By Chris Lord
July 6 2006

Wildcats tame woeful Warrington as Wolves lose 3 in a row.

 

Warrington Wolves 16-17 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats

The Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington
Sunday 18th June 2006
Attendance: 8,884 (Lowest ever Super League attendance at HJ Stadium)

Jamie Rooney grabbed a last-minute drop-goal to hand struggling Wakefield Trinity Wildcats a potentially priceless victory over out of shape Warrington Wolves.

The scores were tied at 16-16 after Warrington fought back from 16-8 down but stand-off Rooney, who also claimed a try and two goals, had the final say from 20 metres.

Rooney's nine-point contribution proved crucial for the Wildcats, yet Warrington had the chance to win the game in injury-time only for Lee Briers to send a penalty wide of the posts.

Briers' miss ensured Paul Cullen's men were booed off at the final whistle by the lowest crowd of the season at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, and have now lost their last three games.

A humiliating Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat against Hull KR was painful enough for the Halliwell Jones Stadium club but they have now suffered successive engage Super League defeats.

Ultimately, however, Wakefield deserved the points after defending manfully for the majority of the game and overturning an eight-point deficit to lead 14-8 at the break.

Warrington initially began brightly and were rewarded after 10 minutes when Jon Clarke and Briers combined to send Logan Swann over the line.

Briers added the conversion and then claimed a penalty after 17 minutes after Darrell Griffin was penalised for obstruction.

But Wakefield's response was emphatic as they produced a stirring fightback to run in three tries and deservedly lead at the break.

Their first score came after 22 minutes when New Zealand forward David Solomona's searing pace and delightful footwork took him through a gap in the home rearguard, before his perfect offload sent Rooney racing over.

Rooney added the extras and five minutes later his brilliant kick sent elusive wing Semi Tadulala racing into the left-hand corner to put the Wildcats 10-8 ahead.

Rooney failed to convert but Wakefield grew visibly in confidence as the half wore on and claimed their third try five minutes before the break when a sustained spell of pressure culminated in the impressive Tom Saxton sending Colum Halpenny over.

Warrington quickly built up a head of steam after the restart but the visitors defended manfully in what became an increasingly competitive encounter.

A series of niggly challenges led to Ben Westwood and David March trading insults on the sidelines while a clash between Clarke and Michael Korkidas saw them both sinbinned soon after.

Yet Wakefield remained largely composed and extended their lead shortly after the hour mark when Rooney landed a 45-metre penalty to put his side 16-8 ahead.

Warrington's response was rapid, though, as Mark Gleeson's scruffy try reduced the deficit to 16-12 before a 72nd-minute counter-attack led to the previously anonymous Richie Barnett crossing in the left-hand corner.

However, Briers failed to land either goal to allow Rooney to have the final say - before Briers missed the fatal last-gasp penalty to ensure Wakefield claimed victory and send the 400 Wakefield fans home delighted.