2014 Warrington Wolves season

This article details the Warrington Wolves RLFC's 2014 season. The Wolves have been present in all previous Super League seasons dating back to 1996. This year they are competing in Super League XIX and the 2014 Challenge Cup.

Pre Season

Warrington played their annual Festive Derby friendly against the Widnes Vikings in late 2013, snatching a 36-32 victory in a close-fought contest. In the new year, the Wolves completed a three-week training camp in Australia, including sessions with NRL clubs Sydney Roosters, Manly Sea Eagles and Canterbury Bulldogs.^[1] They played two more friendlies upon returning to England, beating Championship side Leigh Centurions 34-20 at Leigh Sports Village and facing off against newly reformed Salford Red Devils a few days later, battling to a 14-8 victory in their first home fixture of 2014.

Date	Competition	Vs	H/A	Venue	Result	Score	Tries	Goals	Att	TV	Report
29/12/13	Friendly	Widnes Vikings	A	Select Security Stadium	Won	36-32	Russell, Penny, Ormsby, Atkins, Currie, Riley, Peet	O'Brien (4)	3,025	No
02/02/14	Friendly	Leigh Centurions	A	Leigh Sports Village	Won	34-20	Penny (3), Burke, Shaw, Philbin	O'Brien (5)	1,024	No
05/02/14	Friendly	Salford Red Devils	H	Halliwell Jones Stadium	Won	14-8	J Monaghan, Westwood, C Riley	Westwood	3,022	No

Super League XIX - Regular Season

The Wolves faced a challenging start to the season, with their opening three fixtures all replays of 2013 losses. History repeated itself against St Helens R.F.C. at home and Leeds Rhinos away in Rounds 1 and 2 respectively, bringing about Warrington's worst start since the 2009 season. However, a gritty 18-16 win at home to Hull F.C. followed by two consecutive away wins to 2013's bottom teams, London Broncos and Salford Red Devils got their season under way with some points on the board. Next came a replay of the 2013 Grand Final against the Wigan Warriors, where an error-strewn performance in wet and windy conditions led to further disappointment for the Wolves in a 12-4 loss to the reigning champions. The next round brought a visit to Huddersfield, where the Wire trailed 14-4 at half time to the Giants. However, an outstanding second half fightback and five unanswered tries secured a 33-14 Wolves win - their tenth in a row against the Huddersfield Giants in all competitions. Next up was a double fixture against Hull Kingston Rovers. Warrington successfully booked a place in the 5th Round of the 2014 Challenge Cup in their visit to the Craven Park, however five days later when they hosted the Robins at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, they lost 12-25. A modest 4 wins from the first 8 rounds of Super League.

At home to the Widnes Vikings, Warrington put on an impressive show for the Sky cameras, securing a comprehensive 44-6 win against their local derby rivals. Despite seemingly returning to form, the following two fixtures of Super League saw the Wolves slip down the ladder with back to back away defeats in the league. Castleford Tigers, the early surprise package of 2014, ended an 8 match losing streak against the Wire in style with a 40-6 win. A visit to the Odsal then brought about a shock result as the struggling Bradford Bulls utterly out-enthused the Wolves in a topsy-turvy game which culminated in a 34-28 win for the Bulls. Warrington effectively bounced back from this setback however, finding a good bit of form with a new combination of Chris Bridge and Stefan Ratchford at half-back, with Richie Myler out with a shoulder injury.

What followed was a spectacular 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions, amongst which Warrington thoroughly reasserted themselves as contenders in 2014 with impressive wins over top teams St Helens and Leeds Rhinos. At the end of July came a dip in form where Warrington suffered two consecutive Super League losses; for the second year running they were beaten away by their derby rivals Widnes and the following week saw the emphatic homecoming of Chris Riley (who played only one match for Warrington in 2014 before being sent on loan) whose hat-trick in Wakefield colours consolidated a 28-40 home loss and a drop to 6th in the table.

August arrived and the Wolves travelled to Perpignan to take on the Catalans Dragons who had only lost one of their ten home games so far in the 2014 season. After an epic battle in stormy conditions - lightning striking overhead throughout the match - Warrington snatched the win by 2 points, thanks to Bridge's faultless kicking game. Upon their return to England and Challenge Cup action, Warrington for the second year running fell at the last hurdle of the race to Wembley in a 16-24 loss to the Leeds Rhinos.

