I thought you started really well, normal barn storming Wire charges down the middle that went so close several times. You’re in a lofty position in the league because usually that is enough to get your noses in front, and more often than not your able to capitalise on that dominance.
Thursday was different, you were up against a side equally driven to keep you out, with a will to do so that was fierce and intense, almost feral. Their will to keep you out was the strongest.
When 6 or 7 consecutive and powerful drives right on the Rovers line were repelled, Wire started to doubt themselves. What do we do now ? This isnt working to plan !!
Compounded by Rovers first piece of real ball in 20 mins leading to a try. When it was time for leadership composure and re-setting the game plan, the leaders who took control were not playing in Primrose and Blue. In fact It was a Rovers side already down on key player s who stood up and re-doubled their efforts to maintain Smiths outstanding game plan.
To be fair Warrington tried everything, but when everything but everything is smothered with extremely intense fast closing down with real power then one got the feeling Wire couldn’t breathe let alone play open rugby.
Sometimes being hot favourites creates a mindset of just focus on attack, on how we get over their line. But when questions were asked the other way round, I’m not sure the defensive elements of Wires training regime were really evident. Wire defence looked like it was reactive rather than planned and organised.
Pretty soon you could see a team playing to a carefully organised plan, and another who’s plan, which normally works, found it wasn’t working after 20 mins and chaos set in.
That’s all that happened, but one has to take a hat off to the winners because they played like lives depended on it. They played as one, and they got what they richly deserved.
