Wolves dancing at the DW
Warrington closed the gap on Wigan at the top of the table to two points with a 23-16 win over the Warriors at the DW Stadium.
By Rob Lancaster
Last Updated: 16/07/10 10:59pm
Warrington blew the race for the minor premiership wide open with a 23-16 victory over Super League leaders Wigan at the DW Stadium.
The Wolves closed the gap at the top of the table to just two points thanks to tries from Chris Hicks, Richie Myler, Ryan Atkins and Ben Westwood.
Fittingly it was Lee Briers who sealed the win with a late drop goal, the half-back having been influential with his kicking throughout the night.
Their win was even more impressive considering they had endured a nightmare start in the first rugby league match to be shown in 3D.
Sparks
It didn't take long for sparks to fly in the battle of the competition's top two - a late hit by Garreth Carvell on Sam Tomkins inside two minutes allowing Pat Richards to boot the home side ahead.
The winger came close to grabbing the opening try soon after but Wigan didn't have to wait long to get across the line; a fourth Warrington error inside the opening 10 minutes leading to Mark Riddell forcing his way over.
The hooker, who will be looking to sign off as a Grand Final winner in England before heading back home to Australia this winter, darted over from dummy half with the visiting defence at sixes and sevens.
Further points seemed inevitable as the hosts piled on the pressure, the Wolves taking 25 minutes just to get out of their own half. Yet on their first real foray into their opponents' territory they found a way through to the line, winger Hicks set free for an easy run-in down the right.
The try, which went unconverted by Westwood, suddenly led to a reversal in fortunes. Having dominated possession for so long it was now Wigan - and Stuart Fielden in particular - who were the ones making the mistakes.
A perfectly-weighted grubber kick from Briers set up his half-back partner Myler for a try that gave the visitors a surprise half-time lead.
Their advantage was stretched even further when Atkins went over four minutes after the break, the centre collecting and finishing Chris Riley's knee forward before the winger was forced into touch.
Westwood slotted over his second successful conversion to make it 16-6 in favour of Tony Smith's side, who had led 16-4 at half time in the first meeting of the two rivals at the Halliwell Jones Stadium back in February.
Roaring back
On that occasion Wigan came roaring back to triumph and history looked set to repeat itself when they drew level on the hour mark.
Sam Tomkins, who started back at stand-off before having to fill in for the injured Amos Roberts at full-back, slipped an exquisite pass out the back door to set up forward Chris Tuson for a try to make it 16-10.
Warrington did threaten on more than one occasion to get over at the other end, Hicks having a try ruled out due to a forward pass, before then shooting themselves in the foot just metres from their opponents' line.
A misplaced pass proved costly, as Richards scooped up the loose ball and galloped the length of the field to slide over out on the left, though the conversion was beyond the Ireland international from the touchline.
The score remained deadlocked until 11 minutes from time when Westwood was sent scorching through a gap by Riley's pass to score a try that he also converted.
Any hopes Wigan had of a second comeback disappeared when Briers slotted over a one-pointer, leaving all to play for in the regular season run-in with five games to go.
