MAKE no mistake – this was far from a vintage Warrington Wolves display.

Nevertheless, the relative ease with which they were able to serenely dispatch Huddersfield – capable of upsetting the big boys on their day – is certainly heartening.

In truth, The Wire never really got out of third gear but they didn’t need to. It proved enough for victory when anything else was unthinkable.

Things were looking ominous early on when they struggled to complete a set.

Needless unforced errors meant they had to do much more defending than they would have liked as the Giants got plenty of looks at the Wire line in the first half.

Indeed, those of a primrose and blue persuasion were wondering if the collective brain explosion that took place at Wakefield last time out was about to repeat itself.

They needn’t have worried though as their side comfortably repelled everything the hosts threw at them – and then Jake Mamo intervened.

Arguably, Warrington had three real try-scoring opportunities before the break – two of which the Australian took and another he was set to before Chris McQueen intervened with a try-saver.

And even then, somebody else surely would have scored on the next play had former England man McQueen not held Mamo down for long enough to draw a yellow card.

Their completion rate was hovering between 60 and 70 per cent before the break – far from where they would like it to be – but they still had enough to lead by 14 points.

With the play-offs looming, encouragement can be taken that this side is capable of hanging in there before striking when the time comes – something we have seen plenty of evidence of this year.

However, would an on-song Catalans or St Helens have offered them that luxury?

That is a question for another day but if this platform is built upon, it may not be one that needs answering.

George Williams and Gareth Widdop had another game together and after the arm-wrestle was won, the former in particular started to exude confidence.

His renowned short kicking game kept the hosts back where they didn’t want to be while his partner took the organiser-in-chief role with aplomb.

They will continue to get better but these signs were good both for the business end of this season and for the longer-term future under Daryl Powell.

Bigger tests are to come, but Warrington did what they needed to do.

INTERESTING NOTES:

. Jake Mamo’s two tries take him to the top of Super League’s try-scoring charts

. Toby King’s try saw him end a six-game run without scoring

MATCH FACTS:

Super League, Round 21

Thursday, August 26, 2021

Huddersfield Giants...6 Warrington Wolves...26

Giants: Ashton Golding; Jermaine McGillvary, Jake Wardle, Ricky Leutele, Leroy Cudjoe; Will Pryce, Jack Cogger; Joe Greenwood, Nathan Peats, Owen Trout, Josh Jones, Chris McQueen, Luke Yates. Subs: Oliver Russell, Nathaniel Peteru, Sam Wood, Matty English

Wolves: Stefan Ratchford; Josh Thewlis, Jake Mamo, Toby King, Tom Lineham; George Williams, Gareth Widdop; Chris Hill, Daryl Clark, Mike Cooper, Jack Hughes, Ben Currie, Joe Philbin. Subs: Matty Ashton, Matt Davis, Robbie Mulhern, Sitaleki Akauola

Scoring: Mamo try, 17mins, Ratchford goal, 0-6; Mamo try, 28mins, Ratchford goal, 0-12; Ratchford penalty, 40mins, 0-14; Cooper try, 68mins, Ratchford goal, 0-20; Wardle try, 72mins, Russell goal, 6-20; King try, 79mins, Ratchford goal, 6-26

Penalties: Giants 5 Wolves 6

Sin bin: McQueen (39mins, professional foul)

Referee: James Child

Attendance: 4,017