BLAKE Austin reckons he is starting to find his feet with his running game in Super League.

After his masterclass display in a 63-12 demolition of Hull FC in round eight it is hard to disagree.

The first four-try haul of his professional career was a highlight of a stunning night for The Wire at the KCOM Stadium.

He also had a hand in the majority of the seven other Wire tries, despite playing most of the game with a bandaged head due to a cut caused by an opponent’s knee in a desperate bid to stop him scoring the opening try in a whirlwind start.

The contest was over inside 22 minutes, with Steve Price’s side already leading 28-0 and Austin on his way to a first-half hat-trick.

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Pictures by Mike Boden

“It was pleasing,” said the 28-year-old, The Wire’s marquee signing for 2019 from Australian NRL side Canberra Raiders.

“Fans love points in this league, it’s one of the things I’ve learned since I’ve started.

“I think probably more pleasing was how we scored them points.

“I thought we were pretty clinical, we moved the ball around well.


“All season we’ve been able to put a flurry of points together at certain stages in a match.

“The difference this time was that we were able to keep the points coming and really put them to the sword.

“To hold them to 14 (12) points was pleasing and it was just an enjoyable night all round.”

And all the more enjoyable for him with the four touch downs, the third of which was a spectacular 60-metre effort from first receiver straight through the heart of a fragmented Hull defence.

> What Steve Price said about Austin and Wire's 63-12 win

It was the first time a Wire player has scored four tries in an away game against Hull.

“It’s hard to come by that sort of stuff very often so you have to enjoy it and I certainly had fun,” he said.

“I’ve not scored four tries before in a game, not since I was a kid probably. As I said, it’s not easy to come by so I certainly had a good night.”

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Wire head coach Steve Price during the press conference at the KCOM Stadium. Picture: Mike Boden

Price said after the game he felt Austin’s running game has started to show its true colours over the past two weeks, starting in the narrow win at Wakefield when Warrington established a similar early lead before being clawed back and almost throwing the win away.

“My running game is something Pricey and me have been discussing,” said Austin, who has now clocked up seven tries in eight appearances.

“To be honest, I’ve struggled to get it going early on.

“It’s a slightly different game over here and I’ve struggled picking my times when to run and when to pass, but I think I’ve had a really good balance the last couple of weeks.

“Hopefully I can keep building on that.

> More pictures of Austin and Wire in 63-12 win at Hull FC

“I think back home it’s a bit more methodical and you can ‘pick it’ a bit better, whereas here it’s difficult to predict what’s going to happen with the defensive line.

“So, I’m slowly getting the hang of that. I’ve learned that if you push more on more players and you’re around the ball then you get more opportunities.”

The players around him are certainly laying the platform to allow his talents to flourish, something very much in evidence at the KCOM Stadium when co-captain Chris Hill, fellow prop Mike Cooper and loose-forward Joe Philbin proved too hot for the Airlie Birds to handle.

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Chris Hill leading the Warrington charge against Hull FC

“I think our middles need a big rap, the way they’re promoting the ball but also running hard on the back of it,” said Austin.

“I think we’ve got the best middle in the competition and Daryl Clark on the back of that is certainly good to watch.

“We spoke about it all pre-season that we were expecting a lot from our middles and that we wanted them to really move the ball and that’s what we’re getting.”

And with Josh Charnley bagging himself a hat-trick as well as the returning Tom Lineham crossing twice on the opposite flank, Austin is well aware of the quality finishers he can call on in primrose and blue.

“We’ve got a lot of competitors that like to be around the ball and we’ve got guys who know how to get themselves in the right spots,” he said.

“It makes for nights like the one at Hull at certain times.”

> Vote for your Wire man of the match in win against Hull FC

Austin says he and his family are happy with the new chapter in their life in Warrington.

“Everything’s travelling really well,” he said.

“We couldn’t have settled any better and as a team we’re not quite where we need to be – although that sounds a bit silly after a performance like the one at Hull – but we’ve slowly been building and we’re very comfortable with the way we’re travelling.”

Austin and his teammates could well find expectation rising among Wire supporters after such a thrilling display on Humberside.

He said: “It’s not something we’re going to read into.

“Obviously we want our fans to be happy but at the end of the day we’re pushing towards an ultimate goal.

“The journey we take to get that will be up and down but as I said we’re comfortable with how we’re travelling and we’re confident we’ll get to where we want to be in the not too distant future.”

The head cut will not keep him out of The Wire’s next game against London Broncos at The Halliwell Jones Stadium next Friday.

“It was a bit of a rough match. I copped a knee to the head on the first try but it’s part of the game and you’ve just got to get on with it I guess,” he said.

He is looking forward to playing at home again in front of a Warrington crowd, having enjoyed what he has experienced at The Halliwell Jones Stadium so far.

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Blake Austin celebrates his first try for The Wire on debut against Leeds at The Halliwell Jones Stadium in round one. Picture: Mike Boden

“It’s been unreal,” he said.

“We’ve got really passionate fans, as a lot of clubs do over here, but to get a regular 10,000-plus and up around the 14,000 mark is a great achievement by the club.

“Our marketing team and the guys behind the scenes put a lot of work into getting people through the gates and they need to be commended on that.”

If Austin and the boys continue in the vein of form they showed at Hull FC, the marketing staff’s job should be a walk in the park.