In the final four games of the regular season, the Wolves faced a string of tough games against each of what would finish the Top 5 of Super League. Firstly a Castleford side stripped down in preparation for a trip to Wembley was disposed of convincingly at the Halliwell Jones. Two weeks later Warrington took on Huddersfield and, in a fightback not quite reminiscent of the reverse fixture earlier in the season, earned a 24-all draw from 23-6 down. And with that the Wolves' ten-match winning run against the Giants became an eleven-match unbeaten run. The following week Wire produced their best 80-minute performance of the season to dispatch the league leaders St Helens 39-12 on their own patch. The final game of the regular season was a loss at Wigan in a chilling repeat of the previous year's Grand Final where Warrington took a convincing 18-4 lead only to concede four unanswered tries and eventually lose 24-20.

Date	Competition	Rnd	Vs	H/A	Venue	R	Score	Tries	Goals	Att	TV	Report
13/02/14	Super League	1	St. Helens	H	Halliwell Jones Stadium	L	8-38	J Monaghan (2)		13,157	Sky
21/02/14	Super League	2	Leeds	A	Headingley Stadium	L	12-18	J Monaghan, Westwood	Ratchford (2)	16,164	Sky
02/03/14	Super League	3	Hull F.C.	H	Halliwell Jones Stadium	W	18-16	Ratchford, B Evans, Waterhouse	Ratchford (3)	10,276
09/03/14	Super League	4	London	A	The Hive Stadium	W	44-16	R Evans (4), Atkins (2), C Bridge, Ormsby, Asotasi	Ratchford (4)	1,377
14/03/14	Super League	5	Salford	A	AJ Bell Stadium	W	28-12	C Bridge, Higham, Ormsby, J Monaghan, Asotasi	Ratchford (4)	6,260
20/03/14	Super League	6	Wigan	H	Halliwell Jones Stadium	L	4-12	Ormsby		11,550	Sky
30/03/14	Super League	7	Huddersfield	A	John Smith's Stadium	W	33-14	R Evans, Myler, Westwood, Russell, Ormsby, J Monaghan	Ratchford, C Bridge (3), DG-Ratchford	7,068
11/04/14	Super League	8	Hull Kingston Rovers	H	Halliwell Jones Stadium	L	12-25	Myler (2)	C Bridge (2)	8,778
18/04/14	Super League	9	Widnes	H	Halliwell Jones Stadium	W	44-6	R Evans (2), O'Brien, J Monaghan, M Monaghan, C Bridge, Currie, Atkins	C Bridge (4), Ratchford (2)	10,750	Sky
21/04/14	Super League	10	Castleford	A	Wish Communications Stadium	L	6-40	M Monaghan	Ratchford	6,853
04/05/14	Super League	11	Bradford	A	Provident Stadium	L	28-34	England, C Bridge, Penny, J Monaghan, Russell	C Bridge (4)	6,173
09/05/14	Super League	12	Catalans Dragons	H	Halliwell Jones Stadium	W	42-10	J Monaghan (2), England, Ratchford, C Bridge, Higham, Laithewaite	C Bridge (7)	8,816	Sky
18/05/14	Super League	13	St. Helens	N	Etihad Stadium	W	41-24	R Evans (2), J Monaghan (2), Ormsby, Hill, Atkins, Russell	C Bridge (4), DG-Ratchford	28,213	Sky
25/05/14	Super League	14	Wakefield Trinity	A	Rapid Solicitors Stadium	W	36-4	Currie (2), Ratchford, Atkins, Myler, Ormsby, C Bridge	C Bridge (4)	3,698
30/05/14	Super League	15	Leeds	H	Halliwell Jones Stadium	W	24-6	C Bridge (2), Hill, J Monaghan	C Bridge (4)	10,312	Sky
13/06/14	Super League	16	Hull Kingston Rovers	A	KC Lightstream Stadium	W	34-4	J Monaghan (2), Ormsby, Ratchford, B Evans, Atkins	C Bridge (5)	6,850
22/06/14	Super League	17	Salford	H	Halliwell Jones Stadium	W	36-20	Ormsby, Atkins, C Bridge, J Monaghan, R Evans, Currie	C Bridge (6)	10,120
29/06/14	Super League	18	Bradford	H	Halliwell Jones Stadium	W	50-24	O'Brien (2), J Monaghan (2), Harrison, Atkins, Westwood, Ormsby, R Evans	Ratchford (7)	9,003
04/07/14	Super League	19	Hull F.C.	A	KC Stadium	W	24-18	Ratchford, Ormsby, Harrison, Atkins	C Bridge (4)	12,328
13/07/14	Super League	20	London	H	Halliwell Jones Stadium	W	72-12	J Monaghan (4), Currie (3), Hill (3), Ormsby, Wood, Harrison	C Bridge (10)	9,381
18/07/14	Super League	21	Widnes	A	The Select Security Stadium	L	14-28	Atkins, C Bridge, Currie	C Bridge	7,158	Sky
27/07/14	Super League	22	Wakefield Trinity	H	Halliwell Jones Stadium	L	26-40	R Evans (2), J Monaghan, Ratchford, Atkins	C Bridge, Ratchford (2)	9,252
01/08/14	Super League	23	Catalans Dragons	A	Stade Gilbert Brutus	W	26-24	M Monaghan, Ormsby, R Evans, J Monaghan	C Bridge (5)	7,000	Sky
15/08/14	Super League	24	Castleford	H	Halliwell Jones Stadium	W	48-10	R Evans (2), Atkins, O'Brien, C Bridge, England, Ratchford, J Monaghan	C Bridge (3), Ratchford (5)	8,391	Sky
28/08/14	Super League	25	Huddersfield	H	Halliwell Jones Stadium	D	24-24	Harrison (2), O'Brien, Atkins	O'Brien (4)	8,777	Sky
04/09/14	Super League	26	St. Helens	A	Langtree Park	W	39-12	J Monaghan (2), Ratchford, M Monaghan, O'Brien, Myler, Atkins	Ratchford (4), O'Brien, DG-Myler	12,854	Sky
11/09/14	Super League	27	Wigan	A	DW Stadium	L	20-24	J Monaghan (2), Myler	Ratchford (4)	15,656	Sky

