Broncos 19

Wolves 8

WARRINGTON Wolves blew it in a big way in London on Sunday.

Their performance was possibly the worst of the season so far in what was a woeful match to watch.

Despite this Wolves could still have won as they fluffed three certain tries and continually coughed up possession when in good positions to attack.

The consequence was that Wolves not only missed out on the chance to go level on points with fifth-placed Hull, but also fell two points behind Widnes Vikings.

To sink so low at Griffin Park was a big let down for the 1,000 or so supporters who made the 400-mile round trip to west London.

There were times in the game when Wolves looked lethargic, and this was against more or less the same side that Paul Cullen's men had already convincingly beaten twice this season.

The dreadful display has to be put down to complacency in the face of some stern defending by a spirited London side that knew their own top six chances could have been kissed goodbye in defeat.

Broncos, with 11 Australians among their 17 men, kept Warrington's most lethal attacking weapons, Graham Appo and Brent Grose, quiet for much of the game and this proved to be the platform for their success.

Warrington's handling problems started in the third minute when a delayed Nathan Wood pass was intercepted by Dennis Moran close to London's line and it paved the way for Nigel Roy's opening try.

Wolves were chasing the game from then on and maybe that is why they tended to panic whenever they got close to the home try line. And as they continued to mess up, maybe frustration was why they started to concede a string of penalties that continually placed them on the back foot.

London chose to take shots at goal with their succession of penalties and the scoring could have been higher had they decided to go for tries. But the four Chris Thorman penalty strikes in the first half proved to be the difference between the two teams.

From a Wolves point of view, Ben Westwood, who had replaced Ian Sibbit in the centre, twice knocked on with the try line begging in the opening half.

It was left to his fellow former Wakefield teammate and skipper Nathan Wood to show him and the team the route to the line.

From nothing, Wood shrugged off the challenge of prop Steele Retchless, exploded away to the right and superbly stepped off his right foot to make a fool of full back Chris Thorman for a score comparable to the great effort he recorded one week earlier at Castleford.

Appo converted to make up Warrington's points in the 14-6 half-time scoreline.

The second half started disastrously for Warrington. With players caught out of position on the narrow side, former Test star Jim Dymock turned N. Wood inside out before putting Paul Sykes over in the corner.

The next score was to be crucial and Wolves attempted to apply a lot of pressure only to let London off the hook as 30 minutes passed without a point being added.

Lee Penny knocked on with the try line at his mercy and after Sid Domic, twice, and Paul Wood were held up inches short of the London try line, knock ons were recorded at the play-the-balls.

Appo broke the monotony of an error riddled second half when he sold a dummy from Gary Hulse's quick tap penalty and crossed from 20 metres.

London played it right with Thorman landing a drop goal at the first opportunity, which signalled game over for Warrington.

Match facts

Super League VIII Round 23, Sunday, August 17, 2003

London Broncos 19

Warrington Wolves 12

SCORERS

Broncos: Tries: Roy (3mins), Sykes (41mins). Goals: Thorman 5 from 8 (4 pens). Drop goal: Thorman 1 from 1.

Wolves: N. Wood (31), Appo (71). Goals: Appo 2 from 2.

SCORING RATE: Wolves first: 0-6, 0-8, 0-10, 0-12, 6-12, 6-14 half-time; 6-18, 12-18, 12-19.

PENALTIES

Broncos 8 Wolves 8

SCRUMS

Broncos 5 Wolves 12

CONDITIONS: Humid. Pitch: Firm but confusing visible soccer pitch markings.

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

MATCH RATING: 4/10

ATTENDANCE: 2,916

BRONCOS: Dennis Moran; Andrew King, Tony Martin, Nigel Roy, Paul Sykes; Rob Purdham, Chris Thorman; Russell Bawden, Neil Budworth, Steele Retchless, Joe Mbu, Bill Peden, Jim Dymock. Subs used: Francis Stephenson, Steve Trindell, Andrew Hamilton, Damian Kennedy.

WOLVES: Lee Penny; Daryl Cardiss, Brent Grose, Ben Westwood, Dean Gaskell; Graham Appo, Nathan Wood; Mark Hilton, Jon Clarke, Nick Fozzard, Paul Wood, Mike Wainwright, Darren Burns. Subs used: Gary Hulse, Paul Noone, Sid Domic, Jerome Guisset.

REFEREE: Russell Smith