Warrington Wolves 46 Widnes Vikings 40, talking points

The Wire and neighbours Widnes Vikings shared 86 points in a high-scoring thriller at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, with a young Warrington side holding out for a 46-40 victory.

Our Wire reporter Matt Turner was at the game and gives us his five key takeaways here…

One for the scrapbook for youngsters

Of course, this was only a friendly but try telling that to the Wire youngsters that were out there on Friday.

This effort and the result it garners will be one they will remember and all of those who featured will be better players for the experience.

It is not a stretch to imagine a few of them have pushed their cases to knock on the first-team door this season, particularly prop forwards Max Wood and Luke Thomas.

The fact both were awarded new deals – Wood after an impressive trial while Thomas has penned a three-year extension – shows Sam Burgess rates them highly and on Friday, they showed exactly why with a display filled with aggression and intent.

There are plenty of lessons as well particularly in terms of goal line defence although a late drop-off was perhaps natural for such a young side against experienced opposition.

Overall, though, everyone who turned out can be extremely proud of their efforts.

Celebrations following Cai Taylor-Wray's second try (Image: Mike Boden)

‘Flat and fast’ style continues

Pre-match, there were musings of whether or not we would see a hint of the kind of style a Sam Burgess-coached team would employ on the ball in this game.

Efforts are being made to bring in a uniform style across all levels and age groups, which can only help in the long run.

As assistant coach Martin Gleeson explained post-match, the lack of familiarity within the side meant a simple game plan was always going to be the way to go but if this kind of “nail the basics” mantra is adopted and stuck to, the first team cannot go far wrong.

There was an emphasis on ‘flat and fast’ towards the back end of 2023 and there was a continuation of that on Friday, with Wire ploughing through the middle whenever they could and trying to batter the door down.

Luke Thomas was a top performer in the front row as Wire employed a direct style (Image: Mike Boden)

Clean and error-free

The simple game plan discussed above required discipline on both sides of the ball in order to be executed properly.

For the most part, that was exactly what happened.

Things were loose at the start and the end but for the majority of proceedings, Warrington’s youngsters turned the ball over on their terms and their defensive aggression remained on the right side of the line of legality.

Perhaps most impressive, though, was that they were not pulled up for an incorrect play-the-ball once – an area teams have been told referees will be policing stringently in 2024.

Gleeson stated post-match that this area was being drummed in heavily during training and that will be music to the ears of a fanbase who watched their side turn the ball over cheaply on far too many occasions last year.

Tom Whitehead touches down (Image: Mike Boden)

Dwyer states his case

Having returned to the club where his senior career began, Brad Dwyer could have been forgiven for feeling a little aghast at his situation.

Despite Sam Powell’s signing effectively pushing him out to third choice, however, he has clearly got his head down and is determined to take any chance he gets.

That was in evidence on Friday in a lively display as he marshalled the younger players around him expertly.

His delivery from dummy-half was excellent as he brought his forwards onto the ball well before profiting from the ruck speed they were able to generate in the way everyone knows he can.

Brad Dwyer capped a lively showing with a first-half try (Image: Mike Boden)

Livewire full-back catches the eye

Josh Thewlis’ withdrawal from this game with a knee injury gave a chance for a young player of whom plenty is expected to shine.

There has been excitement about Cai Taylor-Wray’s talent from when he first joined the scholarship side in 2022, and there is clearly a lot to like about his game.

While small in stature, there is certainly bravery aplenty in the young Yorkshireman as he took in some tough yardage carries and, barring an error from the kick off, he was faultless under the high ball.

But of course, what really caught the eye was the way in which he took his brace of tries, charging through a stretched defence following a neat handling move in the first half before supporting Leon Hayes’ break in the second.

All-in then, he showed all the traits of a talented full-back and is certainly one to keep an eye on for the future.

Cai Taylor-Wray races away to score his second try (Image: Mike Boden)