Wire’s fighting spirit pleases Smith

Tony Smith believes there’s still plenty to play for after Warrington kept their top eight hopes alive with a 24-16 victory over Catalan on Saturday.

Ryan Atkins played a key role in the win with two tries, leaving Wire three points behind Huddersfield and Wigan with four games to go before the split for the Super 8s.

“It wasn’t a spectacular game but I thought our effort was enormous,” said Smith.

“The game had some tension in it but there was lots of spirit and fight and we removed a lot of our errors, which gave us a chance to compete.

“I thought our back three of Will Dagger, Kevin Penny and Jack Johnson were error-free and did a fantastic job at the back, with us being without our usual three starters.

“The team just showed commitment to the cause and are fighting for each other and that’s a great thing. We ticked one off today and we will worry about ticking another one off next week.

“There are plenty of twists and turns to happen and there will be couple of shocks and upsets, so all we can do is focus on the next game.

“This week we did it pretty well because Catalans were trying to impress a new coach and they tried really hard and a lot better than they have been in recent weeks and really had a shot as it.

“Steve (McNamara) will do a great job there – it will take some time but he will put things in place to make them a powerhouse club at some stage.”