Warrington Wolves 36

Hull FC 34

HOW quickly things can change.

Just a month ago, Warrington Wolves were 10th in the Super League table and staring a relegation battle in the face after a demoralising defeat at Salford, with the pressure on the team rising to what Paul Cullen has since admitted to be 'almost intolerable' levels.

Now, they are slap-bang on target for the play-off place they had aimed for since the very start of the season, having moved into the top six for the first time in the current campaign after recording their fourth straight league win.

That they did it by beating Hull FC, who currently lie third in Super League, is of no little significance.

Wolves are beginning to show that they can be a match for any side in this league, particularly at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, where they have now won five of their six games this season.

And coach Paul Cullen believes the fighting spirit shown by his players in recent weeks has been the major difference.

He said: "I think what I've seen from the Warrington side in this run of four games is a character we've not seen for a considerable while.

"Hull are a genuine top four side, and to come back from an early setback and play the quality of football we did was little short of remarkable."

The early setback came when Shaun Briscoe's try put Hull ahead inside three minutes, but the lead did not last long as Wolves hit back with two tries from Henry Fa'afili.

Warrington, who welcomed back Logan Swann with Ben Westwood switching to loose forward in place of Paul Noone, seemed to have the more determined go-forward, and with the home crowd vociferously roaring on each attack Wolves looked dangerous with every move.

Fa'afili's pace was causing problems on the right touchline, while Danny Lima had what Cullen described as 'his best game in the Primrose and Blue', which included one terrifying challenge that knocked Richard Horne back into last week.

But goal-kicking was again proving to be Warrington's Achilles' heel, as Lee Briers missed two kicks before having to limp off with a slight hamstring strain on the half-hour, while deputy Graham Appo was miss and hit before the ever-reliable Chris Bridge took over.

Bridge swung in an incredible Roberto Carlos-style conversion from the touchline to put Wolves 24-12 up shortly after the interval, and when he converted Fa'afili's hat-trick try, the game looked relatively secure.

Hull were not finished though, and an astonishing 13 minutes later they were 34-30 ahead, as attack after attack led to four tries.

Wolves struggled to get out of their own half, and were not helped when Paul Cooke, who was at the heart of Hull's second-half moves, broke clear to score despite an obvious forward pass to Nathan Blacklock in the build-up.

But Hull's comeback only served to make victory sweeter for Wolves.

With three minutes left on the clock, Nathan Wood reached his own chip and stabbed the ball forward for Appo to pounce.

It almost took the roof off the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Match facts

Engage Super League X Round 11, April 24, 2005

Warrington Wolves 36

Hull FC 34

Wolves: Brent Grose; Henry Fa'afili, Martin Gleeson, Toa Kohe-Love, Graham Appo; Lee Briers, Nathan Wood; Chris Leikvoll, Jon Clarke, Mark Hilton, Logan Swann, Mike Wainwright, Ben Westwood. Subs used: Paul Wood, Danny Lima, Mark Gleeson, Chris Bridge.

Hull: Shaun Briscoe; Tommy Saxton, Michael Eagar, Kirk Yeaman, Nathan Blacklock; Paul Cooke, Richard Horne; Ewan Dowes, Danny Brough, Jamie Thackray, Shayne McMenemy, Stephen Kearney, Richard Whiting. Subs used: Paul King, Graeme Horne, Paul McNicholas, Motu Tony.

