“THE table doesn’t lie” – an oft-used sporting cliché that often appears at this stage of a season.

At the end of the day, Warrington Wolves have finished in Super League’s play-off places because they have deserved to do so, even if they made things a lot less comfortable than they could have been.

And Friday’s win to seal that spot was almost a microcosm of the regular season – they started out on fire, were dragged back through shortcomings of their own making but they retrieved the situation in the end.

While there is still plenty to work on for Gary Chambers’ side, there is an aspect of their performance in West Yorkshire they can afford to be pretty pleased with.

When Will Pryce touched down just shy of the hour mark to bring Huddersfield back to within six points, news came through at pretty much the same time that Salford Red Devils had pulled level with Catalans Dragons.

Whether or not that information had been communicated to the players is unclear but at the very least, the pressure was being turned up and that is a situation this squad have been accused of not handling well.

Tight games have not tended to go their way, but the way in which they regained their composure is heartening going into a knockout situation.

Even though it threatened to get nervy, The Wire ultimately never lost control of the situation and gradually edged themselves out of Huddersfield’s reach.

That came after a fine start which saw them go 12-0 up and threaten to make what had been billed as a tension-filled night seem like a stroll in the park.

Tom Mikaele, James Harrison and Jordy Crowther marched Huddersfield down the field, all of them stepping up admirably in Paul Vaughan’s absence, while George Williams’ pinpoint kicking meant the hosts were always coming out of corners.

Then, the sloppiness that has punctuated their displays of late started to creep in as needless errors allowed Huddersfield more opportunities to attack their line than would have been preferable.

On the whole, they defended those errors pretty well and only two tries conceded is a good effort considering the possession the Giants were afforded.

It was a continuation of the defensive durability they display against St Helens last time out, but they cannot afford to keep putting themselves in those positions as one day, it will cost them.

However, they have earned the right to fight another day, which was the sole mission in this game.