VICTORY at Hull took Warrington to their best set of results for 21 years.
Not since the season Wolves finished joint top with Wigan and Bradford had they achieved nine straight wins in all competitions.
And they had to work extremely hard at a rain-swept KC Stadium on Friday night to prevent Hull repeating last seasonメs feat of ending eight Wolves consecutive triumphs.
The conditions had played their part in keeping the scoring low and tight, with Wolves battling to hold on to a 14-12 lead midway through the second half.
But Tony Smith's men then showed how tackling with venom can win matches.
Forcing two turnovers with increased ferocity in already strong defence provided the possession for Ben Harrison to cross off a Gareth OメBrien pass and crucially move his side eight points clear before Gene Ormsby slid over for the match decider 13 minutes from time.
There was still work to do, though, with Gareth Ellis putting 17-year-old winger Callum Lancaster over for his hat-trick try on his home debut two minutes from time, leading to a nervy final few sets for the 150 or so fans who had beaten the traffic chaos on the M62.
Ultimately, Wolves were the more adventurous and skilful team on a miserable night made for stubborn resistance, good kicking games and set completion, which both sides did very well.
That extra razzle-dazzle was typified by Stefan Ratchford's first-half try created by some stunning work from Matty Russell around the halfway line.
The full back, who spent time on loan with Hull from Wigan in 2012, broke free on the halfway line and somehow stayed on his feet while stumbling for 10 metres.
But he was able to gather pace to get within touching distance of the Hull try line, where Joel Monaghan took over to hand Ratchford the scoring pass.
In contrast, perhaps Hull now rue taking two penalty shots at goal instead of backing their own ability to get over the try line.
Losing veteran playmaker Richard Horne to concussion after five minutes might not have helped Hull's confidence with that.
Stars of the show in the end were the workhorses, with Ben Westwood on his 400th career performance, Chris Hill, Harrison, Anthony England and Roy Asotasi leading the way for a remarkable triumph in the Super League era.
For the record, Wolves have not won 10 on the bounce since the 1986-87 season.
INTERESTING NOTES
This victory made it the first time since the 1993-94 season that Warrington have won nine on the bounce in all competitions
The nine-match run began against Catalan on May 9 and incudes wins over St Helens, Wakefield, Leeds, Bradford, Hull KR, Salford, Bradford again and Hull FC
The club have not won 10 in a row since the 1986-87 season
Ben Westwood made his 400th career appearance on Friday, 325 of those have come for Wolves since he joined in 2002
Chris Bridge made his 200th appearance for the club. He made his debut in 14-8 home win against Huddersfield on March 30, 2005
MATCH FACTS
Super League Round 19, Friday, July 4
Hull FC...18 Warrington Wolves...24
Hull: Jamie Shaul; Callum Lancaster, Setaimata Sa, Kirk Yeaman, Fetuli Talanoa; Richard Horne, Jordan Abdull; Liam Watts, Danny Houghton, Josh Bowden, Gareth Ellis, Chris Tuson, Joe Westerman. Subs: Aaron Heremaia, Micky Paea, Jordan Thompson, Iafeta Paleaaesina.
Wolves: Matty Russell; Gene Ormsby, Joel Monaghan, Ryan Atkins, Rhys Evans; Chris Bridge, Gareth O'Brien; Chris Hill, Micky Higham, Ben Harrison, Ben Westwood, Ben Currie, Stefan Ratchford. Subs: Anthony England, Roy Asotasi, Brad Dwyer, George King.
Scoring: Abdull penalty, 16mins, 2-0; Lancaster try, 21mins, 6-0; Ratchford try, 33mins, Bridge goal, 6-6; Westerman penalty, 40mins, 8-6; Atkins try, 40+mins, Bridge goal, 8-12; Bridge penalty, 48mins, 8-14; Lancaster try, 56mins, 12-14; Harrison try, 62mins, Bridge goal, 12-20; Ormsby try, 70mins, 12-24; Lancaster try, 80+mins, Westerman goal, 18-24.
Referee: Ben Thaler
Penalties: Hull 7 Wolves 9
Attendance: 12,328
Top Man: Ben Harrison
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