DESPITE taking a sixth-minute lead, Wolves trail Salford 12-6 at the break.

Paul Johnson had crossed to make early pressure count but Reds’ talented young scrum half Richie Myler scored a double to put his side in command.

Missing the injured Lee Briers, the visitors simply failed to maintain their early momentum, penalties and handling errors giving Salford a foothold in the game.

Any second half comeback will likely have to be made with Briers’ replacement as well.

Stand off Chris Bridge left the field holding his head after a collision in the tackle, forcing Tony Smith to shuffle his pack and use Jon Clarke at scrum half, with Michael Monaghan moving to stand off.

Wolves started firmly on the front foot.

Putting Reds under pressure through several sets, they were gifted a golden chance when Luke Swain was penalised for crossing right in front of his own line.

Salford’s defence reached breaking point and the probing paid off, as Vinnie Anderson was hauled down right in front and Johnson picked up from dummy half to squeeze over the line. Hicks nailed the tricky touchline conversion.

Despite the strong start, worrying signs soon began to appear.

Again, Wolves committed a few too many basic errors and only stern goal-line defence kept Salford out after a couple of silly penalties had allowed them to march up the field.

But cracks soon appeared.

A knock-on gave Reds a scrum on the Warrington 20-metre line and it was all too easy for Myler as he picked up from the set piece and scooted through a gaping hole on the blindside to score between the posts on 22 minutes.

John Wilshere could not miss the conversion from right in front.

Sloppy defending provided more easy pickings for Myler only six minutes later.

The 18-year-old put a clever grubber kick to the right corner and thanks to a bout of ‘to me, to you’ between Hicks and Matt King, he was allowed to dart after it and touch down himself.

Wilshere goaled and to make matters worse, a heavy tackle caused stand off Bridge to leave the field clutching his head in the immediate aftermath.

The shellshocked Wolves struggled to build any kind of momentum before half time and Salford finished the half much the stronger.

But they did have one good chance to get back on terms as Vinnie Anderson chased a high, hanging kick from Monaghan into the in-goal.

Stretching as much as he could, the ball brushed Anderson’s fingertips and the chance went begging.