WARRINGTON Wolves fans were left with a familiar feeling after watching their side fall just short against St Helens again.

And now, it means The Wire still have work to do in the final round of fixtures in order to keep alive the possibility of running into Saints again in the play-offs.

As such, we asked two members of our Guardian Fan Panel for their thoughts and here is what they said…

PAUL TRESS

Well, where to begin – you’d think by now we’d be used to being beaten by the old enemy but being beaten by Saints still stings.

So, onto the game and the first half was pretty much typical Warrington this season – we created chances but couldn’t seem to find that finishing touch.

Our defence at times was steadfast but at others we seemed to nod off, and the errors are definitely what allowed Saints the territory to trouble our defence, which seems to be a reoccurring theme for us at the moment.

That being said, I was relatively pleased to only be 12-0 down at half time as we did show some fight.

The second half seemed to ignite that fight with some big tackles and big drives.

I was impressed with Matty Russell running the ball back – he seemed to win every contact and gives a quick play the ball – and it was the second half where young Leon Hayes stepped up, showing us what we have for the future.

He was marshalling the team like he’d been a first-teamer all year and he was resolute in his defence. It seemed Saints thought he would be an easy target but after his first few tackles, he proved he wasn’t.

So although it’s disappointing to lose especially against St Helens, I think we saw glimpses of our future and whether we make the playoffs or not, we saw more effort than we had in weeks prior which will hopefully carry over to next season under Sam Burgess.

So onto Huddersfield next and if we perform like that and try to cut out some of the errors, I firmly believe we will come away with the win and hopefully some form going into the playoffs.

ROB CROSTON

It could have been a lot worse…

With Warrington’s form being a bit hit and miss and missing some key players, Wire’s fans could be forgiven for thinking that their team would be getting a big score put past them and would be letting Saints score at will.

To keep a threat like Saints to a margin of just 12 points does show a bit of resilience in the Wire side, but Friday’s performance highlights how far away Wire are from challenging the likes Wigan, Saints and Catalans for honours!

Wire had plenty of opportunities to score and were undone by their own errors. That could be sometimes down to over-trying, or not everyone being on the same page.

Saints showed that you need to have fast play-the-balls, quick ruck speed and good communication and knowing what everyone else is doing.

Leon Hayes stood out as a real lynchpin – he was tested defensively and stood up to the challenge and when he got his hands on the ball, he looked natural and comfortable and will take a lot of confidence from his performance.

If Wire are to challenge, I feel as fans we need to start doing our bit as well to help the cause.

There has been a lot of negativity recently towards the players. We all want success for the Wire but if we don’t stand up and show our support, then the negative will just go right through.

Lets cheer the guys on, finish this season on a positive and welcome in the new era positively. If we can do that, everything else will surely slot into place!