FITTINGLY for the time of year, Warrington Wolves raised themselves from the depths of defeat to Widnes to put 50 points on a spirited Broncos side at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Wolves completed their own Easter resurrection, not only fighting back from that lacklustre defeat to their ‘derby’ rivals but climbing back from a shaky first half performance to run in six unanswered tries to open a decisive score line by the final hooter.

Kieran Dixon’s first half hat-trick ensured Broncos were well in the contest when the half time hooter sounded, but braces for Stefan Ratchford, Rhys Williams, Joel Monaghan and Chris Bridge, with single tries for Brett Hodgson and Ben Currie ensured Wolves completed the contentious Easter double header with two points in the bag.

The return of Michael Monaghan, Brett Hodgson and Chris Bridge after their rest on Good Friday was undoubtedly crucial to Wolves’ return to winning ways, but it was the bright displays of Ben Currie and Mike Cooper that provided Wolves some spark after the break.

Wolves were stunned inside six minutes, when Chad Randall’s interception of Richie Myler’s pass rapidly turned defence into attack. Myler chased back brilliantly to haul Randall down, but Broncos capitalised on Wolves’ sluggish defence, surging up the left wing before Kieran Dixon took an offload on the opposite flank to round Rhys Williams to the corner.

It was a try massively against the run of play, but Wolves did not let their heads drop. Instead they resumed normal service, moving to within 30 metres of London’s line and scoring the first of two tries in the space of two minutes. First Richie Myler’s high, hanging kick was plucked out of the air by Joel Monaghan, before Rhys Williams crossed on the opposite flank following a break from Brett Hodgson and a lovely long ball from Myler. Hodgson added the second goal to open a 10-4 lead for the hosts.

But the young Broncos side were keen to ruffle some feathers and hit back another unconverted effort on the right wing. Keeping the ball alive brilliantly down the line from left to right, a long ball sent the unmarked Dixon over for a simple try to reduce their arrears to 10-8.

Chris Bridge, who is still feeling his way back from a knee injury, had been protected from Widnes’ i-pitch on Good Friday. It did the centre no good, however, as he limped off the field on 35 minutes. That was only after he made an impact with a quick-fire double in side five first-half minutes, pouncing first on Alex Hurst’s shambolic handling of a Ratchford grubber to cross for a try converted by Hodgson. Less than five minutes later he was in again, taking Ratchford’s ball and exchanging lovely passes with Joel Monaghan before charging over through a gap. Hodgson added another goal to open a 22-8 lead.

But the last word of a scrappy half was left to London, who once again exposed defensive frailties on Wolves’ right to send Dixon over for his hat-trick try. Dixon was at full charge to bundle Williams over in the corner and Witt’s kick added the final twist to a rollercoaster half.

Wolves started the second half on the front foot and soon extended their lead. Gifted a fresh set of six within 10 metres of the Broncos line after a fumbled high kick, Brett Hodgson dummied and took on the Broncos defence, planting the ball over the line before slotting the subsequent kick to open a 28-14 lead after 44 minutes.

Tony Smith’s words at half time looked to have done the trick, as his side controlled much more of the play in the second half and were content to pick their moments in attack. Those moments came in quick succession just after the hour mark, when Ratchford, Joel Monaghan and Ben Currie scored four tries in 10 minutes to put the game to bed.

Both of Ratchford’s brace were the result of excellent support of breaks through the middle, as first he was on the shoulder of Chris Hill’s line-busting run and then on hand to take Hodgson’s short ball to touch down his second in two minutes.

Joel Monaghan then touched down a trademark diving try in the corner after Myler’s break had been halted on the opposite touchline, with Wolves clinically moving the ball down the line to expose Broncos out wide.

Currie’s kick came off the back of an unlikely source, when Ben Westwood’s high clearance kick was fumbled by the Broncos defence to hand the hosts another shot at the London line. Ben Currie was left hopping with frustration when Myler refused to pass with the try line beckoning, but the young second rower did not have to wait long to open his account. On the next play Currie charged at full pace onto a short ball and the Broncos were powerless to stop him crossing the line.

Wolves had the wind in their sails and had the 50-point mark in their sights. Less than five minutes later, they reached that milestone after a wonderful, and slightly fortuitous second try for Williams. Making a break down the right, Joel Monaghan hooked a kick back into the middle, which was palmed back by Myler to Ratchford. Taking advantage of London’s scattered defence, Ratchford sent Williams over for a simple finish, with Hodgson making up for two consecutive goal misses by slotting over the kick to make it 54-14.

The last word went to London, however, as in the last minute Chad Randall was held up over the line, before Erjon Dollapi battered his way over next to the posts to give Witt a simple conversion.

Wolves: Brett Hodgson; Rhys Williams, Ryan Atkins, Chris Bridge, Joel Monaghan; Stefan Ratchford, Richie Myler; Paul Wood, Michael Monaghan, Chris Hill, Trent Waterhouse, Ben Westwood, Simon Grix. Subs: Garreth Carvell, Ben Harrison, Mike Cooper, Ben Currie.

Broncos: Alex Hurst; Liam Colbon, Michael Channing, Chris Melling, Kieran Dixon; Michael Witt, James Woodburn-Hall; Matt Cook, Chad Randall, Scott Wheeldon, Mike McMeekan, Will Lovell, Antonio Kaufusi. Subs: Olsi Krasniqi, Ben Fisher, Erjon Dollapi, Shane Grady.