WARRINGTON RUFC were out of their blocks quickly in a 31-23 win at Leigh.

They scored in the first minute.

From the start the ball was fielded by stand-off Matt Beeley and was sent down the line through the quick hands of centres McCombie and Riley to right winger Jack Rigby who touched down in the corner.

Five minutes later, with Leigh barely having touched the ball, Luke Turner on Warrington’s left wing collected a cross kick from Beeley and sped deep into Leigh’s 22.

Timely support from full-back Andy Almond earned the veteran Warrington’s second try, converted by Beeley.

Leigh began to put some phases together and good combinations between forwards and backs which earned them a try in the 10th minute.

Leigh’s kicking game, making good use of their huge new pitch, kept the pressure on Warrington and earned a scrum in the Warrington 22.

Although Warrington drove the Leigh pack back at pace, it was Warrington who were penalised and Leigh slotted an easy three points.

Two more penalties gave Leigh a four-point lead at half time.

Warrington applied pressure in the second half and some typical Beeley elusiveness put them back in the lead with a try.

Beeley was injured in the process, so it was Luke Little who came on and made the conversion to put Warrington in the led at 19-16.

An injury to scrum half Hughes necessitated further changes to Warrington’s back division and contributed to a porosity in midfield which gave Leigh back the lead from a try between the posts.

Warrington made life difficult for themselves by being reluctant to kick to clear their lines and it was primarily dominance in the set pieces that countered Leigh’s more astute use of the boot.

Midway through the half, Warrington were again banging on the Leigh line but instead of a pushover opted for some short-range drives.

After a few sorties wide, a short pass from Riley, now at scrum half, gave prop Tom Green an unrestricted run to the posts and Little converted for a 26-23 lead.

Ten minutes later, from a lineout near the Leigh line, drives from Evans and Lynch allowed Riley and Green to repeat their performance for Warrington’s fifth try.

Although this gave Warrington a two-score cushion there were some anxious moments as Leigh attacked in the last minutes of the game.

Warrington’s defence held, however, securing a winning bonus point and denying Leigh a losing one.

A confidence boosting win after some disappointing results in readiness for Saturday’s home game against Widnes, kick off 3pm.

Warrington: T Green, C White (C), S Bennett, J Brazendale, M Tierney, J Evans, P Lynch, D Fleming, C Hughes, M Beeley, L Turner, K McCombie, J Riley, J Rigby, A Almond, S Rehill, D Floyd, L Little.