Issues in defence (From Warrington Guardian)

Issues in defence

London Broncos 28

Warrington Wolves 24

WARRINGTON Wolves need to tighten up their defence and improve their concentration levels in order to make a serious impression on Super League X.

Tackling lapses cost them dearly after building up a 16-6 lead in the opening round at a freezing cold and windy Griffin Park on Sunday.

Wolves had difficulties handling the down-the-middle bursts of London's overseas pivot players, New Zealand scrum half Thomas Leuluai, former Sydney Roosters stand off Luke Dorn and skipper Mark McLinden, who was playing out of position at hooker.

Two goalkicking misses by Lee Briers, one from close to the sticks and another from not much further away, did not help Wolves' cause as the teams scored five tries each.

Two second half tries by Martin Gleeson kept Wolves in the hunt in the second half but there was no fairytale finish for the centre on his debut.

Going forward, Wolves looked organised and in control in the first period but they must work on making that happen for 80 minutes. Broncos' players caught on to the tactics and were in the faces of Wolves' playmakers as soon as they received the ball out wide. More enterprise with the ball is going to be needed to avoid a high number of wasted tackles and rushed passes falling loose.

Approximately 2,000 down-hearted Warrington fans were left with a 200-mile journey home in which to stew and reflect on few glittering high points of an error-riddled game.

No matter how disappointing it was, supporters can take some consolation in that they will not be the only set of disappointed fans returning north this year, that there are 27 rounds to go and that Wolves can only grow from the outing.

Wolves' head coach Paul Cullen said: "There were elements of the performance that give me great encouragement and there were elements that simply weren't up to the required standard to beat London at London in round one.

"I was happy with our defensive shape. What I'm unhappy with is the individual defensive lapses within that shape. Our concentration was broken a number of times and when the pivots came at us, either off the ruck or at the first receiver, they caused us problems and we failed to react to it."

Cullen added: "We had more than enough opportunities to win the game and didn't take them. Two disallowed tries didn't help after building sufficient pressure and field position.

"Giving the ball away in the first two sets of the second half with two unforced errors literally changed the game. We left ourselves a little too much to do."

Wolves recovered from London's freak 42 seconds try to go 10-6 up but suffered a blow when replacement prop Paul Wood was stretchered off with ankle ligaments damage in the 22nd minute.

Ben Westwood, on the bench to cover the three-quarters and second row spots, revelled in the prop position and pounced on Briers' kick for the try that led to Wolves' 16-6 cushion.

That should have been the platform to build on while also keeping in mind the way London fought back from 22-6 behind to beat Warrington at home last August.

Although London took to the field with eight debut players in their starting line-up, Wolves found that the battling qualities of six months ago were still very much in evidence in the second half.

Match facts

Tetley's Super League X, Round One, February 13, 2005

London Broncos 28

Warrington Wolves 24

Broncos: Zebastian Luisi; Nick Bradley-Qalilawa, Mark O'Halloran, Paul Sykes, Jon Wells; Luke Dorn, Thomas Leuluai; Mark Tookey, Mark McLinden, Steve Trindall, Solomon Haumono, Lee Hopkins, Rob Purdham. Subs used: Mitch Stringer, Anthony Armour, Filimone Lolohea, Tyrone Smith.

Wolves: Brent Grose; Henry Fa'afili, Martin Gleeson, Toa Kohe-Love, Dean Gaskell; Lee Briers, Nat Wood; Chris Leikvoll, Mark Gleeson, Mark Hilton, Logan Swann, Mike Wainwright, Jon Clarke. Subs used: Ben Westwood, Paul Wood, Danny Lima, Graham Appo.

Referee: R Laughton

Scoring: Leuluai kick deflects off Wainwright and McLinden retrieves for Luke Dorn to finish off 70m move, 42secs, Sykes converts, 6-0; Hilton crashes over off Fa'afili inside pass, 6mins, 6-4; N Wood dummies his way over, 11mins, Briers adds goal, 6-10; Luisi fumbles Briers grubber kick and Westwood dives on loose ball, 31mins, Briers tags on extras, 6-16; Hopkins hands off three defenders on touchline run before putting Sykes over, 36mins, Sykes kicks bonus points, 12-16. Half-time. Haumono squeezes over after Wolves concede possession in the opening two sets of the second half, 44mins, Sykes lands the goal, 16-16; Martin Gleeson shoves off three defenders and takes Dorn over the line with him for his first Wolves try, 49mins, 16-20; Dorn steps out of a tackle and feeds McLinden for a debut try, 54 mins, Sykes bangs over conversion, 22-20; Leuluai's pass and Purdham's charge leaves four defenders standing, 59mins, Sykes adds goal, 28-20; Gleeson evades tackle of Sykes to surge over wide out, 66mins, 28-24.

Penalties: Broncos 7 Wolves 10

Scrums: Broncos 3 Wolves 7

Attendance: 4,179

Warrington Guardian top men: Mark Hilton 3pts, Ben Westwood 2pts, Martin Gleeson 1pt. Points to be accumulated.

Interesting note: This is only the second time since the start of Super League in 1996 that London have won on the opening day of a season.

Other round 1 results: Hull 12 Leeds 16, St Helens 40 Widnes 18, Wigan 15 Salford 4, Leigh 12 Huddersfield 30, Bradford 16 Wakefield 28.

Round 2 fixtures: Tomorrow, Friday: Leeds v St Helens (Sky 8pm), Salford v London. Saturday: Wakefield v Wigan (Sky 6.05pm). Sunday: Huddersfield v Hull, Warrington v Leigh (3pm), Widnes v Bradford.