Northwich 33 Warrington 23

ANDY Roberts was keen to take the positives as his Warrington side lost out to a much bigger Northwich outfit.

Tom Wood and Johnnie Evans crossed for tries for the visitors, with Ben Hockenhull kicking two conversions and three penalties.

Hockenhull had the chance to secure a losing bonus point for Roberts’ men, but his late penalty sailed wide.

Ultimately, Northwich’s size advantage proved telling at Moss Farm but Roberts was pleased with how his team competed.

“We battled well against all the odds,” he said.

“We gave away at least a stone per man all round but our tackling was resolute.

“Our front row never gave an inch and our line out worked well.

“We face Burnage away on Saturday and, hopefully, we can build on our good points to pick up our first league win.”

Northwich took the lead with an early converted try from Richard Dale before the sides swapped penalties to bring the score to 10-3.

The hosts added another try through Will Du Randt, but Hockenhull kicked another three-pointer closely followed by his opposite number Nick Baldwin.

However, Wood produced a classic show-and-go to score Warrington’s first try after Steve Pilkington’s break earned them an attacking scrum, with Hockenhull adding the extras to take the half-time score to 18-13.

Matthew Poste and Du Randt gave Northwich more comfort after the interval either side of another Hockenhull penalty, but Evans snuck over after several good phases of pressure to keep Warrington alive.

Nathan Beesley had a try ruled out for Warrington before Baldwin’s drop goal sealed Northwich’s win.

Broughton Park 2nd 18 Warrington 2nd 18

WARRINGTON’S seconds could not be separated from their Broughton Park counterparts on Saturday.

Cameron Davies crossed twice for Warrington, with Ben Dixon kicking two penalties and a conversion.

“We fielded a mix of young players and veterans today but they combined well to force the draw we deserved,” commented captain Dan Griffiths.