SALFORD boss Shaun McRae said he had never seen anything like it.

Wolves fans had not either, as scoring 50 points in one half without conceding was a first for Warrington in Super League.

But that does not tell the whole story.

Tony Smith’s men were actually dominant for 90 per cent of Sunday’s highest home win of the season and should have been home and dry in the first half.

But they failed to take all the chances they created and gifted Salford some possession that allowed them to counter-attack to good effect, rattling up 20 points without reply in the final 27 minutes of the opening half.

Wolves may not get away with such generosity in forthcoming games against champions Leeds Rhinos and in the Challenge Cup semi final against Wigan Warriors.

No-one in the ground could have predicted at half time what was to come in the second half. In fact, although it was only a small minority, some fans booed Wolves off the field at the break.

Perhaps Lee Briers pictured in his mind what he would like to do in a bid to rectify the situation but even Wolves’ most influential playmaker for the last 13 years would surely not have imagined it going quite so well.

He scored his second try and played his part in three others as Warrington turned a 20-12 deficit into an unassailable 36-20 advantage within 18 minutes of the second period.

And it continued to be all one-way traffic after that, with Wolves scoring whenever they felt like it.

You can have the best scrum half in the world in your side but he will be almost ineffective if he is working behind a beaten pack.

Briers was in luxury land in that department as Wolves’ forwards became rampant in the second period, with City Reds having no answer to the explosive talents of returning skipper Adrian Morley as well as the in-form Garreth Carvell and Ben Westwood.

Simon Grix and Chris Hicks were also back in the starting 13 and the three returnees all crossed the whitewash as they gained a timely boost in confidence.

Another pleasing aspect of the second half is that Wolves achieved what they did with an amount of unfamiliarity in their line-up.

That 17, with Chris Riley at full back, Brian Carney on the wing, Grix at stand off and Michael Monaghan at hooker, have never all lined up together in those roles before.

And with the wet conditions making handling tricky, perhaps it is fair to say it was always going to take a bit of time in the game itself for everything to gel.

It remains frightening to think what this Warrington team could do to opponents if they actually get things right for 80 minutes.

Match facts

Warrington Wolves 62 Salford City Reds 20

Wolves: Chris Riley (1t); Chris Hicks (1t), Chris Bridge (1t, 9g), Matt King, Brian Carney (1t); Simon Grix (1t), Lee Briers (2t); Adrian Morley (1t), Michael Monaghan, Garreth Carvell (1t), Louis Anderson, Ben Westwood (1t), Ben Harrison. Subs: Paul Wood, Mike Cooper, Paul Johnson (1t), Lee Mitchell.

City Reds: Jon Wilshere (2g); Dean McGilvray, Stuart Littler (1t), Stefan Ratchford, Mark Henry (1t); Jeremy Smith (1t), Richie Myler (1t); Ray Cashmere, Malcolm Alker, Craig Stapleton, Luke Adamson, Adam Sidlow, Luke Swain. Subs: Robbie Paul, Ian Sibbit, Philip Leuluai, Steve Nash.

Referee: Ben Thaler

Scoring: Briers capitalises on a King break, 4mins, Bridge converts, 6-0; Carvell charges over from penalty tap, 8mins, Bridge converts, 12-0; Cashmere line-bust leads to Henry crossing, 13mins, 12-4; Littler glides over from Myler’s inside pass, 28mins, Wilshere converts, 12-10; Myler finishes off length of the field counter attack, 35mins, 12-14; Sibbit puts Smith over, 40+ mins, Wilshere converts, 12-20; Carvell sets Briers free and Johnson finishes off, 44mins, Bridge converts, 18-20; Grix touches down Briers grubber kick, 50mins, Bridge converts, 24-20; Briers angles his way over from first receiver, 54mins, Bridge converts, 30-20; Westwood crashes over from Briers pass, 58mins, Bridge converts 36-20; Riley scythes his way over from behind first phase of attack, 61mins, 40-20; Morley crashes over from Monaghan pass, 65mins, Bridge converts, 46-20; Westwood charges down kick and sends Bridge away, 68mins, Bridge converts, 52-20; Carney cuts off his wing to accept Riley inside pass and scores, 72mins, 56-20; Briers kicks to corner for Hicks touch down, 78mins, Bridge converts, 62-20.

Sin bin: Leuluai, 78mins, persistent offside

Pens: Wolves 8 Reds 4

Attendance: 8,906

Warrington Guardian top men: Carvell 3pts, Briers 2pts, Westwood 1pt.

Interesting note: Bridge’s nine goals and 22 points are records for a Warrington player at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.