Warrington Wolves send play-off ‘warning’ in Bradford Bulls victory as young half-backs ‘put on a clinic’

Warrington Wolves leapfrogged Hull KR in the top four thanks to a strong 42-4 win over Bradford Bulls at Odsal.

Sam Burgess’ side found themselves 6-0 down inside the opening 15 minutes, but came back into the game quickly and eventually powered over the line courtesy of a brace from Matty Ashton alongside other tries from Albert Hopoate, Toby King, Joe Philbin, Jordy Crowther and Ewan Irwin.

Here are our key takeaways from the round 22 meeting.

Play-off warning?

Warrington might have come into the game big favourites, but the manner of their victory should send a real warning looking towards the rest of the season and the play-offs.

On the face of it, it might not seem that spectacular. It wasn’t particularly flashy, highlight-reel stuff from the Wolves, but rather incredibly efficient and built on doing the simple stuff well.

Their attack was just a reflection of them completing high and working through sets organically.

The middle unit seemed to charge around the park like angry freight trains, then giving the likes of Danny Walker, Ewan Irwin and Leon Hayes the chance to inject tempo into the attack and create broken field, which then led to tries. It was almost calculated too, targeting slightly weaker pockets within the defensive line to then get speed into their play.

Wire’s defence was also mightily effective, with them often hunting in threes or even fours to suffocate their opposition and especially limit Bradford’s offloading game.

Crucially, they also seemed to just grow into the game as it went along, which is a huge trait to have when looking towards the end stages of the season and the play-offs.

This should serve as a real statement of intent from Warrington, and could have some teams slightly worried.

Young half-backs stand out

There’s been a lot of chatter this week about the impending return of George Williams after his lengthy lay-off, but those currently in the halves are certainly looking the business for Warrington.

Tonight, Irwin and Hayes just put on a real clinic, with their fingerprints all over this impressive victory. Their ability to just toy with the tempo, target space and ultimately nail the skills to get there was a huge part in Warrington’s victory.

Impressively, they also consistently made brave decisions ball-in-hand, often taking on the line and playing flat rather than going into their shells. Irwin also capped off his evening with a fine try, which was a just reward for his efforts.

Williams coming back into contention is an obvious boost, given his quality and experience, but the performance of these two once again tonight will not make it an easy decision to take one of them out of the side. That’s exactly the sort of headache Burgess will want, and exactly the sort of sign he will want from his young players looking towards 2027 when Williams departs.

Battle of the benches swings game

Burgess will be beaming at the work of his bench tonight, you feel.

Individually, they all went superbly. Toafofoa Sipley and Philbin just seemed to really step things up a gear through the middle, carrying into contact like they were angry at the ground; while Kelepi Tanginoa gave a point of difference with his strike running, often used slightly closer to the defensive line than usual. Jordy Crowther again just nailed all the ugly stuff too, contributing very well on both sides of the ball and bagging a try.

It was also their work as a collective that deserves some flowers, too. They were chucked on at a time when Bradford were leading and Warrington couldn’t quite get a foothold in the contest, but they flipped the game right on its head and set the platform for their pretty dominant win.

Brave Bulls

A word for Bradford Bulls, who, despite the scoreline, deserve real praise for their bravery.

Nothing sums it up more than the final few minutes of the game, to be honest. A 40-20 attempt at 75 minutes with the scoreline 42-4, which was followed by yet another attempt to play out from their own 20 and nearly saw Ethan Ryan break away. Then, with pretty much their final touch of the ball, a genuine flash of skill from Connor Wynne to chip-and-chase in space and go for glory.

They just consistently looked to make the positive choice and never shied away from that.

Look, there were some issues within their game, which will annoy Kurt Haggerty, and the scoreboard did eventually run away from them; but considering the injury plague that has gripped them this season and especially in recent weeks, they gave it a real dig and never shied away from the contest.