Smith concedes defeat in top eight race

Warrington boss Tony Smith admits his team look likely to take part in The Qualifiers after losing 26-12 at Wakefield on Saturday.

Wire are three points behind eighth-placed Huddersfield with three regular season games to play, leaving them needing a big helping hand to make it into the top eight.

“It’s unlikely, isn’t it? (finishing in the top eight), said Smith. “There would have to be some real twists and turns for that to happen. If we don’t make it we’ll roll sleeves up and get on with it.

“It was pretty nip and tuck in that first half. They maximised their luck. The thing that really hurt us was that they had five seven-tackle re-starts and, while that doesn’t sound much, throw a penalty or two on top of that and it starts to mount.

“Our last plays weren’t good enough this week. I thought our goal-line defence was pretty good in the first half but it took its toll and cost us in terms of energy and affected our decision-making.

“But I don’t want to take too much away form Wakefield, who are a good team and work hard for each other. I would have liked us to have asked a few more questions but they handled what we threw at them today.”