Sam Burgess on Warrington Wolves' win over Leeds Rhinos

That was head coach Sam Burgess' general verdict on his Warrington Wolves side's victory over Leeds Rhinos in Round 17 as they stretched their winning run to three matches.

The Wire established command by going 24-4 up in the first half and despite things being nervier after half-time, the visitors never got to within striking distance of the home side.

Here is everything Burgess said in his post-match press conference...

Q: How do you sum that one up?

SB: I thought we were pretty good in the first half but we lost our way in moments during the second half.

Leeds played a bit more and we were down to 12 men for periods but I’m happy with the win of course.

I thought Leeds came a bit more spirited but we’ll take the two points. We can certainly get better in a couple of areas.

Rodrick Tai is congratulated after scoring before half time (Image: Neil Ashurst/P&B Pictures)

Q: Which areas do you think you can get better in?

SB: Discipline is certainly one – our discipline has generally been pretty good and you don’t lose that overnight so maybe it was a bit of frustration.

The game got a bit scrappy so discipline can come a bit under scrutiny then.

I thought our ball control was good in areas but we can tidy up things around what we’re actually doing with it so we’ll have a good look at that this week.

Q: You got off to another fast start which must please you, showing plenty of intent early on?

SB: It was pleasing – I was pleased for the guys and their job was to go on with it then.

We did some good work early but we didn’t quite nail parts of our game that could have put us a bit further in front.

Leeds are a decent team and when they get a score closer to you, it makes the game a bit different.

We can be a bit more ruthless at times but we’re certainly happy with the two points for sure.

Q: With Matt Dufty, he certainly gets a lot of headlines but how important is having a player of that calibre?

SB: He’s brilliant and it’s brilliant to have in your team.

He’s competing a lot harder in all the games and he’s a great character to have in the dressing room.

The boys love his energy – sometimes he has a little too much energy in there but I love that about him.

He’s getting a bit of reward for his performance – everyone sees the fancy things he does but he’s doing a lot of hard work that goes towards the result.

His game’s really developed and I’m really proud of him.

Matt Dufty touches down for his second try (Image: SWPix.com)

Q: He’s gone on record as saying you’ve had a big impact on him so how proud does that make you?

SB: Duff’s doing all the work and I believe in him.

I think he’s a great player and a great bloke. I really believe in him and I think he’s starting to believe in himself, which is great.

I get a lot of joy out of that because I love seeing young men reach their potential and we’re seeing that with Duff.

Q: How do you think you coped with going down to 12?

SB: Okay I thought – we got scored on a couple of times but we scored as well.

I thought the Matty Ashton one was a really tough call – I don’t think he spent too much time in that tackle.

I really don’t think that’s 10 in the bin but it didn’t cost us anything.

I thought their first try of the second half was obstruction every day of the week. Sam Lisone hits a pop line on the outside shoulder of Matty Nicholson and they go out the back – it’s blatant obstruction.

My players told the ref it was and my players aren’t daft. It’s 100 per cent no try.

I find that disappointing because we’re blessed now that every game has the video ref. If there’s doubt, check it out.

Q: Your young players keep standing up for you as well?

SB: Arron Lindop is a really composed young man.

We lost three players pretty badly last week but we handled it pretty well, which we have done all year really.

We’re really light in some areas – we can’t get too many more as we need everybody on deck, but we’re coping with it well.

Q: How important was it that you stayed on a roll having built a base last week coming off the international break?

SB: It was really important to keep it going, especially after picking up a couple of injuries and with a short turnaround.

We wanted the two points and I’m pleased for that. We can get better in areas but we came for two points and I’ll take them any way tonight.

(Image: SWPix.com)