Saints suffer disappointing home defeat

Saints were beaten 10-24 by Warrington Wolves at the Totally Wicked Stadium on Friday evening...

Jonny Vaughan prepares to face the Wolves. Image captured by Bernard Platt (@PlattyPhoto)
Jonny Vaughan prepares to face the Wolves. Image captured by Bernard Platt (@PlattyPhoto)

Four minutes in, Warrington had a penalty as the two sides failed to pack down a scrum. The visitors opted for two points 42 metres out central and Stefan Ratchford converted to give them a 0-2 lead.

It was also the visitors that grabbed the first try nine minutes in. From a penalty, Warrington created an overlap down their left edge and Ratchford found Matty Ashton who raced away to score in the corner, despite Harry Robertson and Jonny Vaughan’s best efforts to stop him. Ratchford couldn’t convert, 0-6.

Another try soon followed. Warrington worked it down the left edge, Matt Dufty broke through a gap before racing around Robertson to score under the sticks. Ratchford converted, 0-12.

The Wolves were reduced to twelve men 20 minutes in. James Harrison went high on Noah Stephens and despite the referee not initially awarding a penalty, the Warrington man saw red after input from the video referee.

Two minutes later we had a trip to the video referee. Jack Welsby’s kick on the last tackle saw Waqa Blake compete for it with Arron Lindrop, the ball was fumbled and landed in Mark Percival’s hands who scored in the corner. Referee Chris Kendall said no try, and it was agreed with by the video referee after a lengthy review.

The hosts thought they had scored with less than two minutes to go before the break. Jonny Lomax threw a pass which Welsby caught and span over to score. Referee Kendall ruling forward pass, disallowing the four-pointer.

That was the final real action of the first forty minutes. Saints trailed 0-12 at the break to the Wolves…

We had another trip to the video referee six minutes into the second half. Lomax fed Agnatius Paasi who powered forward from close range before grounding the ball under the sticks. Kendall said try on-field and the video referee agreed. Percival converted, 6-12 Saints trailed.

55 minutes in the Wolves were reduced to twelve men as Matty Nicholson was sin binned for pulling Stephens back as he chased a kick under the sticks.

Six minutes later Saints could’ve had another. Lomax’s high kick on the short side was claimed by Tee Ritson, he found Vaughan on his inside but the pass was ruled forward.

The hosts kept coming at the Warrington line. A move from right to left saw Saints create an overlap, but Robertson was unable to gather a pass and Warrington survived again.

It didn’t hold firm for much longer though, as Saints’ continued dominance paid off. The Red V shifted it right, Sam Royle, who had only been on the pitch for about a minute, threw a dummy and broke through a gap to score in the corner. Percival missed the kick, 10-12 Saints trailed.

With nine minutes to go we had another trip upstairs. Off the back of a penalty, Warrington moved it left and Adam Holroyd forced his way over in the corner. The on-field verdict of try agreed with by the video referee. Josh Drinkwater was unable to convert, 10-16 Saints trailed late on.

Another quickly followed. Williams broke down the heart of the Saints defence and found Dufty in support who was tackled by Vaughan who got back brilliantly to prevent a try. The following play Danny Walker’s kick was grounded by Nicholson. Try verdict on-field was again agreed with. Drinkwater converted, 10-22.

With the final kick of the game, Drinkwater added two more points with a penalty, as Saints suffered a 10-24 home defeat to Warrington Wolves on Friday evening at the Totally Wicked Stadium.

Match Summary

Saints Team: Harry Robertson, Tee Ritson, Jonny Vaughan, Mark Percival, Waqa Blake, Jonny Lomax, Jack Welsby, Agnatius Paasi, Daryl Clark, Matty Lees, Curtis Sironen, James Bell, Moses Mbye.

Interchanges: Jon Bennison, Lewis Dodd, Sam Royle, Noah Stephens.

18th Man:  Owen Dagnall.

Tries: Agnatius Paasi (46), Sam Royle (67)

Conversions: Mark Percival (1 from 2)

Warrington Wolves Team: Matt Dufty, Arron Lindrop, Rodrick Tai, Stefan Ratchford, Matty Ashton, George Williams, Josh Drinkwater, James Harrison, Sam Powell, Paul Vaughan, Matty Nicholson, Adam Holroyd, Ben Currie.

Interchanges: Zane Musgrove, Luke Yates, Danny Walker, Tom Whitehead.

18th Man: Max Wood.

Tries: Matty Ashton (9), Matt Dufty (14), Adam Holroyd (71), Matty Nicholson (75)

Conversions: Stefan Ratchford (1 from 2), Josh Drinkwater (1 from 2)

Penalties: Stefan Ratchford (1 from 1), Josh Drinkwater (1 from 1)

Sin Bin: Matty Nicholson (55)

Red Card: James Harrison (20)

HT: 0-12

FT: 10-24

Attendance: 13,135

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