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| Warrington (28) 34 |
| Tries: Ashton, Mata’utia, Currie, Dufty, Drinkwater, Nicholson Goals: Ratchford 5 |
| Hull FC (0) 6 |
| Tries: Dwyer Goals: Clifford |
Super League leaders Warrington were ruthless in recording a seventh consecutive win as they crushed Hull FC, who have now lost their past five.
The damage was done in a full-throttle first half with home tries from Matty Ashton, Peter Mata’utia, Ben Currie, Matt Dufty and Josh Drinkwater.
Hull were toothless in the first 40 but improved to avoid being kept scoreless by ex-Wire hooker Brad Dwyer’s try.
But Matty Nicholson’s score restored Warrington’s complete control.
Daryl Powell’s side provided further evidence why they are leading the pack this season, particularly in a superb opening half.
Melding an explosive, powerful pack to a devastating back division has been a weapon teams have struggled to stop – as full-back Dufty, winger Ashton and playmaker George Williams terrorised the Black and Whites at times with pace and sharpness.
Ashton outstripped Davy Litten to chase a cute Williams kick to the corner and score, while Dufty frequently hit holes through the cover and backed up his half-back to claim his try.
Mata’utia’s score came following a series of raids by the Wire’s impressive pack – with Paul Vaughan maintaining his outstanding start to make inroads.
The wide-running Currie and Nicholson were also influential, both scoring tries from clever play by probing the space just off the halves’ shoulders.
Hull’s porous defence has seen them concede over 200 points already this season, albeit they rallied in the second half to make it more competitive.
Tony Smith will be mystified as to why a pack containing talent such as Chris Satae, Brad Fash and Danny Houghton was left floundering so brutally at times in the opening period, in the face of Vaughan, Thomas Mikaele and company.
Tex Hoy and Jake Clifford have shown promise as an attacking combination since reuniting from Newcastle Knights, but both fell off tackles to allow Drinkwater to saunter through for his try.
There was improvement after the break as they limited the hosts to just six points, but they butchered several chances through poor execution, such as Clifford’s forward pass in a good position and a knock-on from a tap-back attempt by Litten.
Dwyer’s score, a trademark plunge, was one of few moments to cheer for a strong contingent of Hull fans after a long morning jaunt across the M62.
Warrington: Dufty; Russell, Minikin, Ratchford, Ashton; Williams, Drinkwater; Mikaele, Walker, Vaughan, Currie, Nicholson, Mata’utia
Interchanges: Philbin, Thewlis, Dudson, Thomas [Whitehead]
Hull FC: Hoy; Litten, Tuimavave, Sutcliffe, Swift; Lovodua, Clifford; Taylor, Houghton, Satae, Savelio, Griffin, Fash
Interchanges: Lane, Cator, Evans, Dwyer [Staveley]
Referee: Aaron Moore
By Matt Newsum
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