensively and in attack, helping the Wolves went into the interval with a 32-point lead.
The Tigers seemed like a different side at the start of the second half as they pushed for their opener forcing the visitors to defend on the edge of their goal-line.
The Wire dealt well with the pressure, but the constant barrage of attack resulted in a try for the hosts to regain a slither of hope for the contest.
Castleford failed to convert before any hope of a comeback was shattered as Kaitlin Hilton added her name to the score to cement the visitors’ grasp on the game.
Davis was able to add to her impressive collection of conversions as she squeezed in from a difficult angle.
The Tigers displayed courage as they pushed on in attack, but as injuries and fatigue mounted for the hosts the Wolves were able to pounce upon the lack of energy.
Evie Williams capitalised upon the tired legs as she darted down the right touch line evading attempted tackles before scoring.
Both Westwood and Davis claimed their second of their braces in the last10 minutes of the fixture earning a well-deserved two points to take back down the M62.
Warrington Wolves head coach, Lee Westwood said: “We did some good stuff, but there was lots we could improve on.
“I think one of the big things is we had quite a few new faces in there. Daisy got player of the match today. It was her debut and she didn’t look out of place. I thought she was fantastic especially in the first half.
“We’re pretty confident going forward now that when we get to the last couple of games of this season if we’re up there in the playoffs then we’ll give it a good shout.
“We’ve got three home games coming up now so hopefully build a bit of momentum and get in the playoff place and build off the back of them three games going forward.”
Debutant Daisy Carroll said: “I was really pleased and thrilled how it went, especially being brought up in Warrington.
“It means a lot to have the opportunity to play for the first team and a good step up from playing for the academy.”
