BARROW RAIDERS 52 WARRINGTON WOLVES 10
GREG NIXON, Northern Competitions Stadium, Sunday

A FIRST-half hat-trick from Claire Hutchinson set Barrow on their way to a vital win over their basement rivals.

It was to be a long afternoon for a young Warrington side who had debutants in 17-year-olds Olivia Ginty and Teyha Beatty in the halves, despite the efforts of their tireless skipper Dani Bound, who gave them hope with a sparkling solo try just before half-time.

The visitors were on the back foot from the kick-off, with prop Jodie Morley and loose-forward Nicole Stewart making yards after contact to drive the Raiders forward.

The Wolves were down by 18-0 without having crossed the halfway line with ball in hand, as first Beth Pattinson dummied her way through some weak defence in the second minute, then Stewart crashed over from close range just moments later as part of her personal haul of 20 points from two tries and six conversions.

Hutchinson grabbed her first in the 14th minute following a great break down the Barrow right by scrum-half Pattinson. Stewart slotted over a superb conversion from the touchline.

Hopes of Warrington recovering from such a rocky start and clawing their way back into the game were snuffed out by some poor handing and the concession of two quick penalties, first for offside and then a ball steal.

Barrow wasted no time in making the most of the territory with the ball moving quickly to the right for prop-turned-winger Kelly Friend – who had tormented Warrington in her team’s victory at the Halliwell Jones Stadium earlier this season – to cross in the corner on 20 minutes. Stewart just failed to add the extras.

And in a tale becoming all too familiar for Warrington coach Ged Ginty, one try quickly became two as Hutchinson got her second straight from a scrum 20 metres out in the 23rd minute.

Things went from bad to worse for Warrington when centre Nicole Barnett was forced to leave the field for a head injury assessment after trying to bring down Morley from the restart, forcing a reshuffle on the right edge.

Although Warrington did finally enjoy some possession in the Barrow half, some great defence kept them at bay and, when Gracie Bradshaw lost the ball, Hutchinson was on hand to race in from the scrum again to complete her hat-trick on the half-hour. Stewart slotted her fourth conversion for 32-0.

When Bound decided to take matters into her own hands and run from inside her own half to score to the right of the sticks, it was the chance for Ginty to mark her debut with the conversion and – at 32-6 – give Warrington something to play for in the second half.

They came back out with a new-found determination, led by substitute Ellie Dooney, Bound and Bradshaw all making metres after collision.

But errors started to creep in again and, after prolonged possession on the Warrington try-line, Stewart finally crashed over.

And, despite an unconverted score from Bradshaw to bring it back to 44-10, there were further tries for Morley, Pattinson and Leah Cottier.

GAMESTAR: Nicole Stewart for her strong running and personal points tally of 20 from two tries and six conversions

GAMEBREAKER: Beth Pattinson’s try in the second minute set out Raiders’ stall from the start.

MATCHFACTS
RAIDERS
5 Chloe Capstick
2 Shannon Parker
11 Emily Stirzaker
4 Claire Hutchinson
8 Kelly Friend
6 Kerrie-Ann Smith
7 Beth Pattinson
12 Leah Clough
9 Beth Lindsay
10 Jodie Morley
3 Maddie Neale
1 Vanessa Temple
13 Nicole Stewart
Subs (all used)
15 Leah Cottier
18 Fran Harley
28 Imogen Smillie
20 Lucy Dickinson

Tries: Pattinson (2, 66), Stewart (10, 47), Hutchinson (13, 23, 30), Friend (18), Morley (54), Cottier (76)
Goals: Stewart 6/10

WOLVES
5 Sydney Alderman-Smith
2 Kerrie Evans
19 Nicole Barnett
4 Hannah Goddard
21 Isabelle Malyon
6 Olivia Ginty
7 Teyha Beatty
24 Jess Panayiotou
9 Dani Bound
10 Megan Condliffe
22 Chelsea Newton
12 Gracie Bradshaw
17 Albany-D Coates
Subs (all used)
26 Lucy Pinter
8 Ellie Dooney
15 Helena Turner
3 Sophie Morris

Tries: Bound (35), Bradshaw (61)
Goals: Ginty 1/2

SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 12-0, 18-0, 22-0, 26-0, 32-0, 32-6; 38-6, 44-6, 44-10, 48-10, 52-10

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Players of the Match
Raiders: Nicole Stewart; Wolves: Dani Bound

Penalty count: 4-4
Half-time: 32-6
Referee: Jordan Hughes
Attendance: 245