2014 Warrington Wolves season

This article details the Warrington Wolves RLFC's 2014 season. The Wolves have been present in all previous Super League seasons dating back to 1996. This year they are competing in Super League XIX and the 2014 Challenge Cup.

2014 Warrington Wolves season
Super League XIX Rank5th
Challenge CupSemi Finals
2014 recordWins: 20; Draws: 1; Losses: 10
Points scoredFor: 793; Against: 515
Team information
ChairmanSteven Broomhead
Head coachTony Smith
Captain
StadiumHalliwell Jones Stadium
Avg. Attend.9,870
High. Attend.13,157 (vs St Helens, 13 Feb 2014)
Top scorers
TriesJoel Monaghan (26)
GoalsChris Bridge (67)
PointsChris Bridge (178)
< 2013 List of seasons 2015 >

Preseason

Warrington played their annual Festive Derby friendly against the Widnes Vikings in late 2013, snatching a 36-32 victory in a close-fought contest. In the new year, the Wolves completed a three-week training camp in Australia, including sessions with NRL clubs Sydney Roosters, Manly Sea Eagles and Canterbury Bulldogs.[1] They played two more friendlies upon returning to England, beating Championship side Leigh Centurions 34-20 at Leigh Sports Village and facing off against newly reformed Salford Red Devils a few days later, battling to a 14-8 victory in their first home fixture of 2014.

LEGEND
  Win
  Draw
  Loss
DateCompetitionVsH/AVenueResultScoreTriesGoalsAttTVReport
29/12/13Friendly Widnes VikingsASelect Security StadiumWon36-32Russell, Penny, Ormsby, Atkins, Currie, Riley, PeetO'Brien (4)3,025No
02/02/14Friendly Leigh CenturionsALeigh Sports VillageWon34-20Penny (3), Burke, Shaw, PhilbinO'Brien (5)1,024No
05/02/14Friendly Salford Red DevilsHHalliwell Jones StadiumWon14-8J Monaghan, Westwood, C RileyWestwood3,022No

Super League XIX – regular season

The Wolves faced a challenging start to the season, with their opening three fixtures all replays of 2013 losses. History repeated itself against St Helens R.F.C. at home and Leeds Rhinos away in Rounds 1 and 2 respectively, bringing about Warrington's worst start since the 2009 season. However, a gritty 18-16 win at home to Hull F.C. followed by two consecutive away wins to 2013's bottom teams, London Broncos and Salford Red Devils got their season under way with some points on the board. Next came a replay of the 2013 Grand Final against the Wigan Warriors, where an error-strewn performance in wet and windy conditions led to further disappointment for the Wolves in a 12-4 loss to the reigning champions. The next round brought a visit to Huddersfield, where the Wire trailed 14-4 at half time to the Giants. However, an outstanding second half fightback and five unanswered tries secured a 33-14 Wolves win - their tenth in a row against the Huddersfield Giants in all competitions. Next up was a double fixture against Hull Kingston Rovers. Warrington successfully booked a place in the 5th Round of the 2014 Challenge Cup in their visit to the Craven Park, however five days later when they hosted the Robins at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, they lost 12-25. A modest 4 wins from the first 8 rounds of Super League.

At home to the Widnes Vikings, Warrington put on an impressive show for the Sky cameras, securing a comprehensive 44-6 win against their local derby rivals. Despite seemingly returning to form, the following two fixtures of Super League saw the Wolves slip down the ladder with back to back away defeats in the league. Castleford Tigers, the early surprise package of 2014, ended an 8 match losing streak against the Wire in style with a 40-6 win. A visit to the Odsal then brought about a shock result as the struggling Bradford Bulls utterly out-enthused the Wolves in a topsy-turvy game which culminated in a 34-28 win for the Bulls. Warrington effectively bounced back from this setback however, finding a good bit of form with a new combination of Chris Bridge and Stefan Ratchford at half-back, with Richie Myler out with a shoulder injury.

What followed was a spectacular 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions, amongst which Warrington thoroughly reasserted themselves as contenders in 2014 with impressive wins over top teams St Helens and Leeds Rhinos. At the end of July came a dip in form where Warrington suffered two consecutive Super League losses; for the second year running they were beaten away by their derby rivals Widnes and the following week saw the emphatic homecoming of Chris Riley (who played only one match for Warrington in 2014 before being sent on loan) whose hat-trick in Wakefield colours consolidated a 28-40 home loss and a drop to 6th in the table.

