Leigh 7-42 Warrington

By Chris Lord
June 12 2005

Warrington Wolves make it 5 wins out of 5 following victory at local rivals Leigh.

Warrington's rich run of form continued at Leigh as their ninth win in 10 games handed them a club record fifth straight engage Super League victory.

The Wolves shrugged off the absence of influential skipper Lee Briers and Great Britain Test centre Martin Gleeson to complete a hard-fought win and reclaim third spot in the table.

Basement outfit Leigh led 7-4 at the interval before Paul Cullen's side move through the gears after the restart to hit the Centurions with seven unanswered tries.

While Darren Abram's men now require a near-miracle to survive relegation, Warrington must must now be considered a real possibility for a place in the Grand Final at Old Trafford on October 15.

They are showing the kind of consistency which no side outside of the top two seems capable of sustaining.

It is a remarkable turnaround by the Wolves after four defeats in their opening five matches resulted in supporters for the dismissal of coach Paul Cullen.

After the kick-off was delayed to accommodate the arrival of more than 3,000 Warrington supporters, they saw their side make the best possible start.

Barely 60 seconds had passed before Dean Gaskell offloaded to Nathan Wood, whose perfect pass allowed Ben Westwood to cross the line in the left-hand corner.

Chris Bridge missed the conversion before Leigh hit back strongly, claiming a try of their own after five minutes.

The impressive John Duffy found John Wilshere racing forward and he found onrushing prop Craig Stapleton, who bustled his way over the the line from close-range.

Neil Turley converted to hand the Centurions the initiative and with Duffy and Turley forming an impressive half-back partnership, the hosts began to dominate.

Mark Leafa had a try disallowed for an apparent forward pass by Steve McCurrie, but Turley's drop goal soon after gave Leigh a 7-4 interval advantage.

Cullen would doubtless have demanded a vast improvement in the second half during his half-time team talk.

They clearly heeded his message as Brent Grose's splendid try following a run from inside his own half restored the visitors' advantage.

Bridge goaled successfully and did likewise again six minutes later after Henry Fa'afili scampered clear for his 15th Super League try of the season after intercepting Duffy's pass.

The New Zealand Test wing soon collected his second try, finishing off a well-worked move in the right-hand corner to give the Wolves further breathing space.

Bridge failed to convert, but Warrington's 20-7 advantage was a healthy one which they did not surrender.

Tensions mounted shortly before the hour mark as opposing centres Rob Jackson and Toa Kohe Love were sent to the sin-bin following an off-the-ball tussle.

Warrington then caught Leigh on the counter-attack when Bridge's fine run and offload allowed Wood to cross the line with ease.

Bridge again converted before Wolves hooker Jon Clarke crossed the line unopposed before Bridge himself crossed the line soon after for a deserved try of his own.

Replacement Graham Appo compounded Leigh's misery with a late breakaway try before Bridge converted successfully for the fifth time.

 

Source: Sportinglife.com