Referee: Ashley Klein

Scoring: Saxton beats Wainwright before feeding the supporting Briscoe, 3mins, Brough converts, 0-6; Fa'afili steps inside to touch down after good work from Briers and Martin Gleeson, 9mins, 4-6; Fa'afili pounces on the loose ball after Briers and Blacklock had jumped for Nathan Wood's kick, 13mins, 8-6; Grose uses his blistering pace to maximum effect with a 60m surge, 25mins, 12-6; Westwood steams over after collecting Briers' off-load, 31mins, Appo goals, 18-6; Eagar crosses on the overlap after Saxton had been held up by Fa'afili, 36mins, Cooke adds goal, 18-12; Appo receives Grose's pass to touch down in the corner, 44mins, Bridge kicks goal, 24-12; Mark Gleeson ducks under Yeaman's challenge before putting Fa'afili in for his hat-trick, 53mins, Bridge converts, 30-12; Whiting exchanges passes with Graeme Horne before crossing, 55mins, Cooke kicks goal, 30-18; Cooke races clear after his initial pass to Blacklock seemed to go forward, 57mins, Cooke goals, 30-24; Kearney powers over from Tony's pass, 60mins, Cooke converts, 30-30; King forces his way over the whitewash after being fed by Cooke, 66mins, 30-34; Nathan Wood's kick causes confusion and Appo arrives on cue to score, 77mins, Bridge's goal wins the match, 36-34.

Penalties: Wolves 6 Hull 3

Scrums: Wolves 6 Hull 4

Attendance: 10,383

Warrington Guardian top men: Henry Fa'afili 3pts, Danny Lima 2pts, Graham Appo 1pt.

Interesting note: Hull have not conceded as many points in one game since losing at Bradford 20 months ago.

Table to date

P W D L F A Pt

Leeds 11 10 0 1 448 162 20

St Helens 11 9 0 2 400 223 18

Hull 11 6 1 4 283 254 13

Bradford 11 6 0 5 357 265 12

Salford 11 6 0 5 226 197 12

Warrington 11 6 0 5 261 294 12

Wigan 11 5 0 6 253 247 10

Huddersfield 11 5 0 6 258 306 10

Wakefield 11 5 0 6 276 374 10

London 11 4 0 7 320 295 8

Widnes 11 2 0 9 204 428 4

Leigh 11 1 1 9 174 415 3

Results and fixtures

Other Round 11 results: Bradford 40 Wigan 8, Huddersfield 22 St Helens 36, Salford 42 Leigh 6, Wakefield 29 London 18, Widnes 20 Leeds 42.

Round 12 fixtures, tomorrow, Friday: Wigan v Widnes, Leeds v Huddersfield, St Helens v Wolves (Sky 8pm). Saturday: Leigh v Wakefield (Sky 6.05pm). Sunday: Hull v Salford. Monday: London v Bradford (Sky 1.05pm).

Apps T G Dg Pts TM

1 Brent Grose 12 4 0 0 16 2

2 Henry Fa'afili 12 10 0 0 40 3

3 Martin Gleeson 12 7 0 0 28 4

4 Toa Kohe-Love 10 1 0 0 4 1

5 Dean Gaskell 9 0 0 0 0 0

6 Lee Briers 12 5 25 1 71 12

7 Nathan Wood 7 6 0 0 24 2

8 Chris Leikvoll 7+1 0 0 0 0 0

9 Jon Clarke 12 7 0 0 28 5

10 Mark Hilton 11 1 0 0 4 6

11 Logan Swann 7 0 0 0 0 4

12 Mike Wainwright 12 2 0 0 8 6

13 Paul Noone 2+2 0 0 0 0 0

14 Mark Gleeson 8+3 0 0 0 0 9

15 Ben Westwood 10+2 6 0 0 24 10

16 Paul Wood 2+5 0 0 0 0 0

17 Danny Lima 2+10 0 0 0 0 2

18 Graham Appo 5+5 3 1 0 14 1

19 Daryl Cardiss 0 0 0 0 0 0

20 Warren Stevens 0+7 0 0 0 0 0

21 Simon Grix 0 0 0 0 0 0

22 Steve Pickersgill 0+4 0 0 0 0 0

23 Andrew Bracek 0+5 0 0 0 0 0

25 Chris Bridge 4+2 1 9 0 22 5

26 Nicky Royle 0 0 0 0 0 0

Key: TM is top man accumulated score based on Warrington Guardian man of the match ratings