AT this stage of the season – moreso than others – results matter most.

The Wire got the job done but they know they can – and must – perform better.

Of course, nobody expects their side to be firing on all cylinders this early on in the campaign, but their performance against Leeds last week made Saturday’s display a little frustrating.

As the old saying goes, though, good teams win ugly.

'We expect better of ourselves,' says Price

See Lineham fly and other Wire tries from Hull KR win

How the game was won

Wire 28 Hull KR 14 as it happened

Against a better side, Wolves may have lost – and that is meant as no disrespect to a thoroughly decent Hull KR outfit.

They moved the ball around with pace and vigour. On another day, they would have come away with the two points but The Wire did just enough.

Steve Price highlighted their deficiencies in terms of attacking shape after the game. At times, they did not quite seem to know which plays they were running.

Passes were going to players who were stood still in the line and when they did get close, too often errors stopped them from putting on more points.

However, there were periods in the second half when The Wire exerted the kind of pressure they will need in these early stages of 2019.

They kept building, completed reasonably and eventually, the door creaked open.

Some of their tries had elements of fortune – in particular Harvey Livett’s second when Chris Atkin dropped the ball into his path – but Price and his team will take them as they come.

In fairness, they were frustrated by an incredibly slow ruck, with referee Liam Moore failing to police Rovers at the play-the-ball when their efforts often crossed the line of legality.

Still, they found a way and they sit with maximum points from their first two games – massive progress from 12 months ago.

They have a two-week break until their next game, which may have to be played without Blake Austin after his first-half yellow card for contact with the head of Joel Tomkins, who was grounded after he had been tackled following an interception.

Given the extent of Tomkins’ injury – he had to go to hospital with a severe concussion – and the fact Austin escaped without charge on two occasions for incidents against Leeds, it would not be surprising should the disciplinary panel take a dim view.

Going into the season’s third game without their two first-choice half-backs definitely was not the plan for Warrington, but it is a situation may have to find a way round.

Suspensions are certainly testing their squad depth but the team are finding a way. At this stage of the season – when things are still coming together – the value of that cannot be underestimated.

INTERESTING NOTES:

. Tom Lineham scores his 100th Super League try, 50th for Warrington

. Three yellow cards in two games for Wire

MATCH FACTS:

Super League, Round Two

Saturday, February 9, 2018

Warrington Wolves…28 Hull Kingston Rovers…14

Wolves: Stefan Ratchford; Josh Charnley, Ryan Atkins, Bryson Goodwin, Tom Lineham; Blake Austin, Declan Patton; Chris Hill, Daryl Clark, Mike Cooper, Jack Hughes, Harvey Livett, Jason Clark. Subs: Ben Murdoch-Masila, Danny Walker, Lama Tasi, Joe Philbin

Rovers: Chris Atkin; Ben Crooks, Jimmy Keinhorst, Kane Linnett, Craig Hall; Danny McGuire, Josh Drinkwater; Mose Masoe, Tommy Lee, Robbie Mulhern, Joel Tomkins, Weller Hauraki, George Lawler. Subs: Mitch Garbutt, James Greenwood, Danny Addy, Junior Vaivai.

Scoring: Crooks try, 8mins, 0-4; Livett try, 20mins, Ratchford goal, 6-4; Hall try, 28mins, 6-8; Lineham try, 39mins, Ratchford goal, 12-8; Livett try, 53mins, Ratchford goal, 18-8; Charnley try, 66mins, 22-8; Keinhorst try, 70mins, Drinkwater goal, 22-14; Cooper try, 79mins, Ratchford goal, 28-14

Penalties: Wolves 7 Rovers 7

Sin bin: Austin (26mins, dangerous contact)

Referee: Liam Moore

Attendance: 10,515

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