FANS will have arrived at The Halliwell Jones Stadium thinking performances could not get much worse. They left in the knowledge that it could.

After a hammering at Leeds, the Wolves faithful saw their team succumb to another heavy defeat and this time, they made their displeasure heard.

Calls from the terraces and from the internet for Tony Smith to leave his post looked to have been answered shortly after the game, only for the Wire boss to rebuff rumours of his departure.

He will have been as frustrated as any fan as he saw his players turn in a performance riddled with confusion with the ball and flimsiness without it.

Once again, they started well and could have found themselves ahead early on if Daryl Clark had managed to get the ball down or if Kevin Brown’s well-directed grubber had bounced kindly off the post.

Instead, they conceded two tries from Salford’s first forays into their half and once Junior Sa’u had made it 18-0 after 23 minutes, there looked to be no way back.

A brief rally followed as Brad Dwyer scored from dummy-half, but Wolves could not make the most of the numerical advantage given to them after Weller Hauraki’s sin-binning.

This was a team that looked bereft of ideas and confidence. In possession, there was no fluidity and, on occasion, players found themselves running into one another.

Salford, on the other hand, had enthusiasm and class by the bucket load, led by the impressive Todd Carney.

Two of Niall Evalds’ hat-trick of tries came from the Australian putting clever kicks in behind the out-of-position Matty Russell as the Red Devils’ left edge terrorised The Wire.

Unlike the Headingley horror show, Wolves did at least post points and prevented their opponents getting to 40, but that really is clutching at straws.

A dangerously leaky defence, 78 points conceded in two games, and a disjointed attack add up to worrying times for Warrington and their fans.

A clash with struggling Huddersfield awaits and you feel this, more than most, is a game The Wire dare not lose.

INTERESTING NOTES:

. Brad Dwyer scores his first try of the season.

. Dwyer’s effort came 119 minutes after The Wire’s previous Super League try (Jack Hughes v Wigan, May 20)

. Salford’s first win at Warrington since June 2011

. Junior Sa’u now has eight tries in his last five appearances against Wolves

MATCH FACTS:

Super League Round 16, Monday, May 29, 2016:

Warrington Wolves…12 Salford Red Devils…38

Wolves: Stefan Ratchford; Matty Russell, Jack Hughes, Ryan Atkins, Tom Lineham; Kevin Brown, Dec Patton; Chris Hill, Daryl Clark, Mike Cooper, Benjamin Jullien, Joe Philbin, Joe Westerman. Subs: Ashton Sims, Brad Dwyer, George King, Andre Savelio.

Salford: Gareth O’Brien; Greg Johnson, Jake Bibby, Junior Sa’u, Niall Evalds; Robert Lui, Todd Carney; Lama Tasi, Kristian Brining, James Hasson, Ben Murdoch-Masila, Weller Hauraki, Mark Flanagan. Subs: Craig Kopczak, Olsi Krasniqi, Josh Wood, Daniel Murray.

Scoring: Bibby try, 14mins, O’Brien goal, 0-6; Evalds try, 16mins, O’Brien goal, 0-12; Sa’u try, 23mins, O’Brien goal, 0-18; Dwyer try, 34mins, Patton goal, 6-18; Sa’u try, 38mins, 6-22; Evalds try, 49mins, 6-26; Evalds try, 58mins, O’Brien goal, 6-32; Lineham try, 65mins, Patton goal, 12-32; Brining try, 74mins, O’Brien goal, 12-38.

Penalties: Wolves 5 Salford 3.

Referee: Phil Bentham.

Sin bin: Jullien (26mins, professional foul), Hauraki (33mins, professional foul) Attendance: 10,684.

Man of the match (Guardian view): Ryan Atkins.