Super League: Josh Charnley doubles up as Warrington Wolves beat Castleford Tigers 34-10
Josh Charnley joined Paul Wellens and Keith Senior in third on the competition's all-time try-scorers list with two against Castleford; Result gave Warrington head coach Daryl Powell victory over his old club
Last Updated: 18/02/22 6:26am
Josh Charnley moved joint-third on the list of all-time Super League try-scorers with a double as Warrington Wolves defeated Castleford Tigers 34-10.
Matty Ashton returned an interception 90 metres for a try and George Williams finished after combining with half-back partner Gareth Widdop to put the Wolves into a 12-0 lead at half-time in Thursday's clash at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
Winger Charnley crossed for his 198th and 199th tries in the competition in the second half, moving level with Paul Wellens and Keith Senior on the all-time Super League try-scorers list and passing 250 for his career in all competitions, while Robbie Mulhern and Peter Mata'utia chipped in with their first tries for the Wolves.
Derrell Olpherts and Jake Trueman both replied with one try apiece for Castleford, but they were otherwise well beaten as Warrington head coach Daryl Powell celebrated victory in his first meeting with the Tiger since leaving them in the off-season.
Story of the game
The Wolves were patchy winners over Powell's other former Super League club Leeds Rhinos in their opening game but they were in rampant form in the new coach's first home match, running in six tries to two to leave his successor Lee Radford still looking for a first win as Tigers head coach.
Warrington were gifted the opening score as pacy winger Ashton intercepted full-back Niall Evalds' pass and sprinted from close to his own line for a try converted by Stefan Ratchford
The hosts' most potent threat came from their experienced half-backs, and when the Castleford defence failed to put Gareth Widdop to ground, it paved the way for his partner Williams to jink his way over for the second converted try.
Team news
Toby King came into the Warrington starting line-up at centre for his first appearance of the season in place of last week’s try-scorer Connor Wrench. England prop Mike Cooper was ruled out due to illness, while Daryl Clark was recovering from a head injury and Oliver Holmes served the first of a two-match ban.
Prop George Lawler made his first start in Castleford colours and former Warrington man Gareth O’Brien made his first start of the season, coming into the halves in place of Danny Richardson, who suffered a fractured neck in the defeat to Salford.
Warrington enjoyed the bulk of possession in the first half but it was the Tigers who often looked the more creative side, with second rower Kenny Edwards having a try disallowed midway through the half for a double movement and interchange centre Jordan Turner being held up over the line.
At the other end, Widdop attempted a drop goal on the stroke of half-time that rebounded off the left-hand upright as they were left to settle for a 12-point interval lead.
Castleford were not helped by losing Edwards with a leg injury early in the second half but brought themselves right back into the contest when winger Olpherts finished off a slick handling move with his third try in two games.
O'Brien could not add the conversion though and six minutes later Ratchford's cut-out pass got Charnley over for the 250th try of his career, and there was no way back for the visitors when prop Mulhern charged onto Williams' pass and bumped off Liam Watts to cross for the Wolves' fourth try after 55 minutes.
Warrington Wolves 34-10 Castleford Tigers scoring summary
Warrington: Tries - Josh Charnley (2), Matty Ashton, George Williams, Peter Mata'utia, Robbie Mulhern; Goals - Stefan Ratchford (5).
Castleford: Tries - Derrell Olpherts, Jake Trueman; Goals - Gareth O'Brien.
It got worse for Radford's men when Mata'utia pounced on an error from Bureta Faraimo to claim another try and Ratchford's fourth goal extended the lead to 24 points.
The Tigers pulled a try back through stand-off Trueman, following O'Brien's high kick, but Warrington were in full command by then and they rounded off a comprehensive victory when Charnley collected Williams' kick to the corner for his second try.
Ratchford added his fifth goal from six attempts to complete the scoring on a highly satisfactory night for Powell.
What they said
Warrington Wolves head coach Daryl Powell
"Castleford started really well and put us under pressure, and we were a bit slow getting out of the blocks. But once we got our game together I thought we were excellent and the second half was a really strong performance.
"Last week we got beaten everywhere, I thought we did a really good job today and that's a step in the right direction. I keep saying, we're going to be as consistent as we can, we'll try to build a brand for ourselves that we really want to play and be successful, but it's early days."
Castleford Tigers head coach Lee Radford
"It was a tough one. I thought how we started was outstanding defensively - there was plenty of effort there. The line-speed and the energy indicators we spoke about, I thought we got that. But we were on the back end of 10-4 penalty count and 3-1 'six again', so eventually it caught up with us and burned us.
"We'll have a look at those in detail. Some are Warrington and some we can have a look at, but unfortunately, it burns you when you get that many. They must be very disciplined to only get that many, so well done to them."
What's next?
Warrington aim to make it three wins from three when they head to France to take on Super League newcomers Toulouse Olympique on Saturday, February 26 (5pm GMT kick-off).
Castleford return to action live on Sky Sports the day before with a trip to Sewell Group Craven Park to take on Hull Kingston Rovers (8pm kick-off).