Due to the unprecedented competitiveness of this year's Super League, Warrington could have finished anywhere between 2nd and 5th in the table going into the last game of the season. As it was, Warrington let an 18-4 lead slip, losing 24-20 at the DW Stadium and dropping to 5th. The Wolves has qualified for the play-offs for the fifth year in a row but unlike the previous four years finishing outside the top 4 meant there would be no second chances; Warrington were straight into knock-out territory entering the play-offs.

As of 14th September 2014

Super League XIX
Pos.	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	St Helens R.F.C.	27	19	0	8	796	563	+233	38
2	Wigan Warriors	27	18	1	8	834	429	+405	37
3	Huddersfield Giants	27	17	3	7	785	626	+159	37
4	Castleford Tigers	27	17	2	8	814	583	+231	36
5	Warrington Wolves	27	17	1	9	793	515	+278	35
6	Leeds Rhinos	27	15	2	10	685	421	+264	32
7	Catalans Dragons	27	14	1	12	733	667	+66	29
8	Widnes Vikings	27	13	1	13	611	725	-114	27
9	Hull Kingston Rovers	27	10	3	14	627	665	-38	23
10	Salford Red Devils	27	11	1	15	608	695	-87	23
11	Hull F.C.	27	10	2	15	653	586	+67	22
12	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	27	10	1	16	557	750	-193	21
13	Bradford Bulls	27	8	0	19	512	984	-472	10*
14	London Broncos	27	1	0	26	438	1237	-799	2

* - Bradford Bulls deducted 6 points on 25 February 2014 for entering administration^[2]

Super League XIX - Play-Off Series

Date	Competition	Rnd	Vs	H/A	Venue	R	Score	Tries	Goals	Att	TV	Report
20/09/14	Super League	Elimination Play-Off	Widnes	H	Halliwell Jones Stadium	W	22-19	J Monaghan (3), R Evans	Ratchford (3)	7,229	Sky
25/09/14	Super League	Preliminary Semi-Final	Castleford	A	Wish Communications Stadium	W	30-14	J Monaghan (2), Atkins, O'Brien	Ratchford (5)	6,219	Sky
03/10/14	Super League	Qualifying Semi-Final	Wigan	A	DW Stadium	L	12-16			15,023	Sky

2014 Tetley's Challenge Cup

Date	Competition	Rnd	Vs	H/A	Venue	R	Score	Tries	Goals	Att	TV	Report
06/04/2014	Challenge Cup	Round 4	Hull Kingston Rovers	A	KC Lightstream Stadium	W	28-24	Atkins (2), Asotasi, Evans, J Monaghan	Bridge (4)	4,911
27/04/2014	Challenge Cup	Round 5	Doncaster	H	Halliwell Jones Stadium	W	68-0	C Bridge (4), Penny (3), Russell, Atkins, Dwyer, J Monaghan, R Evans	C Bridge (10)	3,002
08/06/2014	Challenge Cup	Quarter Finals	Bradford	A	Provident Stadium	W	46-10	Myler (2), J Monaghan (2), Russell, Ormsby, Currie	Bridge (7)	5,064	BBC Sport
09/08/2014	Challenge Cup	Semi Finals	Leeds	N	Langtree Park	L	16-24	Ratchford, Westwood, C Bridge	C Bridge	12,102	BBC Sport

References