Warrington Wolves 24

Hull Sharks 10

DANNY Farrar's surprise switch to scrum half proved a wild card masterstroke for the Wolves on Sunday.

The 32-year-old may not have the pace usually associated with the job but he more than made up for it with quick thinking and organisational brilliance.

Lee Briers moved to stand off and the half back pairing proved too much for a toothless Sharks outfit who conceded four tries in the opening half hour.

Convincing defence was also a key element and a major relief after the side had shipped 144 points in their previous three matches.

Academy star David Highton was given the daunting task of filling Farrar's boots at hooker and showed what a promising future he was with 80 minutes of tireless tackling.

Steve McCurrie's powerhouse running, Danny Nutley's tireless workrate and a vital cameo from Brendon Tuuta were also crucial in a display that went a long way towards restoring Warrington's battered pride after five consecutive defeats.

Hull were below par after seeing their play-off aspirations disappear the week before but Warrington still did well to overcome their horrendous injury problems.

The first try came after Mark Forster pounced on the ball lost by prop Hitro Okesene and combined with Mike Eagar to move 60 metres up field.

Briers took over from the play-the-ball and dummied his way across the width of the pitch before sending through Forster to finish what he had started. Briers missed with his conversion.

The lead was increased when Vince Fawcett barged over from a Tuuta pass on 19 minutes as Warrington capitalised on a sloppy penalty from Hull. Briers' kick was wide once more.

Tuuta scored a well deserved try four minutes later when he dived over from the play-the-ball after Jason Roach had been held up just short. Briers missed with the extras again.

The killer try came on the half hour when Farrar moved it out wide and McCurrie put Lee Penny through a huge gap in the Hull defence. Briers found his kicking boots to convert.

A shattered looking Tuuta then came off the pitch to rousing applause after putting in a vital contribution.

Hull gathered themselves and pounded Warrington's defences but it was without success as the Wolves refused to surrender their 18-0 lead.

The stalwart defending continued after the break as Penny pulled off a superb tackle to deny full back Steve Prescott and substitute Lee Radford was just beaten to a Craig Murdock kick by Jason Roach.

A Briers penalty kick put Warrington 20-0 ahead after 52 minutes but Hull got themselves on the scoresheet three minutes later as the tiredness began to show. Graeme Hallas burst through to put Murdock in between the posts. Prescott converted.

Winger Fili Seru had a try ruled out for a knock on and Briers got the Wolves back on course with a drop goal on the hour.

Eagar was replaced by Mike Pechey shortly after and his outstanding defensive work won him another standing ovation as he left the field.

Hull tempers started to run short as time ran out and a Briers penalty moved the score on to 23-6 after substitute Jim Leatham had flattened Ian Knott.

A second drop goal from Briers completed the scoring for Warrington. Hull grabbed a consolation try through David Baildon.

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