TONY Smith said Wolves’ 22-8 victory over Halifax was “a wake-up call” for his side.

Despite the victory, The Wire put in an unconvincing display against their first Championship opposition in the Middle 8s.

The game was in the balance until the final 10 minutes when Wolves pulled away and signs of dissatisfaction among the home support were audible throughout the game.

However, Smith says his side can learn a lot from their sixth victory in a row.

“It was a different challenge, they are all different,” he said.

“It was a good wake-up call for us, all credit to Halifax for the way they defended.

“They knew they needed to slow us down to stay in the game and they did a good job of it. They were way too clean in the ruck area last week and they paid a price for it.

“It was a good test. We were a bit flat in the first half, we had to respond and we did.

“I’m not too down on my players, they’ve been playing well lately and everyone is entitled to be a little bit flat from time to time.

“Richard Marshall has done a great job with them there. It won’t hurt the rest of their campaign and they will take a lot away from the game.

“We will too, we’ve learned some good lessons.

Peta Hiku and Fax’s Chester Butler swapped unconverted tries in the first half before Chris Hill put The Wire ahead after the break.

Butler’s second put the visitors back within two points of the lead, but late scores from Matty Russell and Andre Savelio, plus a Declan Patton penalty, saw Wolves home.

Smith says the scoreline would have been more convincing if more would have gone their way before half time.

The Wire boss praised the performances of a couple of his players but labelled referee Robert Hicks’ display as “Championship standard.”

“We got held up two or three times over the line in the first half, plus a couple of dubious obstruction calls when we were going through,” he said.

“If you nail those, it gives the whole game a different outlook.

“I also thought we had a Championship-standard referee today. That’s going to happen from time to time and we’ve got to learn to cope with that and come out on top regardless.

“Chris Hill was enormous today, Peta Hiku was terrific as well. Those two led us in many respects, followed by a few others.

“Matty Russell did a couple of unbelievably good things, his try in the corner is exceptional.”