Smith doubtful over claiming top spot

Warrington coach Tony Smith admitted his team may struggle to claim first position on the ladder after the Super 8s following his team’s 18-20 defeat at home to St Helens.

Hull FC are at the top of Super League and host Castleford tonight.

“We were off. Not taking anything away I thought Saints did a really good job on our dummy-half runners tonight,” he told Sky Sports.

“I also thought they controlled us in the play-the-ball and controlled the speed of the game and I also thought their kicking game was much better than ours.

“Ours was well off in that department. I can’t fault my boy’s effort, they were trying hard.

If they were going to sneak a result tonight, Smith admitted it would have been because of individual efforts – Rhys Evans was denied late on following Ryan Atkins’ solo effort out of dummy-half.

“It was going to take an individual or two tonight but it was not to be. We’ll lick our wounds,” Smith said.

“Top spot is still achievable. We will see how Hull go in the next game. It might affect how we manage our team from here on in.

“Whether we feel we have a realistic chance of finishing in that top spot. We may play the game a little bit differently from here on in.”