Hull Kingston Rovers 28 Warrington Wolves 29.
WARRINGTON Wolves breathed a sigh of relief when the final hooter signalled a one-point victory at Craven Park today.
Wolves led 28-0 after just 25 minutes thanks to some outstanding play leading to two tries from Chris Hicks as well as tries from Martin Gleeson, Paul Johnson and Ben Westwood but it all went wrong after that.
Wolves ended up hanging on for their lives in the final moments after Hull KR touched down four times in the final 18 minutes of the game.
Referee Ashley Klein took centre stage for the final 10 minutes of the first half and that was when Warrington's domination ended.
Wolves, who had been penalised three times in the opening 30 minutes, were then pulled up four times in three minutes leading to big Kiwi centre Jake Webster touching down Rovers' first points.
Despite Wolves battling defensively for what turned out to be seven successive penalties awarded against them they still led 28-4 at the 65th-minute mark.
But then the energy that had been expended in defence started to take its toll with Hull KR ripping Wolves open down the middle and adding four tries from Ben Cockayne, Ben Fisher, Kris Welham and Daniel Fitzhenry, with Scott Murrell landing all four conversions.
Thankfully for Warrington, after two of those Rovers tries Michael Monaghan landed a 25m drop goal and that proved to be the decisive point.
It was also fortunate for Warrington that Lee Briers found his kicking form, slotting over four from five after missing a stack of shots in the opening two rounds.
Wolves would have lost today had Briers not found his touch.
Paul Cullen's men produced some breathtaking rugby as they destroyed an in-form side in the opening 25 minutes.
Rovers, who had defeated world club champions St Helens in their previous home game, had no answer as Wolves swept the ball from one side of the field to the other for Simon Grix to send Martin Gleeson over in the second minute.
Briers converted from wide out magnificently, swinging the ball from right to left after Ben Westwood had used his finger to steady the ball on the tee during a windy spell.
A magnificent pass from Louis Andersaon to his brother and fellow Kiwi international Vinnie then sent Wolves flying down the left flank. Kevin Penny continued the move and as the cover came across he kicked ahead.
Penny was flattened by two defenders after the kick to the delight of the East Stand home support but Penny had the last laugh with Chris Hicks winning the race to his kick and touching down in the 10th minute.
Briers' kick held up in the wind and fell short - his only miss of the game.
Next to score was Paul Johnson, who intercepted a hopeful pass from Daniel Fitzhenry and scampered home in the 19th minute without a defender getting close to him.
A short pass from Briers allowed Westwood to plough a route to the line and score with a stretch in the 22nd minute.
And moments later Briers, Johnson and Martin Gleeson combined to find Hicks running at speed from deep and the full back crossed for his fourth try in three games.
No-one would have guessed it was going to be all downhill for Warrington after that moment and that such a nail-biting finale was in store.
Some Hull KR fans left the ground as Monaghan's drop goal edged Wolves 13 points clear with seven minutes remaining.
But two tries in two minutes from Welham and Fitzhenry left the game in the balance with four minutes still to play.
And Rovers dangerman Jake Webster actually broke clear in the final set of the game and kicked ahead.
He was tackled as he kicked just 30 metres from the Wolves try line, with Hicks clearing up any threat of a try.
But the home crowd were screaming for a penalty that would have been well within Murrell's kicking range.
Klein disagreed, the hooter sounded and some Wolves players looked up to heaven.
Rovers: Shaun Briscoe; Peter Fox, Kris Welham (1t), Jake Webster (1t), Jon Steel; Daniel Fitzhenry (1t), James Webster; Michael Vella, Ben Fisher (1t), Makali Aizue, Clint Newton, Ben Galea, Scott Murrell (4g). Subs used: Garret Crossman, David Mills, Stanley Gene, Ben Cockayne (1t).
Wolves: Chris Hicks (2t); Paul Johnson (1t), Martin Gleeson (1t), Vinnie Anderson, Kevin Penny; Lee Briers (4g), Michael Monaghan (1dg); Adrian Morley, Jon Clarke, Paul Rauhihi, Ben Westwood (1t), Louis Anderson, Simon Grix. Subs used: Mark Gleeson, Andy Bracek, Rob Parker, Ben Harrison.
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