Warrington Wolves talking points after win at Wigan Warriors

A week after beating St Helens despite playing with 12 men for more than an hour, The Wire were more emphatic in their thrashing of their other neighbours Wigan Warriors to charge to the top of Super League.

As the dust settles, it’s time for our Wire reporter Matt Turner to pick out his five key post-match talking points in “The Morning After”

Have Wire just displayed their title credentials?

It’s perhaps too early to say for sure, but what Warrington have done at the very least is put themselves firmly in the picture.

In this walloping of Wigan – an emphatic ending of their proud 17-match unbeaten run at home – they sent out another message that they are here to stay when it comes to the top end of the Super League table.

And given it came pretty much a year on from a largely similar group being hounded and heckled off the pitch having been humiliated at Wakefield – a game that cost Daryl Powell his job as head coach – it showed the transformation the club has undergone in a nutshell.

Of course, it has to be noted that Wigan had some key players missing – most notably the star duo of Bevan French and Jai Field – and suffered because of it, but in Toby King, Lachlan Fitzgibbon, James Harrison, Joe Philbin and Leon Hayes, Wire themselves were missing at least five players who would have been in their 17 if available plus a couple more who would have been there or thereabouts.

The year 2024 is becoming more memorable by the week, but exactly how it will be remembered by generations to come will be shaped in the months ahead.

Matty Ashton celebrates with Arron Lindop and Adam Holroyd (Image: Paul Currie/SWpix.com)

Yates leads unbelievable pack effort

Wigan were missing a couple of their key attacking weapons, but what they did have was a monstrous pack that was pretty much at full strength.

However, any notion that they could bully their way through the front door lasted precisely one tackle when the sensational Luke Yates produced a superb hit to dislodge the ball from Liam Byrne’s grasp. Warrington scored from the resulting set and the rest, as they say, is history.

It set the tone for another highly impressive showing from Yates, who has had quite the introduction to life in primrose and blue having played a big part in two iconic away victories.

Threat with the ball and menace without it, the Australian is on the high road to become a fan favourite already, so much so that he is the subject of the latest earworm of a chant that spent the evening echoing around the Brick Community Stadium.

You can’t start a fire without a spark, and Yates’ early statement of intent certainly provided that.

Jenna spoke to the BETFRED Player of the match, Luke Yates, as Warrington ran out winners by 40 points to 4,#SkySportsRL pic.twitter.com/hY6h0KNxZr

— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) July 26, 2024

Red-letter day for academy

We have spent years being told – quite rightly – that when it comes to producing quality young players, Warrington have lagged behind the likes of Wigan.

That is probably still the case now, but the gap is closing at an impressive rate and Friday was a clear demonstration of that.

Of the 40 points Wire scored, 28 of them came from recent academy graduates – another pillar of a thoroughly satisfying night for the club as a whole.

Adam Holroyd has now scored tries in the two biggest away games going, Josh Thewlis marked his return to the side with a try and six goals but the jewel in the crown was Arron Lindop.

It has long been said within the club that this wickedly gifted outside-back was a talent from the generational bracket and having been given the chance in the left-centre spot he adores, he gave the clearest indication of why.

The try that opened things up was a carbon copy of the one he scored against the Warriors earlier this year as he timed his chase of Matt Dufty’s grubber to perfection, but it was his second that really lit up the stage.

Brushing off a tackle and charging through a gap to slide over in front of the jubilant Wire fans he used to stand among saw him effectively put the game beyond Wigan and provide him with the moment of a lifetime.

This kid is something very, very special.

Arron Lindop celebrates his second try in front of the Wire fans (Image: Paul Currie/SWpix.com)

Another ghost is banished

“Beat St Helens and then we’ll talk,” they said. Big tick.

“Fair enough, but I won’t be truly impressed until they beat Wigan,” they replied. An even bigger tick.

Whatever happens in the weeks ahead, this Wire squad have thrust two whopping-great millstones from around their necks by ending long winless runs against both of their neighbours.

Any perceived mental barrier about coming up against them is gone and supporters can approach these games with hope again rather than trepidation.

Now, can they banish the ultimate looming spectre that has “1955” written in big letters upon it?

Matty Ashton sprints clear to score after intercepting deep inside his own half (Image: Neil Ashurst/P&B Pictures)

Not quite the perfect night

It seems sad to end this on a slightly sour note, but Warrington did not leave the Brick Community Stadium without a cloud to their silver lining.

With an equally big game against Hull KR coming up next, what Sam Burgess did not need was to pick up two issues to key players within seconds of each other.

Matt Dufty, who was once again influential, was sin-binned for a tip tackle on Liam Marshall while at the same time, Paul Vaughan was being led off for a head injury assessment.

Burgess could not confirm post-match whether or not Vaughan passed his concussion test – failure of which would rule him out of Round 21 – while he also faces a nervous wait for the Match Review Panel’s verdict on Dufty’s tackle.

With James Harrison still suspended for the Robins’ visit, the loss of Vaughan would be another big blow while Wigan’s display showed how damaging taking a key threat like Dufty’s out of the spine could be.

Matt Dufty is shown the yellow card late on (Image: Neil Ashurst/P&B Pictures)