August arrived and the Wolves travelled to Perpignan to take on the Catalans Dragons who had only lost one of their ten home games so far in the 2014 season. After an epic battle in stormy conditions - lightning striking overhead throughout the match - Warrington snatched the win by 2 points, thanks to Bridge's faultless kicking game. Upon their return to England and Challenge Cup action, Warrington for the second year running fell at the last hurdle of the race to Wembley in a 16-24 loss to the Leeds Rhinos.

In the final four games of the regular season, the Wolves faced a string of tough games against each of what would finish the Top 5 of Super League. Firstly a Castleford side stripped down in preparation for a trip to Wembley was disposed of convincingly at the Halliwell Jones. Two weeks later Warrington took on Huddersfield and, in a fightback not quite reminiscent of the reverse fixture earlier in the season, earned a 24-all draw from 23-6 down. And with that the Wolves' ten-match winning run against the Giants became an eleven-match unbeaten run. The following week Wire produced their best 80-minute performance of the season to dispatch the league leaders St Helens 39-12 on their own patch. The final game of the regular season was a loss at Wigan in a chilling repeat of the previous year's Grand Final where Warrington took a convincing 18-4 lead only to concede four unanswered tries and eventually lose 24-20.

LEGEND
  Win
  Draw
  Loss
DateCompetitionRndVsH/AVenueRScoreTriesGoalsAttTVReport
13/02/14Super League1 St. HelensHHalliwell Jones StadiumL8-38J Monaghan (2)13,157Sky
21/02/14Super League2 LeedsAHeadingley StadiumL12-18J Monaghan, WestwoodRatchford (2)16,164Sky
02/03/14Super League3 Hull F.C.HHalliwell Jones StadiumW18-16Ratchford, B Evans, WaterhouseRatchford (3)10,276
09/03/14Super League4 LondonAThe Hive StadiumW44-16R Evans (4), Atkins (2), C Bridge, Ormsby, AsotasiRatchford (4)1,377
14/03/14Super League5 SalfordAAJ Bell StadiumW28-12C Bridge, Higham, Ormsby, J Monaghan, AsotasiRatchford (4)6,260
20/03/14Super League6 WiganHHalliwell Jones StadiumL4-12Ormsby11,550Sky
30/03/14Super League7 HuddersfieldAJohn Smith's StadiumW33-14R Evans, Myler, Westwood, Russell, Ormsby, J MonaghanRatchford, C Bridge (3), DG-Ratchford7,068
11/04/14Super League8 Hull Kingston RoversHHalliwell Jones StadiumL12-25Myler (2)C Bridge (2)8,778
18/04/14Super League9 WidnesHHalliwell Jones StadiumW44-6R Evans (2), O'Brien, J Monaghan, M Monaghan, C Bridge, Currie, AtkinsC Bridge (4), Ratchford (2)10,750Sky
21/04/14Super League10 CastlefordAWish Communications StadiumL6-40M MonaghanRatchford6,853
04/05/14Super League11 BradfordAProvident StadiumL28-34England, C Bridge, Penny, J Monaghan, RussellC Bridge (4)6,173
09/05/14Super League12 Catalans DragonsHHalliwell Jones StadiumW42-10J Monaghan (2), England, Ratchford, C Bridge, Higham, LaithewaiteC Bridge (7)8,816Sky
18/05/14Super League13 St. HelensNEtihad StadiumW41-24R Evans (2), J Monaghan (2), Ormsby, Hill, Atkins, RussellC Bridge (4), DG-Ratchford28,213Sky
25/05/14Super League14 Wakefield TrinityARapid Solicitors StadiumW36-4Currie (2), Ratchford, Atkins, Myler, Ormsby, C BridgeC Bridge (4)3,698
30/05/14Super League15 LeedsHHalliwell Jones StadiumW24-6C Bridge (2), Hill, J MonaghanC Bridge (4)10,312Sky
13/06/14Super League16 Hull Kingston RoversAKC Lightstream StadiumW34-4J Monaghan (2), Ormsby, Ratchford, B Evans, AtkinsC Bridge (5)6,850
22/06/14Super League17 SalfordHHalliwell Jones StadiumW36-20Ormsby, Atkins, C Bridge, J Monaghan, R Evans, CurrieC Bridge (6)10,120
29/06/14Super League18 BradfordHHalliwell Jones StadiumW50-24O'Brien (2), J Monaghan (2), Harrison, Atkins, Westwood, Ormsby, R EvansRatchford (7)9,003
04/07/14Super League19 Hull F.C.AKC StadiumW24-18Ratchford, Ormsby, Harrison, AtkinsC Bridge (4)12,328
13/07/14Super League20 LondonHHalliwell Jones StadiumW72-12J Monaghan (4), Currie (3), Hill (3), Ormsby, Wood, HarrisonC Bridge (10)9,381
18/07/14Super League21 WidnesAThe Select Security StadiumL14-28Atkins, C Bridge, CurrieC Bridge7,158Sky
27/07/14Super League22 Wakefield TrinityHHalliwell Jones StadiumL26-40R Evans (2), J Monaghan, Ratchford, AtkinsC Bridge, Ratchford (2)9,252
01/08/14Super League23 Catalans DragonsAStade Gilbert BrutusW26-24M Monaghan, Ormsby, R Evans, J MonaghanC Bridge (5)7,000Sky
15/08/14Super League24 CastlefordHHalliwell Jones StadiumW48-10R Evans (2), Atkins, O'Brien, C Bridge, England, Ratchford, J MonaghanC Bridge (3), Ratchford (5)8,391Sky
28/08/14Super League25 HuddersfieldHHalliwell Jones StadiumD24-24Harrison (2), O'Brien, AtkinsO'Brien (4)8,777Sky
04/09/14Super League26 St. HelensALangtree ParkW39-12J Monaghan (2), Ratchford, M Monaghan, O'Brien, Myler, AtkinsRatchford (4), O'Brien, DG-Myler12,854Sky
11/09/14Super League27 WiganADW StadiumL20-24J Monaghan (2), MylerRatchford (4)15,656Sky

