Salford Red Devils 30 Warrington Wolves 31

WHATEVER else happens this season, the wonder drop goal from Chris Sandow to win a thrilling contest against resurgent Salford on the hooter will be among the highlights.

Special players do special things, and to hit the bullseye in that instant from 41 metres on a treacherous surface with opponents hunting you down was a stroke of genius.

There was nothing ‘lucky’ about his first Wire one-pointer. He set up the position, barking out the orders for hugely impressive Matty Russell to charge centrally into Salford’s half. Even then, Sandow had to step right to find space and produce the hoof of his life from a tricky angle to seal Wolves’ fourth straight win of 2016.

No wonder, with Wolves having trailed 30-12 with 21 minutes remaining, pandemonium broke out among Wire fans after they unwittingly united in sucking the ball between the sticks as Sandow’s last-gasp shot screamed towards them.

As much as full back Russell was immense carrying the ball, skipper Chris Hill was humongous in defence, Ben Currie was inspirational in taking the fight to the physical Salford pack and Ryan Atkins was clinical when he was needed to be, it was definitely Sandow’s night.

Without his influential sparring partner Kurt Gidley at his side for the first time this season, Sandow needed to show how he could be top dog.

He had a hand in four of the five tries, landed all the conversions and delivered the platform for the second-half fightback with a tactical kicking masterclass.

And it was all done with a smile on his face, highlighting how Sandow’s move from Parramatta Eels late last season has been a winning one all round.

While it was sickening to see Gary Wheeler crumple in a heap with a snapped Achilles in the most innocuous of circumstances, highly versatile Stefan Ratchford’s comeback display was welcome and commendable both as Sandow’s half-back partner and also for a spell covering at hooker.

Spare a thought for Mitch Dodds on his debut too. His last match for Brisbane Broncos, the 2015 NRL Grand Final, ended sunken by Jonathan Thurston’s golden-point drop goal for North Queensland Cowboys but his first appearance in Super League came with an altogether different set of emotions.

INTERESTING NOTES:

Wolves have not lost away to Salford since 2012

Four wins is Wolves’ best start to a Super League season since 1999

MATCH FACTS:

Super League Round Four, Thursday, March 3, 2016

Salford Red Devils...30

Warrington Wolves...31

Red Devils: Gareth O’Brien; Justin Carney, Junior Sa’u, Josh Griffin, Greg Johnson; Robert Lui, Michael Dobson; Craig Kopczak, Tommy Lee, George Griffin, Ben Murdoch-Masila, Josh Jones, Mark Flanagan. Subs: Niall Evalds, Adam Walne, Logan Tomkins, Jordan Walne.

Wolves: Matty Russell; Tom Lineham, Rhys Evans, Ryan Atkins, Kevin Penny; Stefan Ratchford, Chris Sandow; Chris Hill, Brad Dwyer, Ashton Sims, Jack Hughes, Ben Currie, Joe Westerman. Subs: George King, Mitch Dodds, Benjamin Jullien, Gary Wheeler.

Scoring: Sa’u try, 3mins, Dobson converts, 6-0; Hughes try, 8mins, Sandow converts, 6-6; Currie try, 11mins, Sandow converts, 6-12; Jones try, 16mins, O’Brien converts, 12-12; Johnson try, 23mins, O’Brien converts, 18-12; Sa’u try, 29mins, O’Brien converts, 24-12; Josh Griffin try, 33mins, 28-12; O’Brien penalty goal, 49mins, 30-12; Atkins try, 60mins, Sandow goal, 30-18; Atkins try, 63mins, Sandow goal, 30-24; Sims try, 67mins, Sandow goal, 30-30; Sandow drop goal, 80mins, 30-31.

Sin bin: Currie and Carney (53mins, roughing up)

Penalties: Red Devils 12 Wolves 9

Referee: Robert Hicks

Attendance: 4,381

Top Man: Matty Russell