WOLVES boss Tony Smith says Dec Patton “looked the part” as he helped his side to their first Super League victory of the season.

The 21-year-old set up Ryan Atkins’ opening try, kicked four goals and a drop goal as The Wire secured a 25-14 victory over Leeds.

Patton was making his first appearance since March 4 and Smith hailed the performance of the homegrown half-back.

“Dec Patton was good, his game management was a whole lot better,” he said.

"He didn't come up with the errors that had been hampering his performances.

"He challenged the line, took on the opposition and came up with some great plays for us.

"He certainly looked the part so I'm pleased for him.”

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Atkins scored two first-half tries for The Wire as they recovered from Ben Westwood’s early sin-binning, which was immediately followed by Tom Briscoe opening the scoring.

Tom Lineham crossed just after the break, but Matt Parcell and Joel Moon’s tries ensured Leeds stayed in the game.

However, Kurt Gidley burrowed over late on and Patton’s drop goal put the icing on the cake.

Westwood’s first-minute sin-binning caused controversy, with many feeling the veteran forward should have been sent off.

However, Smith believed referee James Child made the right decision.

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The Wire boss was also full of praise for several individual performances as his side moved off the bottom of Super League.

“Bennie's challenge was late but there was nothing in it in terms of anything else,” he said.

“The 10 minutes was warranted. I think there may be a few ‘chicken wings’ and other tackles looked at as well.

“Matty Russell was outstanding for us, Tommy Lineham and Ryan Atkins were really good as well.

"Daryl Clark can't buy a penalty at the moment! I thought he developed a little bit of subtlety out of dummy-half.

“There was always the faith. We might not be as high on points as we'd like but we know we're going to climb the ladder and do it our way.”