Steve Price on Warrington Wolves' Grand Final defeat

Their 12-4 defeat at Old Trafford was their fourth loss from as many appearances in the season-ending showpiece – three of them at the hands of their neighbours.

The Wire’s wait for a championship title will now stretch to a 64th year as they could not make the most of Josh Charnley’s try giving them an early lead.

Wire’s Grand Final heartbreak as it happened

How the game was won plus fan reaction

Match action photo gallery

Wire fans at Old Trafford photo gallery

Price insisted he was proud of his side’s commitment but admitted they were found wanting in their decision-making offensively.

He also criticised referee Robert Hicks for not sin-binning Wigan full-back Sam Tomkins for either tripping Bryson Goodwin or sliding his knee into the head of a grounded Daryl Clark in the first half.

“It could have gone either way up until the 77th minute,” he said.

“It was a hard, ferocious game for a long time.

“I’m super proud. We have come a long way from when we first came together in November.

“To get to two finals – albeit falling short in them – I’m proud of their commitment, effort and attitude tonight.

“Tomkins would have got a yellow card in a normal game. They were two tough calls.

“Sometimes you don’t get those calls.

“They were outstanding defensively. They were hard to break down and they kept turning us away from their try line.

“There were opportunities there. We had a game plan to try and exploit certain spots on the field.

“At times our decision-making could have been a little bit better.

“Our final pass when we did penetrate could have been better, but I’m not pointing fingers at any individual.

“Offensively, we needed to come up with better plays. We’ll review that later on.

“We have the backbone of a really tough, resilient football team now.

“That’s shown in some great displays throughout the season. We’ll come back bigger and better next year.”

Price also said Tyrone Roberts, who came off in the second half during his final game for Warrington before returning to Australia, suffered a suspected fracture of his ankle.

Roberts tried to play on but was eventually replaced by Declan Patton.

“Tyrone is on crutches at the moment. There’s probably a bit of a fracture there, which is unfortunate.

“I’ve been really pleased with him. It’s not easy coming from the other side of the world with a young family.

“It can be quite difficult but he’s built into the season.”

Watch Price’s full post-match press conference above