WARRINGTON WOLVES 30 YORK KNIGHTS 10
KASEY SMITH, Halliwell Jones Stadium, Thursday

GEORGE Williams came back with a bang as he helped his Warrington Wolves to a hard-fought win over a spirited York side.

The England captain was making his first appearance for the Wire since undergoing surgery on a neck injury that had kept him sidelined for almost four months.

Williams looked like a man making up for lost time, with his influence in the halves telling as he set up three tries – albeit with the first coming from an unintentional wayward pass that paid off. He was equally effective in defence, underlining his influence at both ends of the field.

The Knights, written off by many this year, continued to defy expectations and once again showed what they can bring to the competition, pushing the Wolves hard and getting the better of them on a number of occasions.

It was Warrington’s pace which proved a major problem for York, with Danny Walker, Ewan Irwin and Josh Thewlis all possessing the speed to cause serious damage.

It was no surprise, then, to see Thewlis and Irwin put their acceleration to good use, darting through to get themselves on the scoresheet.

York had started brightly, though, and their danger man Cody Hunter was proving a handful, with his kicking game exposing a number of weaknesses down Warrington’s left edge.

A well-worked move saw the Knights take the lead early on. Hunter’s high kick bypassed Matty Ashton and fell into the hands of Sam Wood, who offloaded to Jon Bennison. Racing to the line, the winger then offloaded to Paul McShane, who did the rest.

It didn’t take long for Warrington to respond. On his return to the Wolves squad Williams threw a wild pass, seemingly to nobody. Allowed to bounce, it fell kindly into the path of Thewlis, who used his pace to weave his way over.

There were danger signs whenever Hunter got on the ball. Allowed to dink a clever ball to the corner, he found Bennison who grounded to put the Knights back in front.

Then a dabbed Williams kick, which looked to have been overcooked, saw Sam Stone score as the Wolves edged ahead again.

A crucial defensive effort from Williams denied York in the left corner. Moments later, Irwin used his pace to break through to extend the Wolves’ lead.

Awarded a penalty just before half-time, Warrington kicked for goal for a two-score lead at the break.

York struggled to make an impact after the break and, after conceding back-to-back penalties, the pressure finally told. Danny Walker powered over the line to leave the Knights with a mountain to climb.

The game looked to be all but put to bed when Irwin pounced on a loose ball and raced clear. However, the try was chalked off after the video referee spotted a knock-on by James Bentley in forcing the ball free.

A Williams cross-field kick was batted back by Hopoate, allowing Lindop to finish the move and finally kill off the Knights. And Irwin added another two late on.

GAMESTAR: George Williams had a hand in most of Warrington’s scores and played as if he had never been away.

GAMEBREAKER: Aaron Lindop’s try finally saw off the stubborn Knights who never threw in the towel.

HIGHLIGHT REEL: Ewan Irwin’s dummy to carve open the space and his pace for his try was a moment of class.

ALBERT GOLDTHORPE POINTS
3 pts George Williams (Warrington Wolves)
2 pts Ewan Irwin (Warrington Wolves)
1 pt Danny Walker (Warrington Wolves)

MATCHFACTS

WOLVES
2 Josh Thewlis
4 Albert Hopoate
23 Arron Lindop
3 Toby King
5 Matty Ashton
6 George Williams
18 Ewan Irwin
21 Luke Thomas
9 Danny Walker
10 James Harrison
20 James Bentley
12 Sam Stone
13 Ben Currie
Subs (all used)
11 Adam Holroyd
15 Tofofoa Sipley
17 Jordy Crowther
25 Max Wood
18th man (not used)
19 Leon Hayes
Also in 21-man squad
1 Cai Taylor-Wray
14 Sam Powell
35 Lachlan Webster

Tries: Thewlis (9), Stone (27), Irwin (34), Walker (52), Lindop (67)
Goals: Irwin 5/7

KNIGHTS
1 Toa Mata’afa
23 Jon Bennison
4 Sam Wood
26 Nikau Williams
46 David Nofoaluma
37 Cody Hunter
9 Paul McShane
8 Jack Martin
48 Tom Inman
15 Xavier Va’a
12 Jesse Dee
20 Oli Field
6 Ata Hingano
Subs (all used)
14 Denive Balmforth
10 Paul Vaughan
13 Jordan Thompson
27 Matty Foster
18th man (not used)
21 Kieran Buchanan
Also in 21-man squad
7 Liam Harris
16 Justin Sangare
17 Kieran Hudson

Tries: McShane (2), Bennison (20)
Goals: Bennison 1/2

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 6-4, 6-10, 12-10, 16-10, 18-10, 24-10, 28-10, 30-10

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Wolves: George Williams; Knights: Cody Hunter

Penalty count: 10-4
Half-time: 18-10
Referee: Tom Grant
Attendance: 9,015