A GAME that got the big billing it deserved but ended up being one-sided.
Unfortunately for Warrington Wolves, they were on the wrong side of that as Leeds Rhinos flexed their muscles in the top-of-the-table clash that kicked off Round 15.
The Wire’s 34-6 defeat was their first on home soil this year, so was this just a bad night at the office or cause for greater concern?
Here are our key takeaways from Thursday’s game…
A sobering evening
Let’s have it right – losing this game was always a possibility for Warrington Wolves, as it is every week.
In some cases, that becomes more of a probability and all things considered, Round 15 probably leant more towards that. In spite of The Wire’s unbeaten home record, it would not be outlandish to suggest that Leeds Rhinos went into this contest as favourites.
Nevertheless, there would have been an expectation for the game to be more competitive as what had been billed as a top-of-the-table thriller ended up being something of a washout.
The fact of the matter is that a clearly excellent Leeds side performed excellently and when that happens, they are difficult for anybody to stop, let alone a Warrington team that has plenty of inexperience within it.
Sam Burgess’ side have done superbly to get into their current position – nobody can take that away from them – but are they capable of sustaining the challenge they have launched?
Thursday’s evidence suggests they have plenty of work to do, and opinions will no doubt vary as to whether or not the gap is bridgeable.
The reality of the path Wire are on
With the possible exception of Tom Holroyd, this was a full-strength Leeds side – arguments can be made for Jack Bird, too, but he is currently out of favour.
By contrast, Warrington went into last night with at least five players – George Williams, Cai Taylor-Wray, Toby King, Luke Yates and Sam Stone – who would be in their first-choice starting 13 unavailable to them, while another in Joe Philbin would have been on the bench.
Even though they were technically available for selection, you could make strong arguments for including Marc Sneyd and Adam Holroyd in that as well so all things considered, it is easy to see why Wire fans were singing “top of the league with half a team” after winning at St Helens last week.
Half of that song remains true and given the club have put their faith in talented young players to replace them, this is the reality of the path they have chosen – the last week has been as clear a demonstration of that as you could wish for.
When there is as much youth in the team as there is, there are going to be good days but there are also going to be difficult ones. They know that, and they accept it – whether fans choose to do the same is up to them.
Middle unit fears resurface
After every defeat, you hear the same thing – Wire’s pack is not big enough.
You can debate how accurate or otherwise that statement is, but that narrative is pretty entrenched within the fanbase and is unlikely to change without being either proved wrong or addressed with recruitment.
The very same set of Warrington forwards neutralised a St Helens pack that many expected to outgun them just last week, while the pack that did similar against Wigan Warriors not long ago was arguably smaller still as it did not have James Harrison or Toff Sipley to call upon.
There were no such fears expressed after those games, so is it low hanging fruit?
Possibly, possibly not but whatever your opinion on the matter, Thursday’s performance is not going to make that argument go away.
Biggest weapon used too late
As well as the prop debate, another increasing school of thought among Wire fans has been that, despite their good form before this game, they are not using their biggest strike weapon properly.
Indeed, when Matty Ashton got the ball in a bit of open space to get himself over the line for a late consolation try, one could not help but wonder why it had taken so long for Warrington to give him that opportunity.
It is probably fair to say that a fair chunk of the 167 metres Ashton made in the game came in the final quarter when, with the game gone, his side started to throw the ball around.
That needed to happen in the first 20 minutes when the hosts had actually started well and had plenty of looks at the Leeds line, but their attack again looked clunky and easy to defend against.
As stated previously, that is one of the realities of playing two clearly talented but inexperienced youngsters in the halves – they are learning on the job and will be better in time.
But surely one of the best ways they can move forward is by giving their star winger some better ball.
Belief and unity to be tested
Sam Burgess has been at pains to say all year that, no matter the result, games will be reviewed and moved on from in the exact same way.
He and pretty much everyone else you speak to in camp have also been keen to stress that this is a united squad willing to go to war for one another.
We’ve seen a few examples of that grit and togetherness already – again, you don’t have to look too far for evidence of that – but their response to this setback will test them.
They’ve now lost twice to the side immediately above them and while the game at Headingley could have gone either way, this was a real hammering akin to the ones they suffered in Perpignan against Catalans and Doncaster against Hull KR in the Challenge Cup semi-final.
What it does do is put the Dragons’ visit to The Halliwell Jones Stadium next week into really sharp focus.
This was probably seen as the most presentable of the tough seven-game run to the end of July – and even then, it’s against a side that has beaten them handily already this year – and they will not want to go to Magic Weekend having suffered back-to-back losses.
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