WARRINGTON Wolves held off a resurgent Castleford Tigers comeback that put them in danger of surrendering a dominant advantage.
A stunning first half dsaw them lead 26-0 at the break, an advantage extended by Matty Ashton's hat-trick try just after the break.
Castleford-bound Jake Mamo scored twice as Steve Price's side belied fears of a lack of motivation pre-match.
However, the hosts - needing to win to keeper their season alive - stormed back, aided by a yellow card for Josh Charnley and a red for Mike Cooper for a shoulder charge.
They closed to within eight points and sensed a famous comeback, but The Wire managed the final 15 minutes well to close out victory, sealed by Connor Wrench's late score.
> GUARDIAN VERDICT: Wire show us the good, the bad and the ugly ahead of the play-offs
> Check out Steve Price's full post-match reaction here
> Read what head coach Steve Price had to say about Mike Cooper's red card here
> VOTE: Click here to choose your Warrington Wolves man of the match
> Re-live the action as it happened here
Match facts
Super League, Round 25
Thursday, September 16, 2021
Castleford Tigers...24 Warrington Wolves...40
Tigers: Niall Evalds; Derrell Olpherts, Peter Mata'utia, Michael Shenton, Jordan Turner; Danny Richardson, Gareth O'Brien; George Griffin, Paul McShane, Grant Millington, Alex Foster, Jesse Sene-Lefao, Massey. Subs: Liam Watts, Adam Milner, Daniel Smith, Suaia Matagi
Wolves: Matty Ashton; Josh Charnley, Jake Mamo, Connor Wrench, Josh Thewlis; George Williams, Gareth Widdop; Chris Hill, Stefan Ratchford, Mike Cooper, Jack Hughes, Ben Currie, Joe Philbin. Subs: Jason Clark, Robbie Mulhern, Blake Austin. Not used: Ellis Longstaff
Scoring: Ashton try, 6mins, Ratchford goal, 0-6; Mamo try, 8mins, Ratchford goal, 0-12; Ratchford penalty, 24mins, 0-14; Ashton try, 26mins, Ratchford goal, 0-20; Mamo try, 31mins, Ratchford goal, 0-26; Ashton try, 43mins, Ratchford goal, 0-32; Mata'utia try, 53mins, Richardson goal, 6-32; Mata'utia try, 56mins, Richardson goal, 12-32; Turner try, 59mins, Richardson goal, 18-32; Millington try, 63mins, Richardson goal, 24-32; Ratchford penalty, 68mins, 24-34; Wrench try, 78mins, Widdop goal, 24-40
Penalties: Tigers 4 Wolves 8
Sin bin: Charnley (56mins, dangerous tackle)
Sent off: Cooper (65mins, shoulder charge)
Referee: Liam Moore
Attendance: TBC
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