Warrington Wolves thrash Leigh Leopards in reserves fixture

Despite the 50-point margin of victory over Leigh Leopards, however, head coach Ryan O’Brien insists there were still plenty of areas they need to fix going forward.

Before the Super League fixture between the two clubs at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, the likes of Rodrick Tai, Max Wood, Matty Russell and Tom Whitehead were all involved in the second-string game across town at Victoria Park.

All four were on the scoresheet in a dominant 66-16 victory, with Tai scoring twice while Wood and Whitehead also touched down as a blistering first-half display saw The Wire go into the break 40-0 up.

Cai Taylor-Wray and Lewis Barratt both scored twice as Warrington ran in 13 tries in all, with Russell’s arguably the pick of the bunch as he scored an individual effort from inside his own half.

Bobby Shingler, Frank Sergent and Jake Thewlis also crossed the whitewash before Nolan Tupaea rounded off the scoring.

However, O’Brien’s assessment of the game was not as glowing as people may have expected despite watching his side pick up a third consecutive victory.

He said: “Whilst it was a strong performance and there were some really pleasing aspects, as a group of staff and players we have still identified a couple of areas within our game today that we are not happy with and need to fix going forward.”

Among the Leigh try-scorers was Jack Darbyshire, the son of former Wire player and coach Paul who came through the Warrington academy before being released at the end of 2023 without making a senior first-team appearance.

The next reserve team fixture is a home game against Hull FC at Victoria Park on Saturday, May 4, kick off 1pm.

Wolves: Cai Taylor-Wray; Frank Sergent, Rodrick Tai, Jake Thewlis, Matty Russell; Pat Irwin, Adam Whalley; Max Wood, Lewis Barratt, Lucas Green, Stephen Antrobus, Nolan Tupaea, Tom Whitehead. Subs: Alfie Mather, Peter Scott, Bobby Shingler, Jamie Reddecliff. 18th: Noah High