Warrington Wolves 66 Castleford Tigers 12, match verdict

Without for one minute implying this group is in any way comparable, ruthless home demolitions such as this one have been few and far between since the halcyon days of the early 2010s when they became almost routine for Warrington Wolves.

And after the doom and gloom that has surrounded the club over the past few months, this felt like a well-deserved day in the sun for the supporters.

Paul Vaughan celebrates scoring his second try (Image: Mike Boden)

Gary Chambers was quick to put the 54-point winning margin into some kind of context post-match, and he is right to do so.

Castleford lost three players to injury within the first half-hour, putting themselves down to just one substitute on what was as warm a day as north-west England has enjoyed for a while.

Against a pack that was as dominant as Wire’s is, they were always going to be up against it even without Jacob Miller’s sin bin that proved to be the fatal blow.

Before then, the visitors had hung in there thanks in part to some wasteful Warrington attacking – they should have been past the 30-point mark by half time such was their dominance.

And when Greg Eden narrowed the gap to just six points just after the break, one could not help but wonder if the hosts were about to pay the price.

Once Miller was given an unwanted 10-minute rest for an ugly-looking tip tackle on Peter Mata’utia, however, the way Wire scented blood and went for the kill was refreshing and welcome.

Wire scored 24 points when Jacob Miller was in the sin bin (Image: Mike Boden)

The 24 points they managed while Miller was off the field meant the game was won just past the hour mark, and with the hot weather draining tanks quicker than usual, it would have been easy for the cue to go in the rack.

The way in which they kept their foot on Castleford’s throats, however, was something we have not seen from a Warrington side in an achingly long time.

For a while now, they have struggled to truly finish off opponents going through adversity who are on the back foot, but there were no such issues this time in what was an emphatic vindication of the faster, more direct style adopted by Chambers, Martin Gleeson and Richard Marshall.

The starting triumvirate of Paul Vaughan, Tom Mikaele and James Harrison made mincemeat of their opposite numbers through the middle as Wire ploughed relentlessly forward, with Matty Nicholson also shining on the edges.

A mention must go to Jordy Crowther too for another impressive stint off the bench – a signing questioned by many but one who is turning out to be a very shrewd short-term acquisition.

Jordy Crowther was once again impressive off the bench (Image: Mike Boden)

On the back of such a dominant platform, the likes of George Williams and Matt Dufty were always going to cause chaos and they proved too hot for a beleaguered Tigers side to handle.

Are the Warrington Wolves of the early-spring back? It is still too early to say for certain, but this can be seen as an emphatic step in the right direction.