IF you are looking to sum up Warrington Wolves’ 2022 campaign in a nutshell, this game would go a fair way towards doing so.

From ridiculous to sublime at the drop of a hat with performance levels swinging wildly and leaving all concerned frustrated and scratching their heads – sounds about right, doesn’t it?

The way in which Wire so nearly dragged themselves back from the abyss in this game may even cause as much irritation as the manner in which they put such a mountain in front of themselves.

Warrington Guardian:

Jake Wardle touches down for one of the five tries Wire scored in the second half. Picture by SWPix.com

The resilience, togetherness and effort levels are clearly within this group – so why not show them for a full 80 minutes?

In the end, supporters will have left the John Smith’s Stadium cursing the width of a post which denied Leon Hayes another conversion as two points ultimately proved the difference.

The diminutive scrum-half should not feel downhearted though after a quite excellent performance on debut after replacing Stefan Ratchford at half time.

Even at 18 years old, he looks every inch a first-team player and alongside him, George Williams certainly looked freer to influence the game.

At the very least, he has surely earned the right to start at Salford on Saturday but longer-term, he showed the future could well be bright.

Fellow debutant Josh Lynch capped his day with a well-taken try, too – a shining light in what was a tumultuous first half.

Put simply, Wire were out-worked, out-gunned and outstretched by a Huddersfield side looking in red-hot form ahead of their crack at the play-offs.

They simply had no answer and by the time they scored the last of their 30 unanswered points in as many minutes, the number of play-the-balls their visitors had in the opposition half could have been counted on one hand.

Warrington Guardian:

Leroy Cudjoe escapes from Josh Thewlis to score during a rampant first half for Huddersfield. Picture by SWPix.com

Did the Giants clock off with self-preservation in mind? There may well have been an element of that, but that must not take away from a much-improved Wire display after the break when it would have been easy to throw the towel in.

Given the scenes at the end when white-shirted Wolves players took rapturous applause from their travelling fans, it would have been easy to think they had been on the right end of the result.

Not so, but those long-suffering supporters saw that playing for their club clearly means something to this group – that is all they ask.

The final word has to go to Matt Dufty, who displayed an excellent poacher’s instinct to rack up a four-try haul which showed his pace and intuition in equal measure.

Warrington Guardian:

Matt Dufty scores one of his four tries. Picture by SWPix.com

Fully fit and with an unhindered pre-season under his belt, he is showing signs he could fly in 2023 but that has to be the case for the team as a whole.

There should be a deep sense of shame and embarrassment among players and coaches about the 11th-place finish which is now confirmed – the club’s lowest for a generation – but that now cannot be helped.

Many will take their final bow next time out but for those who are left, the character shown in the second half simply must be a bare minimum.