LONDON: Tony Smith couldn't hide his pleasure after Warrington's young Wolves struck late to deny Catalans Dragons a memorable comeback and send them top of the Super 8s.
Having made sweeping changes from the team that went down in last week's Challenge Cup final, Warrington faced a tough challenge in Perpignan against a Dragons team that desperately needed a win.
But despite seeing an 18-0 lead evaporate as Tony Gigot put Catalans 22-20 up heading into the last five minutes, Ben Currie stepped up for the crucial winning try, much to Smith's delight.
"I'm over the moon to get the two points," said Smith. "We're exhausted and some of our boys ran their blood to water. It was a big ask for us to come over here after the game last weekend.
"We caught a plane out of Manchester this morning and we'll catch a flight back tonight. It was a hit and run project.
"We made a number of changes -- six changes from the Cup final team -- and the young boys who came into the team did a great job for us.
"I think our average age today was 22 and we had six players out on the park who have come through our Under-19's in the past couple of years.
"So for them to go out and do a job in a high-pressured situation was very pleasing."
If it was a good weekend for Warrington, that certainly wasn't the case for former Gold Coast Titan Albert Kelly, who was suspended by his club Hull KR.
The 25-year-old had returned to Australia for family reasons a fortnight ago, but after reporting back late, was left out for the defeat to Leigh Centurions.
Hull KR head of rugby Jamie Peacock said: "Albert's actions have been very disappointing ahead of such a significant game and we have taken the decision as a club to suspend him with immediate effect.
"We will be speaking further with Albert and his agent over the coming week to reinforce our expectations and in the meantime we have every faith in the likes of Maurice Blair and Matty Marsh to step up and do the job. There will be no further comment at this stage."
Hull KR went down 25-18, leaving them on course for the Million Pound Game, while Leigh are on the verge of a Super League return, just one win away in the Qualifiers.
Meanwhile, St Helens coach Keiron Cunningham believes his team could yet earn themselves a home semi-final if they finish strongly after downing Hull FC 31-10.
He said: "The ultimate goal was to get the two points and, if you had given me that scoreline before the game, I would have taken it.
"Things are getting pretty serious now. We've got three games left and there are lots of positions up for grabs. You just never know where you could finish if you do the right things.
"I thought Hull had a real dig and it probably shocked our players a little bit because we all know about the Challenge Cup hangover."
Comments
Comments are closed.