THERE appears to be something about Salford that brings out the worst in Warrington Wolves.

Twice now this season they have arrived at The Halliwell Jones Stadium and have been confronted by Wire performances that have stunk the place out.

Take nothing away from the Red Devils though – they defended superbly and when their chances came, they were clinical.

They deserved their victory and for that, The Wire have only themselves to blame.

They had more than enough of the ball and the territory but the fact they were largely unable to break Salford down can be put down to an attacking display that can at best be described as ponderous.

> 'We all need to look at ourselves,' says Price after 'filthy' performance

Warrington Guardian:

At worst, you could call it non-existent.

Too often they attacked Salford with a flat line without any shape or depth. How can they expect to break down any Super League-standard defence without any form of variety or deception?

In defence too, the left edge looked vulnerable and conceded two incredibly sloppy tries.

All four of Salford’s tries were completely avoidable in one sense or another – even the superb piece of skill and vision from Jackson Hastings to create Krisnan Inu’s first try stemmed from a Jake Mamo error.

Granted, the late withdrawal of Mike Cooper from the team will have caused disruption but surely it should not have made as much difference as it did.

> Why Mike Cooper missed Wire's defeat to Salford

Warrington Guardian:

Without Cooper and Chris Hill, the team lacked leadership and the pack lacked punch.

Unfortunately, those who watch The Wire on a regular basis will know that this is not a new problem.

For a while, the Wire camp have stressed that they are all about peaking at the right time, i.e. the business end of the season.

That is fair enough, but at this stage they should be progressing to somewhere near their best. At the moment, it feels like they are stagnating, going backwards even.

Warrington Guardian:

Apathy among fans is growing at the worst possible time and faith that they could challenge for honours is starting to wane.

For arguably the first time in his reign, Steve Price is starting to face some serious questions from the stands.

With the Challenge Cup semi final against a hot-and-cold Hull FC side looming large on the horizon, this funk Wolves find themselves in has come at a highly inconvenient time.

> PHOTO GALLERY: A depressing night for Wire in pictures

Warrington Guardian:

INTERESTING NOTES:

. Back-to-back home defeats for Wire

. Salford have now won on three of their past four visits to The Halliwell Jones Stadium

. Jason Clark and Matt Davis score their first Wire tries

MATCH FACTS:

Super League, Round 22

Friday, July 12, 2019

Warrington Wolves...12 Salford Red Devils...22

Wolves: Jake Mamo; Josh Charnley, Toby King, Bryson Goodwin, Tom Lineham; Blake Austin, Declan Patton; Lama Tasi, Daryl Clark, Sitaleki Akauola, Jack Hughes, Ben Currie, Matt Davis. Subs: Jason Clark, Joe Philbin, Pat Moran, Danny Walker

Red Devils: Niall Evalds; Krisnan Inu, Kris Welham, Junior Sa'u, Jake Bibby; Tui Lolohea, Jackson Hastings; Greg Burke, Logan Tomkins, Gil Dudson, Ryan Lannon, Tyrone McCarthy, Mark Flanagan. Subs: Adam Walker, Josh Johnson, Joey Lussick, Adam Lawton

Scoring: Lannon try, 4mins, Inu goal, 0-6; J Clark try, 25mins, Patton goal, 6-6; Inu penalty, 32mins, 6-8; Welham try, 44mins, 6-12; Inu try, 47mins, 6-16; Inu try, 57mins, Inu goal, 6-22; Davis try, 63mins, Patton goal, 12-22;

Penalties: Wolves 8 Red Devils 4

Sin bin (Akauola, 58mins, dangerous tackle)

Referee: Chris Kendall

Attendance: 9,509

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