IMPRESSIVE Warrington Wolves began their journey towards a third consecutive Challenge Cup final with an imperious victory over Championship One visitors Keighley Cougars at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Wolves equalled their record for a win at the Halliwell Jones, as the 80-0 victory replicated the feat achieved against the Rochdale Hornets in the 4th round of the Challenge Cup on March 2, 2004.

A hat-trick for Ryan Atkins topped the individual efforts, but this was all about the class and style of Warrington Wolves as a unit, as more than 10 different Wolves players got onto the scoresheet.

Only the injury of Ben Harrison looks to have taken the shine off a fine first half for the defending champions, as the loose forward was carried from the field after 10 minutes after sustaining an injury to his left leg.

As expected, Wolves had not enjoyed possession for long before they put themselves on the board. A kick return from Chris Riley put them in a good position on the half way line, and slick passing saw the ball moved left from the play-the-ball. David Solomona’s cut-out pass found Matt King on the wing and he accelerated into space to go clear of the Cougar’s defence. Ryan Atkins was waiting inside for the return ball and he breezed over after only two minutes, with Lee Briers converting from in front of the posts.

After conceding early, Keighley managed to rally and secure their shaky defence for the next 10 minutes. Wolves were constantly applying pressure in their rival’s half, but apart from Ben Harrison’s disallowed try following an impressive Rhys Williams flick, Keighley held strong.

Things took a turn for the worse for the hosts on 10 minutes, as Ben Harrison was carried from the field after a sustaining a serious-looking injury close to the Keighley line.

Despite the quick start for the hosts, Cougars had done a good job in keeping them quiet until 18 minutes in. Their defence had improved as the game had gone on, but they could not contain the clever play of Lee Briers and his diagonal grubber found a gap for Simon Grix to drop on the ball. As the heavens opened and a deluge fell on the Halliwell Jones pitch, Paul Wood quickly added a third with a surprising turn of pace and Briers tagged on both conversions to stretch the lead to 18 after 21 minutes.

Wolves were comfortable in possession as the visitors struggled to get out of their half. It was really only a matter of time before Tony Smith’s men stretched their lead and they did so when Mike Cooper was the beneficiary of a nice interchange between Mickey Higham and Lee Briers after 28 minutes. He ran a clever line through the gap and Briers flicked a short pass for the prop to burst over the line. They were over again moments later, as Gareth O’Brien fed Simon Grix and Ryan Atkins was again on hand to score an easy second. Briers added both conversions from in front of the posts and Wolves were sitting comfortable at 30-0 with 10 minutes remaining.

There was still time for Wolves to extend their lead before half time as Lee Briers and Matt King exploited the tiring Cougar legs to score on the stroke of half time. Matt King seemed to fumble an offload from Rhys Williams, but was able to send the ball to Lee Briers, who took on the line with gusto and twisted over to seal an excellent first half performance.

Emerging from the tunnel after the break, Wolves were immediately on the front foot as Gareth O’Brien marked his Wolves first team debut with a well-taken try in the 41st minute. Matt King went clear down the left wing and O’Brien was on hand inside the Australian to sprint over from 15 metres through two challenges. Ryan Atkins notched his hat-trick within a minute of the restart, finding space on the wing before wrong-footing the visiting full back Gavin Duffy and easily winning the foot race to corner. Briers added both conversions to make the score 46-0 after just four minutes of the second half.

Keighley followed this with their best period of the second half, building some pressur eon the half way line and completing their set with some nice passing. But it was a short respite for the visitors, as Rhys Williams finished off a wonderful interchange to rack up Wolves’ half century. Lee Briers kicked his eighth conversion of the day.

It was becoming scoring practice for the hosts, with more pressure on the Keighley line soon becoming further points for Wolves. Michael Monaghan was the creator of both, as first his grubber following a Chris Riley offload found Matt King in acres of space on the left wing, a try that was soon followed by Monaghan going alone and fighting his way over from close range. Wolves were 64 points to the good after Briers had kicked both goals and with more than 20 minutes remaining, Keighley were staring down the barrel of a possible 100-point loss.

Just as Smith’s men really started to rack up the points, the heavens opened again and conditions on the pitch worsened in the pouring rain. Battling the soaking conditions, Wolves still managed to get on the board as Matt King narrowly lost a race to the corner to touch down, but substitute Rhys Evans was following up to drop on the ball. Briers missed his second conversion of the day, but Wolves looked more than happy with their 68-point advantage.

Briers had put in a tremendous performance throughout the match, typified by his desire and drive to keep the pressure on their opponents. This desire was still clear to see after 75 minutes of the match, as Briers showed a lightening turn of pace to beat two defenders to a skilful Gareth O’Brien kick and he slid over the line between the posts in front of the delighted home support.

There was still time for one last push from the hosts, as Rhys Williams was on the end of a wonderful Michael Monaghan pass to race home from 60 metres out. Lee Briers kicked the conversion to complete the scoring for the imperious home side.

Wolves: Chris Riley; Rhys Williams, Matty Blythe, Ryan Atkins, Matt King; Lee Briers, Gareth O'Brien; Garreth Carvell, Mickey Higham, Mike Cooper, David Solomona, Simon Grix, Ben Harrison. Subs: Michael Monaghan, Adrian Morley, Paul Wood, Rhys Evans.

Keighley Cougars: Gavin Duffy; Ben Sagar, Danny Lawton, Chris Baines, James Hutchinson; Jason Demetriou, Ryan Smith; Andy Shickell, James Feather, Ryan Benjafield, Will Cartledge, Olly Pursglove, Jamie Shepherd. Subs: Jamaine Wray, Rick Barr, Scott Law, Greg Nicholson.