Warrington made a strong statement at the Halliwell Jones Stadium by beating St Helens in front of the largest crowd in 52 years.
Warrington’s scorers included Toby King (13), Cai Taylor-Wray (17), Albert Hopoate (28), and Josh Thewlis (67), dominating early on.
A halftime adjustment energised St Helens, with Jack Welsby (60), Tristan Sailor (63), and Kyle Feldt (80) scoring tries, though only Jackson Hastings (68) converted one.
How It Happened
The Wolves opened the scoring with Williams setting up King, who evaded tackles to score on the slide 12 minutes in.
19-year-old Taylor-Wray caused havoc with his speed, slicing through the Saints’ line from his own 30-metre mark and touching down under the posts for a second try, converted by Sneyd.
He repeated his feat, leading to Hopoate’s try, although it went unconverted.
Warrington led 18-0 at halftime from three converted tries and a penalty.
The Saints showed renewed energy in the second half, with two tries ruled out due to new video referee rules before Welsby finally scored, and Sailor shortly followed.
Saints chances to flip the match were promptly cut short as Taylor-Wray delivered a stunning pass to Thewlis, who scored in the corner with Sneyd’s perfect touchline conversion with minutes to spare.
Hopoate scored another brilliant try after a clever step through, but saw it taken away due to a penalty.
Warrington’s strong start and relentless defence saw them secure the victory and two points on the table.
Post Match Reaction
Speaking after the match to Sky Sports, St Helens head coach Paul Rowley said:
“We dipped our toe in the water defensively, which is very unlike Saints, so it’s a good lesson – maybe a bit of over‑confidence.
“Warrington came to play, were the more aggressive side, did the fundamentals better than us, and got what they deserved.”
Warrington head coach Sam Burgess said to Sky Sports: “I couldn’t have asked for a better performance. I said at the start I’d be happy with a win.
“We faced a lot tonight – we defended for the first 20 minutes of the second half – but I was proud of the resolve.”
