QUIET optimism will have been the mood of Wire fans as they left The Halliwell Jones Stadium on Saturday.

They had seen their team win, but they had also seen them display the attributes their new head coach has been calling for since his arrival.

“Tough and resilient” has been the mantra for Steve Price throughout pre-season, placing emphasis on a defence that left so much to be desired in 2017.

They showed that in spades as the calibre of pre-season opposition stepped up again, with Salford forcing them onto the back foot for several spells.

Some of it was self-inflicted, with the penalty count too high on both sides and the freezing conditions more than likely contributing to the number of handling errors being committed, but The Wire stuck to their task.

It took a bit of good fortune to break them – Rob Lui taking advantage as Gareth O’Brien’s kick took a kind bounce off the post – but after that Salford rarely looked like scoring.

With the team looking defensively sound despite being behind, it was time to focus on matters at the other end of the field.

In that department, many eyes will have been on Ben Murdoch-Masila as he made his first appearance in primrose and blue. He did not disappoint.

It was his barrelling run and superb offload that set up Joe Philbin to bring the scores level, while he and the rest of the forwards set a platform for the excellent Daryl Clark to show signs that he may be approaching his devastating best.

After the break, it was Clark getting Wolves on the front foot again and the resulting move allowed Stefan Ratchford to touch down, before a pinpoint cross-field kick from Kevin Brown saw Ryan Atkins move the margin out to 12 points.

However, despite doing enough to win, Price highlighted the need for improvement in execution and attacking structure.

He makes a good point as Warrington threw plenty of shape at Salford, but the visitors coped with it well in the main.

The attacking display must be put into context, however.

Tyrone Roberts, who will almost certainly be The Wire’s orchestrator-in-chief, was absent, while the three-quarter line had a slightly makeshift look to it with Bryson Goodwin and Tom Lineham missing.

Mitch Brown and Jack Johnson did little wrong in their place, but one would assume Goodwin and Lineham will take their places when the serious stuff begins.

With the Super League opener against Leeds drawing ever nearer, things certainly seem more optimistic than this time last year, when the final pre-season friendly saw Wolves nilled by Huddersfield.

There is, of course, much to work on, but also plenty to build upon.

Wolves: Stefan Ratchford; Matty Russell, Mitch Brown, Ryan Atkins, Jack Johnson; Kevin Brown, Harvey Livett; Chris Hill, Daryl Clark, Mike Cooper, Jack Hughes, Ben Currie, Ben Murdoch-Masila. Subs: George King, Brad Pinder, Pat Moran, Joe Philbin, Taylor Prell, Morgan Smith, Luis Johnson.

Salford: Niall Evalds; Derrell Olpherts, Jake Bibby, Junior Sa’u, Manu Vatuvei; Rob Lui, Gareth O’Brien; Lee Mossop, Josh Wood, Lama Tasi, Josh Jones, Weller Hauraki, Tyrone McCarthy. Subs: Greg Johnson, Kris Welham, Jack Littlejohn, Craig Kopczak, Logan Tomkins, George Griffin, Mark Flanagan, Luke Burgess, Ben Nakubuwai, Levy Nzoungou, Daniel Murray, Gavin Bennion.

Attendance: 3,208.