Salford 6-22 Warrington: Wolves make it five wins in a row in Super League
By PA
Last Updated: 10/04/18 10:32am
Warrington picked up their fifth Betfred Super League win in a row with a hard-fought 22-6 success over Salford.
Wolves' winger Josh Charnley scored a try and provided an assist on his return to the AJ Bell Stadium where he played rugby union for Sale before switching codes last month.
The first game after the demanding Easter weekend traditionally tends to be something of a slog and this contest was no exception.
Warrington scored three first-half tries through Charnley, Toby King and Tyrone Roberts, which were to prove crucial as the second-half remained scoreless until the final stages, despite the video referee Robert Hicks being called into action
twice to deny Salford tries.
Robert Lui was switched to full-back to fill in for the injured Niall Evalds while on loan Wigan half-back Jake Shorrocks made his Salford debut.
Steve Price's men led as early as the fifth minute when hooker Daryl Clark was allowed to run across the field unchallenged before passing to King who swapped passes with Charnley before touching down in the corner. Stefan Ratchford was unable to convert.
The visitors scored a second try just seven minutes later when some quick passing along the line gave Charnley a walk-in at the corner from Ratchford's final pass. But again Ratchford failed to add the extras.
Warrington went 12-0 up in the 23rd minute when Salford allowed a Tyrone Roberts' bomb to bounce, and the ball was flipped back inside by King to the supporting Roberts for a simple try. This time, Ratchford added the goal and Wolves were firmly in control at 14-0.
Salford got off the mark in the 27th minute when Lui took an inside pass from Weller Hauraki to score from 10 metres out. He also added the conversion to make it 6-14 at the break.
The second-half proved to be something of an arm wrestle with scoring chances at a premium. Salford saw tries ruled out by the video ref in the 46th and 60th minutes.
But Warrington finally put the game beyond Salford's reach seven minutes from time when Kevin Brown cut through to score from close range. Ratchford added the conversion, as well as a late penalty to complete the scoring.
