Warrington Wolves 30

Widnes Vikings 16

IF only Warrington Wolves could play against Widnes Vikings every week.

For every time they have come face to face with their fierce Cheshire rivals this season they have raised their game considerably.

That is in stark contrast to last year's 'derby' displays when a Widnes whitewash left Wolves fans stewing.

But the Warrington side which completed a tremendous treble over the in-form Vikings on Saturday is barely recognisable from the one that avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth in the previous campaign.

The personnel is much the same however and Wolves' transformation from one of Super League's whipping boys to genuine play-off contenders speaks volumes for the coaching talents of Paul Cullen.

Wolves' head coach has got the players all pulling in the same direction and they are now one of the most organised sides in the competition.

There is real steel in Warrington's ranks and in Graham Appo and Nathan Wood they have two players who would grace any team in England.

The Aussie duo have been in scintillating form all season and they led the Vikings a merry dance on Saturday.

Both men were rewarded with second half tries and the two points earned lifted Wolves above Widnes into seventh spot in the table.

The game started at a ferocious pace and Wolves quickly gained the upper hand. They had the Vikings pinned to their line in the opening eight minutes but a couple of last-gasp tackles kept them at bay.

Widnes then scored with their first bout of possession. Shane Millard slipped a pass to the rampaging Robert Relf and the prop forward had the strength to go over in a two-man tackle.

Jules O'Neill tagged on the extras before giving Widnes a 10-0 advantage with two penalty goals.

Both penalties were awarded for tackling violations by Darren Burns and the lack of discipline was typical of Wolves' play at that stage of the game.

Mark Hilton, Paul Wood and Sid Domic were all guilty of dropping the ball early in the tackle count and Widnes looked primed to give their hosts a hammering.

But Wolves kept their composure and when Paul Wood touched down on 30 minutes they never looked back.

They cut the handling errors out of their game and played some of their best Rugby League of the season.

Paul Wood scored at full stretch following a fine pass by his namesake Nathan.

Four minutes later, Nathan Wood was again the provider as Daryl Cardiss bagged a try on his home debut. Appo and Jerome Guisset also made key contributions - flicking out off-loads despite being tangled up in a mass of bodies.

Nathan Wood and Appo were also involved in Wolves' third try of the game on 42 minutes. They combined to great effect before Brent Grose laid a try on a plate for Sid Domic.

Appo knocked over his second conversion in three attempts and after Widnes had kicked straight into touch from the restart, he burst through four tackles in a darting diagonal run to the line.

Appo failed to add the extras to his 19th try of the season but he more than made amends on 52 minutes. He evaded two tackles - picking up a leg injury in the process - before Nathan Wood shook off the attentions of four players to touch down.

Cardiss converted after taking over the kicking duties from Appo. The utility back was given a standing ovation as he limped off the field and was sorely missed.

Widnes seemed to step up a gear in Appo's absence and they reduced their arrears to 26-16 when Daniel Frame sent Stuart Spruce scampering over. Jules O'Neill was on target with the boot.

Wolves substitute Gary Hulse then became the second Wolves player to be held up over the try line - Ian Sibbit being the first - and Widnes also had a near miss when Spruce somehow failed to give Paul Devlin a walk in to the whitewash.

That summed up Widnes' day and their misery was complete when Warren Stevens, Guisset and Hulse combined to send the impressive Ben Westwood over in the corner.

Match facts

Super League VIII Round 24, Saturday, August 23, 2003

Warrington Wolves 30

Widnes Vikings 16

SCORERS

Wolves: Tries: P. Wood (30mins), Cardiss (34), Domic (42), Appo (44), N. Wood (52), Westwood (79). Goals: Appo 2 from 4, Cardiss 1 from 1.

Vikings: Tries: Relf (8mins), Spruce (70). Goals: Jules O'Neill 4 from 4 (2 pens).

SCORING RATE: Wolves first: 0-6, 0-8, 0-10, 4-10, 10-10, half-time; 16-10, 20-10, 26-10, 26-16, 30-16.

PENALTIES

Wolves 5 Vikings 4

SCRUMS

Wolves 12 Vikings 6

CONDITIONS: Overcast. Pitch: Fine.

TOP MEN (Points to be accumulated throughout the season): N. Wood 3pts, Appo 2pts, P. Wood 1pt.

MATCH RATING: 8/10

ATTENDANCE: 6,902

WOLVES: Daryl Cardiss; Ben Westwood, Brent Grose, Ian Sibbit, Dean Gaskell; Graham Appo, Nathan Wood; Nick Fozzard, Jon Clarke, Mark Hilton, Darren Burns, Paul Wood, Sid Domic. Subs used: Gary Hulse, Mark Gleeson, Jerome Guisset, Warren Stevens.

VIKINGS: Stuart Spruce; Paul Devlin, Adam Hughes, Jason Demitriou, Dan Potter; Jules O'Neill, Ryan Sheridan; Robert Relf, Shane Millard, Julian O'Neill, Andy Hay, Daniel Frame, Dean Bird. Subs used: Phil Cantillon, Simon Finnegan, Anthony Farrell, David Mills.

REFEREE: Russell Smith