A rollercoaster start - Wire's 2020 Super League story so far

After six games, Wolves sat sixth in the Super League table with three wins.

A home drubbing of St Helens in round two was a highlight while the win at Hull in the last game before lockdown was so convincing that it cost coach Lee Radford his job.

On the other side, there was the horror show at Headingley and a forgettable defeat in the mud at Wakefield.

Here is our look back at the season so far...

Round 1 - Wigan 16-10 Wire

When Ben Murdoch-Masila bounced off George Burgess to take Wire into an eight-point-lead in the 14th minute, Wolves fans were understandably dreaming of a famous season-opening derby win at the DW Stadium.

Those dreams came crashing down when captain Chris Hill was sent off nine minutes later for a high tackle and subsequent penalty-try. Despite this, Warrington fought valiantly and only conceded again when Mike Cooper was sin-binned deep into the second half, meaning Steve Price had plenty of positives to take going into the fresh campaign – such as the emergence of Matty Ashton and fitness of the forwards.

Round 2 - Wire 19-0 St Helens

Round 1 promise was duly delivered on as a rampant primrose and blue team dominated the reigning Super League champions in a game which was the first time St Helens had been nilled in nearly four years. Whilst Saints were missing a handful of their usual starters, Warrington too were without Chris Hill and Jack Hughes. In spite of this, it was the Halliwell Jones side who dominated the ‘arm wrestle’ between the forward packs, creating the platform for Clark, Lineham, and Charnley to cross the whitewash – complemented by a Blake Austin drop-goal in the first home game of 2020.

Round 3 - Wakefield 18-8 Wire

The summer rugby revolution’s architects never had these conditions in mind with the advent of Super League 25 years ago. Storm Dennis played havoc with this fixture, creating heavy going underfoot and wicked winds that made it a real war of attrition. Stefan Ratchford looked to have stolen the win as he finished off the first move of the game with any real quality – debutant Widdop combining with Ben Currie to sublimely offload to Ratchford – but a rumbling effort from Matty Ashhurst and Tom Johnstone’s pace from a loose pass handed Wakefield two tries in the final ten minutes.

Round 4 - Wire 32-22 Toronto

A welcome return to winning ways was established as the Wire raced into a 16-0 lead after just 30 minutes of action. That purple patch saw Gareth Widdop grab his first try for the club, and was followed by Matty Ashton doing the same as raced through the Toronto line just before half-time. Two Wolfpack tries either side of Ashton’s magic meant it was a ten-point game at the interval, but another two scores from Toronto’s ex-Warrington contingent – Matty Russell and Gareth O'Brien – made for a tense finish before Murdoch-Masila gave some breathing room two minutes from time.

This result no longer counts on the ladder though, as Toronto pulled out of Super League last month

Round 5 - Leeds 36-0 Wire

This fixture was one to forget on the night and even months on it makes for unpleasant viewing. This performance was the first time Steve Price’s Warrington had been nilled, and despite losing Ben Murdoch-Masila to the sin-bin, the Wire never got going in West Yorkshire. Ironically, Warrington had the first big chance of the game as Toby King jumped highest from Blake Austin’s deep kick into the in-goal area, but couldn’t dot the ball down. However, it was one-way traffic from there and Leeds had six different scorers that night.

Round 6 Wire - 9-8 Castleford

Warrington’s yo-yo form continued with a tight tussle with Darryl Powell’s Castleford team. Wire led 4-2 at the half, with Tom Lineham’s dive to the corner being the opening 40’s best action. However, Cas were given a penalty try when 21-year-old Keanan Brand was adjudged to have tackled Calum Turner illegally, resulting in the game being tied 8-8 going into the final quarter.

As the hooter neared, a game of nerves developed between Blake Austin and Danny Richardson. Both men missed a drop goal attempt apiece, much to Powell’s chagrin, but Austin held firm and kicked the decisive one-pointer with a minute left.

Round 7 - Hull 4-38 Wire

A stellar performance in East Yorkshire was supposed to set Wire up for an early-season renaissance and exercise the Headingley and Belle Vue demons, before Covid-19 got in the way. This fixture was also memorable for Hull FC head coach Lee Radford, who had defeated Warrington in the 2016 Challenge Cup Final, being sacked at full-time by owner Adam Pearson. A slow first half quickly gave way to a third-quarter onslaught, with Widdop, Austin, Gelling, Murdoch-Masila, and Lineham all getting in on the act at the KCOM. A great way for Wire fans to see the team perform before lockdown.