Warrington's indiscipline fully exploited by Leeds
Warrington 22 Leeds 3
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Your support makes all the difference.Playing for more than half the game with 12 men finally proved too big a handicap for Warrington at Wilderspool yesterday. Their prop, Nick Fozzard, was sent off for a butt on Leeds' equally volatile Barry McDermott during an extended confrontation between the two.
"When two props are fighting in back play it's a tough call when only one of them gets sent off," was the Warrington coach, Paul Cullen's observation. "I think we did enough to show that with 13 playing 13 we could have won."
Warrington failed to capitalise fully on an excellent start, although they did take a six-point lead with a penalty from Lee Briers and a try from Sid Domic. That came from Briers' accurate cross kick and was fair reward for the Wolves' bright opening.
Warrington would have scored again but for Mark Calderwood's saving tackle on Ben Westwood. That was where it all started to come apart for the Wolves. Losing their composure and conceding too many penalties, they were soon punished by Calderwood from Chev Walker's deft pass.
Two goals from David Furner put Leeds in the lead and they again exploited Warrington's inability to defend for extended periods when Gary Connolly dived over from dummy-half.
Briers landed a penalty for Warrington, but the Wolves suffered a double blow five minutes before half-time when Matt Adamson scored from Kevin Sinfield's pass and Fozzard was sent off on a touch-judge's report.
Remarkably, Warrington began the second half as well as they had the first, with Graham Appo scoring from Brent Grose's clever pass and Briers kicking two goals to bring them within two points.
They should have been level when Briers missed another penalty and would have been ahead if Mark Gleeson had not had a try disallowed for a knock-on.
But they self-destructed again when Michael Wainwright lost the ball on the first tackle and the defence parted to let Keith Senior through.
When Walker scored his first a landslide threatened, but Warrington showed character to hit back with a brilliant solo try from Appo, only for Walker to clinch it with an even better try created by Rob Burrow's break and Sinfield's perfect kick.
Warrington: Appo; Grose, Sibbit, Westwood, Gaskell; Briers, N Wood; Fozzard, Clarke, Hilton, Burns, Wainwright, Domic. Substitutes used: Gleeson, Noone, Guisset, P Wood.
Leeds: Connolly; Calderwood, Walker, Senior, Cummins; Dunemann, Burrow; Bailey, Diskin, McDonald, Furner, Adamson, Sinfield. Substitutes used: Jones-Buchanan, Poching, McDermott, Feather.
Referee: S Ganson (St Helens).
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