Northwich 2nd 6 Warrington 3rd 16

WARRINGTON'S third string combined clinical attack with sterling defence in the second period to gain an excellent win over neighbours Northwich.

Constant pressure eventually bore dividends when they were awarded a penalty try, following persistent handling in rucks by the Northwich pack.

Kevin Jones, who also added three penalties, converted.

The first 40 minutes saw Warrington squander a number of try-scoring opportunities while finding it difficult to manage Northwich’s powerful counter-rucking.

However, both sides kept the scoreboard ticking over with two penalties each.

The Warrington pack started to gain more possession in the second period and a couple of bullocking runs from Chris Higham were unlucky not to bear fruit before the penalty try.

The third penalty from Jones allowed Warrington to enjoy a ten-point buffer and they defended this heroically for the final 10 minutes of the game, stemming continuous Northwich attacks.

Coach Lee Graham said: “Defence is a major part of our game although it does help to have some old heads in the side and this week a lot of credit must go to the very old three-quarter heads of Gaz Jeckman, Kevin Jones and Tony Fretwell, who were complemented by the young legs of man-of-the-match Ben Hockenhull.”