Warrington’s horrendous build-up to Wembley final continues at Wigan

With Wembley a week away the St Helens coach, Justin Holbrook, used this evening as an opportunity to witness their Challenge Cup final opponents first-hand. And while he will have been left in no doubt his side are heavy favourites against an out-of-form Warrington next weekend, he will have also learned plenty about which team are now perhaps favourites to challenge them for the Grand Final.

When Wigan and Warrington last met in the league in late May, second-placed Warrington were 14 points clear of the reigning Super League champions, who themselves were languishing in seventh and looking anything but title contenders. But, as the Warriors have done many times in the past, they appear to be peaking exactly when it matters.

This was a ninth win in 10 league games for the Warriors, who had realistically done enough to secure victory by half-time here, such are the inadequacies of a Warrington side that are in real danger at Wembley next weekend if they do not sharpen up in time to face the runaway Super League leaders.

They led 18-0 on the back of three first-half tries and the fact that they added only a penalty from Zak Hardaker thereafter but were still comfortable winners not only underlined their own defensive prowess but Warrington’s glaring problems too. “We’re now in a position to finish the season really well,” said the Wigan coach, Adrian Lam.

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It was symptomatic of Warrington’s recent form – this was a fifth consecutive league defeat for a side who suddenly look anything but play-off certainties – that, despite competing in the opening quarter, they quickly fell apart after conceding the game’s first try. Bevan French’s simple finish opened Wigan’s account and they quickly set about further asserting their dominance.

A wonderful solo try from George Williams doubled their lead to 12-0, before a move started and finished by Zak Hardaker saw the full-back cross for a deserved try of his own.

“We got a reaction after half-time which was positive, but I shouldn’t have to do that,” the Warrington coach, Steve Price, lamented. While St Helens’ preparations for Wembley have been seamless – they are now 16 points clear of Warrington and Wigan at the top – the Wolves’ buildup has been remarkably different. Fitness doubts remain over several key players, including their star half-back Blake Austin, and having lost five consecutive league games in the run-up to Wembley is certainly not the ideal way to prepare for the best team in the country on the game’s biggest stage.

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“We’ll see what type of character we’ve got going forward,” Price said when asked about their recent form. That the only try they were able to muster against a resolute Wigan defence came in the final 10 minutes further emphasised how laborious their attack has been without Austin. By the time Tom Lineham scored it, not only had Warrington wasted several chances to reduce the deficit, but they had huffed and puffed against 12 men, too. The sin-binning of Wigan’s centre Oliver Gildart with a quarter of the game remaining could have turned the tide in Warrington’s favour but the hosts were simply too strong in defence, a point underlined by the penalty from Hardaker which made it 20-0 shortly after Gildart’s return. By then, the game had long since been settled.

Wigan Hardaker; French, Sarginson, Gildart, Marshall; Williams, Leuluai; Clubb, Powell, Partington, Isa, Farrell, Smithies. Interchange Navarrete, Greenwood, Byrne, Sammut. Tries French, Williams, Hardaker Goals Hardaker 4 Sin bin Gildart

Warrington Ratchford; Lineham, Goodwin, King, Mamo; Patton, Smith; Hill, Clark, Cooper, Currie, Livett, Akauola. Interchange Philbin, Clark, Murdoch-Masila, Westwood. Try Lineham Goal Patton

Referee B Thaler.