Warrington 34 Castleford 10, Spirit of 55 column

AS home openers go, that was a smooth ride.

Wire will no doubt face tougher challenges this year than an under-strength Castleford team who are in transition after losing their long-term coach.

The pessimists can still point towards a lack of size and dominance down the middle, but there was also plenty for the optimists to latch onto.

The variation of tries being scored was good to see. I was particularly happy with Williams’ try as he stayed alert and reacted to Widdop’s run and then they both timed their link up perfectly.

Those two combining well is crucial for Wire’s success this season, as is that ability to play what they see and create tries from unstructured play.

It is also always good to see wingers scoring tries and knowing that you have the fastest guy on the pitch.

King did come back into the team and showed early signs that he will be more than capable of filling the left centre role for his new coach.

On the other side, Mata'utia’s work rate is excellent, always showing up to run the ball in when required. He also looks to have an excellent understanding of the role of a centre, timing his runs well and creating space for Charnley as well as being strong defensively.

On his inside this week was Longstaff, who looks like an excellent prospect – if he did not have two top class second rowers in Holmes and Currie ahead of him in the squad then he would be likely to have made many appearances this year.

Without their one established elite level prop in Mike Cooper, star hooker Daryl Clark and Holmes, the Wire pack did look as if it would be a bit lightweight.

As it played out, they had more than enough to get on top of Castleford. Bullock does provide plenty of size and when he limits the mistakes, he could be a more than useful asset.

Making up for the lack of big monster props is going to have to be a joint effort all year. Players like Davis and Jason Clark can help by bringing their overload of energy and enthusiasm to the cause.

Whilst the likes of Mulhern, Philbin and Bullock need to keep running as hard as they can as often as the can to support Cooper when he returns to the fray.

It shows something of the quality of Walker that it did not feel like we were missing Daryl Clark too much at any point.

Creating tries from close to the line, with variety in the kicking game, a delightful short no-look pass and clearly rehearsed and well-timed handling moves are promising signs, especially after the last few years’ glaring weakness when close to the opponent’s line.

Once they finally got the ball off Whizzy Rascal, Wire always looked likely to win this game.

If they can continue to develop their attacking cohesion when they move the ball wide and to be able to score tries in a variety of ways, then this season could have more in it for the optimists than the pessimists.

Next up they will make the long away trip to France, then face games against the best two teams of last season.

After those three games, we will know a lot more about this year’s Wire team.

All pictures by Mike Boden