TWO tries in the opening minutes of the second half ensured Wolves will go into the new Super League season on a winning note.

Stefan Ratchford and Ryan Atkins scored after the break as Salford Red Devils were beaten at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Joe Philbin crossed to ensure Warrington went into half-time level after Rob Lui’s opportunistic try opened the scoring for the visitors.

The Wire started with purpose, frequently probing deep in Salford territory but the visitors weathered the storm and eventually got a foothold in the game.

After Jake Bibby came within inches of wriggling over from dummy-half, the Red Devils did open the scoring when Gareth O’Brien’s kick bounced back off the post and Lui reacted quickest to touch down.

Indeed, Derrell Olpherts should have increased the visitors’ lead when a free-play move found him in acres of space on the right wing, but he knocked on with the line at his mercy.

That proved the catalyst for The Wire to go on the offensive and Matty Russell was so close to going over in the corner but a superb last-ditch tackle from Manu Vatuvei barrelled him into touch.

However, Warrington weren’t made to wait for long and it was debutant Ben Murdoch-Masila that was the architect.

His superb carry got him through the Salford line and he found Philbin on his inside to gallop over and ensure the sides went into the break level.

The Wire started the second half as they finished the first as Philbin and Daryl Clark got them on the front foot before Ratchford muscled his way over the line on the left edge.

Less than 10 minutes later, Atkins added his name to the scoresheet as he soared high to claim Kevin Brown’s cross-field kick and touch down, with referee Chris Kendall conferring briefly with his touch judge before awarding the try.

The penalty and error counts were high on both sides, but Steve Price will have been pleased as his side kept Salford off the scoresheet in the second half in their final game before kicking off the campaign against Leeds Rhinos on February 1.

Wolves: Stefan Ratchford; Matty Russell, Mitch Brown, Ryan Atkins, Jack Johnson; Kevin Brown, Harvey Livett; Chris Hill, Daryl Clark, Mike Cooper, Jack Hughes, Ben Currie, Ben Murdoch-Masila. Subs: George King, Brad Pinder, Pat Moran, Joe Philbin, Taylor Prell, Morgan Smith, Luis Johnson.

Salford: Niall Evalds; Derrell Olpherts, Jake Bibby, Junior Sa’u, Manu Vatuvei; Rob Lui, Gareth O’Brien; Lee Mossop, Josh Wood, Lama Tasi, Josh Jones, Weller Hauraki, Tyrone McCarthy. Subs: Greg Johnson, Kris Welham, Jack Littlejohn, Craig Kopczak, Logan Tomkins, George Griffin, Mark Flanagan, Luke Burgess, Ben Nakubuwai, Levy Nzoungou, Daniel Murray, Gavin Bennion.