IF a 32-10 win against fourth-placed Huddersfield Giants had been offered before kick-off, hands would have been snatched off by Warrington Wolves fans, players and coaches.
Such a royally commanding performance was as unexpected as it was deserved and shows what this full squad is capable of under Daryl Powell on its day. It is just a crying shame the route taken to get here, with only one win in the previous seven matches with some poor attitude on show.
On the back of the absences of skipper Jack Hughes and key playmakers Gareth Widdop, George Williams and Stefan Ratchford, few expected such a heartwarming display by The Wire on Saturday despite turning a corner over Easter.
Yet Peter Mata'utia switched from the centres to partner 20-year-old Riley Dean in the halves and they ended up orchestrating the side far better than the top-rated and top-paid have done so far this year.
And full-back Josh Thewlis, 19, is becoming a revelation at full-back, having been given a string of games that has enabled his confidence to grow.
Even before his first of a hat-trick of tries he was full of beans, whether tidying up at the back or looking to shrink the Giants with the ball.
Some of his combinations with Dean lit up the place, supporting his half-back's in-and-out dart to crash through the line for one try and getting on the end of his deceptive grubber kick to complete his treble.
None of this would have been possible without the forwards doing the groundwork.
It was clear with the surging runs of captain Mike Cooper and Robbie Mulhern from the first set that the pack meant business, seemingly in a more aggressive and menacing style than previously seen often enough this year.
🍿 Watch all the tries as we bounced back with a win over Huddersfield in R10! pic.twitter.com/b87YbVpusb
— Warrington Wolves (@WarringtonRLFC) April 24, 2022
And it was a moment of magic after Billy Magoulias came off the bench to let his ball-play cash in on the hard work. He slipped out a lovely pass for the returning Connor Wrench to show the Giants defence a clean pair of heels for a stunning second-half try.
It has all been a long time coming. The fans lapped it up, even starting singing Oh Warry Warry again, and so we would all like more of the same please with knobs on against Wigan on Friday.
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