Warrington Wolves player ratings: Trio stand out in much-improved team performance as forwards asked to do big minutes

Three Warrington Wolves players scored nine in a much-improved team display with an agonisingly close 24-20 defeat to reigning champions St Helens at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Matt Dufty: One of his best performances in recent weeks, maybe the season. Made a couple of breaks and looked really dangerous with the ball in hand, topping it off with a beauty of a long-range team try. Unlucky to be on the losing side. 9.

Matty Russell: Some strong carries at the back which fans have come to expect from the out-of-contract Scotland international. 7.

Greg Minikin: Nothing fancy. His side that conceded the opening try to Mark Percival. 6.

Stefan Ratchford: The skipper and Ben Currie gave Ashton plenty of ball to see if he could race away. Some important kicks. 6.

Matty Ashton: Made it his third successive game scoring with his 14th and 15th Super League tries. The second a beauty, intercepting a pass from Jack Welsby to race away 80 metres. Won the player of the match award inside the ground. 9.

Peter Mata’utia: Mr Utility this week playing back in the halves. Didn’t shine, just a 6.

Josh Drinkwater: Much improved kicking game from last week but other players stood out more. 6.

Gil Dudson: Defended fairly well and was asked to do bigger minutes than usual. 6.

Daryl Clark: At his best when he’s running and threatening the defensive line. Also played in the pack. 8.

Paul Vaughan: More massive minutes from the Australian. Some solid runs but St Helens did well on the veteran. 7.

Ben Currie: Assisted the first for Ashton and played a big part in Dufty’s long-range effort. 9.

Tom Whitehead – Named for only his third first team game. 12 tackles in the opening 14 minutes before being forced off for HIA. Hard to judge based on his minutes, though. 6.

Joe Philbin: Massive minutes for the 28-year-old, who was initially named at loose forward but was moved all over. Fatigue showed for Saints’ third try, scored by Welsby, with a missed tackle on Jonny Lomax. Eventually taken off with 15 left, so fair play. 8.

Warrington Wolves Bench

Danny Walker: Came on from the bench and did his job fairly well. 7.

Joe Bullock: A strong stint from the bench for the former Wigan prop, replacing Whitehead after 14 minutes for his head injury assessment. 7.

Adam Holroyd: Came on with 15 minutes to go. Didn’t get many opportunities. 5.

Lucas Green: Was introduced into the action with just less than 30 minutes to go. Another one hard to judge. 5.

Attendance: 12,385

CONFIRMED: ‘Popular’ Wigan loanee Toby King to return to Warrington in 2024

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