AFTER the worst run of results during Tony Smith’s reign, Saturday’s response was needed.

Winning a league game by the widest margin in the club’s history, no matter the opposition, is testament to the turnaround and a confidence boost.

For those among the smallest home Super League crowd since 2009, all concerns arising from this year’s Wolves performances were nowhere to be seen, albeit against the weakest Wildcats side in memory.

This was a slick, efficient, energetic, penetrative, merciless Wolves outfit, perhaps determined to right a few wrongs and certainly invigorated by the youthful introductions of debutant Declan Patton at stand off, along with Toby King and Gene Ormsby making their first appearances of the season on the left edge.

Combined with the relatively experienced 20-year-old Ben Currie, they all lit up the left-hand side of Warrington’s attack as Super League XX’s lowest scorers crossed for 14 tries - only league leaders Leeds have now scored more points this season.

Although Ormsby’s dandy footwork brought Wolves’ first try in the 10th minute, the wait for the next score was longer in a fairly competitive opening that belied the one-way traffic to follow – Wolves amassing 74 points in the final 59 minutes.

Stefan Ratchford scored 28 of them, crossing once and adding 12 conversions, but it was the try-doubles from Ormsby, King and Currie that caught the eye along with the half-back partnership of 19-year-old Patton and Richie Myler, whose splendid support play earned him a hat-trick.

While Myler was full of spark in only his second game back from injury, former Latchford Albion junior Patton looked composed and commanding as he joined the orchestration with pin-point distribution and a much-desired strong kicking game.

Eighteen-year-old King, a late call-up for the injured Ryan Atkins, was a constant threat in only his second Super League game that was only his second match since returning from a broken jaw.

Ormsby was a handful with his strength, pace and fend after having only played around 20 minutes with partner club North Wales Crusaders in three weeks.

A lot of positive signs for Warrington, but the true tests are yet to come.

MATCH FACTS

Warrington Wolves...80 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats...0

Wolves: Stefan Ratchford; Joel Monaghan, Chris Bridge, Toby King, Gene Ormsby; Declan Patton, Richie Myler; Chris Hill, Micky Higham, Roy Asotasi, Ben Currie, Ben Westwood, Ben Harrison. Subs: Daryl Clark, Ashton Sims, Anthony England, James Laithwaite.

Wildcats: Jarrod Sammut; Chris Riley, Craig Hall, Joe Arundel, Richard Owen; Jacob Miller, Tim Smith; Mickael Simon, Paul McShane, George Griffin, Danny Kirmond, Danny Washbrook, Daniel Smith. Subs: Kyle Trout, Matt Ryan, Pita Godinet, Ali Lauitiiti.

Scoring: Ormsby try, 10mins, 6-0; King try, 21mins, 12-0; Clark try, 29mins, 18-0; Myler try, 35mins, 24-0; Sims try, 39mins, 30-0; Ormsby try, 48mins, 36-0; Ratchford try, 50mins, 40-0; Westwood try, 55mins, 46-0; Monaghan try, 58mins, 50-0; King try, 61mins, 56-0; Myler try, 67mins, 62-0; Currie try, 69mins, 68-0; Myler try, 76mins, 74-0; Currie try, 78mins, 80-0. Ratchford kicked 12 goals

Penalties: Wolves 7 Wildcats 4

Referee: Robert Hicks

Attendance: 8,036

Top Man: Richie Myler

Wolves' widest margin of victory in their history (previously 82-6 v London in 2011)

Matches widest Super League winning margin (Bradford 96-16 Salford, in 2000, and Leeds 86-6 Huddersfield, in 1999)

 Ends a run of four successive defeats for Wolves 

Declan Patton made his Wolves debut