THERE was one name on the lips of Warrington Wolves fans for most of the night during their thumping win at Wigan Warriors.

And to paraphrase the earworm chant they have concocted in celebration of him, the spark that started the fire was Luke Yates’ dominant dislodging of the ball from Wigan’s Liam Byrne in the game’s very first tackle.

It set the tone for a commanding Warrington victory, and for a superb individual display from a man who is fast becoming a fan favourite despite only arriving at the club this month.

The former Huddersfield Giants captain was making his first start for The Wire, lining up in the front row alongside Paul Vaughan in place of the suspended James Harrison.

And he certainly repaid head coach Sam Burgess’ faith by showing the impressive all-round capabilities that made the Wire boss so desperate to bring him to the club.

In-depth match stats seen by the Warrington Guardian show the Australian was on the field for a total of 61 minutes – a figure significantly higher than any other middle-unit forward for either side. Wigan’s Luke Thompson (54) was the next best, followed by Kaide Ellis (49) and Ben Currie (48).

In that time, he demonstrated the defensive proficiency that has seen him carve out a reputation as being one of the competition’s leading off-ball players.

The hit on Byrne was the first of 35 completed tackles from Yates – the highest figure among the Wire players while for the game as a whole, only Wigan’s Ethan Havard (36) made more – with a success rate of 92.1 per cent.

With the ball too, Yates added punch – he totalled 93 metres from 11 carries for an average of 8.45m per carry. In terms of both metres and average gain, only Paul Vaughan (113m and 8.76m per carry) could top him.

However, he led the way among his fellow Wire forwards for post-contact metres with 44, just ahead of Max Wood (41). For the game as a whole, only Thompson (46) and Matty Ashton (45) could top his figure.

All of those numbers add up to a supreme individual display – one everyone at his new club hopes will be the sign of things to come in the weeks, months and years ahead.