THE nilling of Wakefield Trinity on their return to The Halliwell Jones Stadium was Blake Austin and Gareth Widdop’s best game as a half-back partnership for Warrington Wolves.

That was the view of head coach Steve Price, who hailed a “professional” display on both sides of the ball in the 36-0 victory for his side.

Austin grabbed the headlines with a hat-trick of tries while Widdop remained influential on the left edge as The Wire recorded their fifth straight Super League victory.

Warrington Guardian:

All smiles for Wire after Blake Austin's hat-trick try. Picture by Mike Boden

After showing glimpses of the form that lit up the competition last year against Trinity, Price laid down a challenge to his number six.

“It was a solid display from Blake, but he’s got to do it week in week out and back it up. That’s the challenge for him now,” he said.

“I thought it was Blake and Gareth’s best game together. They complimented each other really well.

“The forwards laid a good foundation for them so overall, it was a positive display for us.

> Choose your Wire man of the match from Wakefield win

“Building a partnership takes at least eight or nine weeks.

“We didn’t get hold of them until the week before Christmas because of the GB tour and when they did get on the training pitch, Gareth rolled his ankle.

“I think they got two or three games together before Covid hit.

“They’ve built a really strong relationship over the past few weeks and its only going to get better.”

Warrington Guardian:

Gareth Widdop in action against Wakefield. Picture by Mike Boden

Austin’s first score helped Wolves to an 18-0 half-time lead against Chris Chester’s beleaguered side, who were hit by in-game injuries to Bill Tupou and Innes Senior to go with the four players who had to be stood down in line with Covid protocol earlier this week.

Toby King and Josh Charnley also crossed before the break and after it, Austin scored a superb solo try before Ben Currie’s length-of-the-field effort preceded the hat-trick-sealing score.

Warrington Guardian:

Josh Charnley crosses. Picture by Mike Boden

“You could say it was very professional,” Price said of his team’s performance.

“We threw some really good footy at them and asked a lot of questions in the first half. We created a lot line breaks and opportunities.

“We put a bit of ball down but what I did like off the back of that was that we kept playing.

“In the second half, I was really pleased to keep Wakefield to a clean sheet. They throw a lot of footy at you and ask questions.

“They have a really good five-eighth in Jacob Miller and a good hooker in Kyle Wood, so it was pleasing to keep them to zero.

“They asked us a lot of questions around our right edge, but we pride ourselves on being strong defensively.

“Two ‘nils’ in the season is a good start and I’d like to see that continue to grow.”

Warrington Guardian:

Some tough defence courtesy of Blake Austin and Daryl Clark. Picture by Mike Boden

The game also saw Samy Kibula make his Wire debut and put in a promising cameo off the bench, with the head coach pleased with what he saw.

“It was a pass mark for the big fella,” he said.

“He’s got a lot of areas in his game that he needs to improve but for his first-grade debut at our club, it was a pass mark.”

Warrington Guardian:

Samy Kibula in action on his first-team debut. Picture by Mike Boden

Jason Clark was seen leaving the ground with an ice pack strapped to his hand after the game, but Price says he will be fit for Friday’s game against Hull FC.

“Jason Clark got a bit of a knock to his hand in the first half, but he’ll be fine,” he said.

“Other than that, we’re all injury free for a short turnaround ahead of Friday night.”