Warrington Wolves head coach on win over Wakefield

The 34-24 victory at The Halliwell Jones Stadium was The Wire’s second in succession and lifted them back to fifth in the Super League table.

Tom Lineham scored a hat-trick of tries, with Bryson Goodwin, Mike Cooper and Ben Murdoch-Masila adding further points to Wolves’ highest total of 2018 to date.

Price admits there were areas of his side’s defence that concerned him but that the performance was “a tick in the right direction” overall.

“We did look dangerous at times, but we haven’t had that complete performance as yet. We’re building towards it,” he said.

“When you come up against a top-three team, they are going to throw a fair bit at you in attack.

“I was really pleased with patches of the game and not so pleased with others.

“We pride ourselves on defence and we leaked a few too many points.

“There were periods where we never got our tackle control right and our markers and line weren’t set.

“That was a little bit frustrating at times, but there were periods in which we did exceptional in that regard as well and that negated the shots we took on our edge.

“Overall, it’s a tick in the right direction. It’s the first time we’ve scored that amount of points this season, so we can draw a lot of positives and confidence out of that.”

Lineham attracted the headlines for his treble just days after the club announced the signing of England international winger Josh Charnley.

Price says he was pleased with how the former Hull man responded to his place being under threat and that he was one of several outstanding performances on the night.

“Both wingers have been challenged and put on notice. For Tom to score three tries, it was a great display by him,” he said.

“As I’ve said for a while now, the more our halves play together the better they are going to be.

“We saw throughout the game that Tyrone and Kev had one of their better displays together.

“There were a lot of great displays. I thought Mike Cooper was outstanding again through the middle third.

“Daz Clark as well, with all the little efforts he does off the ball, was first class.”

The Wire were boosted by some superb impact – literally in some cases – from their interchanges, particularly Sitaleki Akauola and Ben Murdoch-Masila.

Former Salford man Murdoch-Masila scored a superb long-range try, while Akauola produced some eye-catching carries during his barnstorming stint.

One of those was a 50-metre break straight from the kick off for the second half, which Price says was a turning point in the contest.

“Sita’s carry off the kick off was a big turning point. That’s the best game he’s played for us,” he said.

“The more confidence and game time he gets, he’s going to get even better.

“Benny Murdoch’s carry for his try was the old Benny Murdoch.

“That’s what we expect more of but I was really pleased for him to get over the line tonight.”

The Wire go into a double-header of fixtures over the Easter weekend in confident mood, with several players expected back to give Price food for thought.

The Wire boss resisted the temptation to give Charnley an immediate debut and says he still has “work to do” before he can come into the side.

However, he may be drafted in as a result of an injury as Lineham sat out the final stages of the contest having picked up a hamstring injury in the act of scoring his third try.

“We’ve got a few players coming back over the Easter period, which is healthy for our club.

“Josh has a bit of work to do. He has to understand our systems and structures.

“Mitch and Tom have been doing a reasonable job for us, but I’ve got some tough decisions to make next week, which is a good position to be in.

“Tom came off with a little bit of a hamstring strain so we’ll have a look at that.

“We’ve got Dom Crosby, Ryan Atkins, Ben Currie and obviously Josh Charnley to come into the frame over Easter.

“It’s a new experience for me, but I’m very fortunate to have a coaching group around me that has been through it many times now.

“It’s important that I listen to them, but I’ve got the confidence in my staff to get the job done.”