ANOTHER play-off finish looks to be on the cards for Warrington Wolves’ academy side.
They took another step closer to securing a top-four finish by beating Castleford Tigers – one of their rivals for the higher placings – 31-12 at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle on Saturday afternoon.
A superb first-half display saw the young Wires establish a commanding lead before the break, with long-range tries from Cai Taylor-Wray and Pat Irwin in the early stages giving them control of proceedings.
Taylor-Wray then turned provider for Frank Sergent with an outrageous “no-look” pass to send the winger over in the corner and when Flynn Holden crossed in the opposite corner two minutes before the break, Warrington had an 18-0 lead.
The second half was not without its nervy moments, with the hosts hitting back with two tries in three minutes courtesy of Jenson Windley and Corey-Jay Sharpe as The Wire’s lead was suddenly narrowed to just six points.
However, that served as a wake-up call and two tries in quick succession just before the hour mark sealed victory – Charlie McKler slipped the ball out for Daniel Regan to cross and then straight from the restart, Sergent broke through and sprinted 80 metres to score his second try.
Joe Hickey added an exclamation point late on with a drop goal, leaving academy head coach Mark Smith happy with what he’d seen.
Going forward, however, he wants to see his side show a more clinical edge in the two games they have left – at home to Leeds Rhinos on August 17 and away to Wigan Warriors on August 31 – plus whatever may follow.
“On the whole, the team displayed a strong defensive effort throughout the game, apart from a couple of lapses just after half time,” he said.
“This was a game that was littered with handling errors from both sides due to forcing the play instead of being more composed.
“There were some strong individual efforts that allowed us to put the points on the board in the first half and then to take control in the last quarter.
“Going forward, as a group we need to be more clinical with our fourth and fifth tackle options to ensure we are finishing sets in good positions to build pressure.”
Wolves: Cai Taylor-Wray; Frank Sergent, James Duffy, Pat Irwin, Flynn Holden; Joe Hickey, Junior Westwood; Charlie McKler, Daniel Regan, Isaac Reid, Charlie Walker, James McGuire, Alfie Mather. Subs: Oliver Morgan, Jake Nottingham, Oliver Evans, Jake Ramsden. 18th: Kaden Johnson
