Warrington ratings as Wolves’ faint play-off hopes disappear in Wigan Warriors defeat

Any faint hopes Warrington harboured of reaching the Super League play-offs this season ended as they were beaten 24-18 at home by reigning champions Wigan Warriors on Friday night.

Live from the press box at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, these are our Wolves ratings…

Stefan Ratchford – 6

Thrown in at full-back with Matt Dufty stood down by Wire after a disciplinary incident, Ratchford steadily grew into the game and had a good influence in attack. He’d have hoped to have made more of certain scenarios in-game, though, for sure. Him being dragged in touch late on epitomised the hosts’ disintegration.

Josh Thewlis – 7

A strong game on the whole from Thewlis senior, who recovered well after an early knock on from a Harry Smith kick. A one-on-one ball steal from Jack Farrimond prefaced his intercept try. Not much more he could have done on the night.

Zack Gardner – 6

Gardner wasn’t shy in taking the ball in against a big Wigan pack, but he – like a lot of his team-mates – needed to be better in defence. What’s not a question though is which of Wire’s centres performed better…

Toby King – 5

A poor night for King, whose dreadful effort to offload on tackle one of a set early doors summed up his performance, putting the hosts under unnecessary pressure. He also bombed what should have been a sure-fire try with a forward pass to Joe Philbin before the first half. We didn’t see enough improvement in the second half to warrant any higher rating, though he did claim an assist for Jake Thewlis late on.

Jake Thewlis – 5

He’s still learning on the job, but this won’t be a night the younger Thewlis brother looks back on fondly. He was dragged into touch too easily in the first half and then got targeted by the Warriors going the other way in the second half. The highlight the break which ended up with King’s forward pass. The positive being his late try. 5.5, if we did half marks.

George Williams – 8

If you ever wondered why Williams is a certain for the England team, you only have to look at what he produced on both sides of the ball here. A stunning solo try in the second half was a great way to mark his 100th Warrington appearance, and he was strong in defence throughout.

Marc Sneyd – 6

Sneyd caused trouble for Warriors full-back Jai Field with a couple of ingenuitive kicks early on, but wasn’t at his glittering best on the whole. Three from four with the boot.

Luke Yates – 7

Two decent stints from Yates. A huge hit on Ethan Havard early on was a highlight.

Sam Powell – 6

Nothing wrong with what Powell produced in his two stints.

Paul Vaughan – 7

We’ve seen better from Vaughan, but he gets through a hell of a lot of work during a game. To state the obvious, he’ll be a huge miss for Warrington when he heads to York at the end of the year.

Sam Stone – 6

Stone was consistent in his performance without doing anything glamorous. His only real error of note an incorrect play-the-ball with 15 minutes left.

Lachlan Fitzgibbon – 6

Fitzgibbon shot out of the defensive line and missed a tackle early on, but he got away with that and was pretty steady away for the remainder.

Ben Currie – 7

Currie got flattened by Brad O’Neill as the Wigan hooker scored his first half try, but like Vaughan, you won’t find many that get through as much work as him in a game. Only spent around nine minutes off the field all night.

Joe Philbin (Interchange) – 6

Philbin almost had an instant impact off the bench, and would have had but for King’s forward pass. But he faded into a pool of players who were just alright on the night, with that pool far too big.

Ryan Matterson (Interchange) – 8

We thought Matterson was excellent again as he marked his home debut for Wire. If there’s a chance he could stay beyond the end of the year, the Wolves ought to be sorting it.

Max Wood (Interchange) – N/A

Wood’s stint was circa 11 minutes, so it feels harsh to even try and give him a rating.

Danny Walker (Interchange) – 8

Walker couldn’t have done more having come off the bench. He got Wire’s man-of-the-match at the ground, and we’d probably agree with that, though Williams would have a say. The hooker was great out of dummy-half, as usual, and enjoyed a barnstorming second half run.