Due to the unprecedented competitiveness of this year's Super League, Warrington could have finished anywhere between 2nd and 5th in the table going into the last game of the season. As it was, Warrington let an 18-4 lead slip, losing 24-20 at the DW Stadium and dropping to 5th. The Wolves has qualified for the play-offs for the fifth year in a row but unlike the previous four years finishing outside the top 4 meant there would be no second chances; Warrington were straight into knock-out territory entering the play-offs.

As of 14th September 2014
Super League XIX
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 St Helens R.F.C. 27 19 0 8 796 563 +233 38
2 Wigan Warriors 27 18 1 8 834 429 +405 37
3 Huddersfield Giants 27 17 3 7 785 626 +159 37
4 Castleford Tigers 27 17 2 8 814 583 +231 36
5 Warrington Wolves 27 17 1 9 793 515 +278 35
6 Leeds Rhinos 27 15 2 10 685 421 +264 32
7 Catalans Dragons 27 14 1 12 733 667 +66 29
8 Widnes Vikings 27 13 1 13 611 725 −114 27
9 Hull Kingston Rovers 27 10 3 14 627 665 −38 23
10 Salford Red Devils 27 11 1 15 608 695 −87 23
11 Hull F.C. 27 10 2 15 653 586 +67 22
12 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 27 10 1 16 557 750 −193 21
13 Bradford Bulls 27 8 0 19 512 984 −472 10[lower-alpha 1]
14 London Broncos 27 1 0 26 438 1237 −799 2
Source:
Notes:
  1. Bradford Bulls deducted 6 points on 25 February 2014 for entering administration[2]

Super League XIX – play-off series
DateCompetitionRndVsH/AVenueRScoreTriesGoalsAttTVReport
20/09/14Super LeagueElimination Play-Off WidnesHHalliwell Jones StadiumW22-19J Monaghan (3), R EvansRatchford (3)7,229Sky
25/09/14Super LeaguePreliminary Semi-Final CastlefordAWish Communications StadiumW30-14J Monaghan (2), Atkins, O'BrienRatchford (5)6,219Sky
03/10/14Super LeagueQualifying Semi-Final WiganADW StadiumL12-1615,023Sky

2014 Tetley's Challenge Cup
DateCompetitionRndVsH/AVenueRScoreTriesGoalsAttTVReport
06/04/2014Challenge CupRound 4 Hull Kingston RoversAKC Lightstream StadiumW28-24Atkins (2), Asotasi, Evans, J MonaghanBridge (4)4,911
27/04/2014Challenge CupRound 5 DoncasterHHalliwell Jones StadiumW68-0C Bridge (4), Penny (3), Russell, Atkins, Dwyer, J Monaghan, R EvansC Bridge (10)3,002
08/06/2014Challenge CupQuarter Finals BradfordAProvident StadiumW46-10Myler (2), J Monaghan (2), Russell, Ormsby, CurrieBridge (7)5,064BBC Sport
09/08/2014Challenge CupSemi Finals LeedsNLangtree ParkL16-24Ratchford, Westwood, C BridgeC Bridge12,102BBC Sport

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Bradford Bulls deducted six competition points". Super League. 25 February 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
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