Warrington Wolves chief Tony Smith delighted but not getting carried away (From This Is Cheshire)

Warrington Wolves chief Tony Smith delighted but not getting carried away

9:14pm Sunday 7th February 2010

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WOLVES boss Tony Smith is keeping his feet firmly on the ground following his side’s unprecedented 58-0 hammering of Harlequins at The Halliwell Jones Stadium this afternoon.

It was Wolves' highest ever win on the opening day of a Super League season.

“It’s way too early to get carried away with ourselves, as Harlequins were under strength today,” he said.

“We’ve all been involved in those matches where it spirals out of control and that’s how it was for the opposition but I am delighted with our guys.”

Not even Chris Riley’s record breaking five-try performance, the first in Super League for any Wolves player, was enough to have Smith reaching for the hyperbole.

“Riley took his opportunities but a few of them were served up on a silver platter,” he said.

“But you’ve got to be in the right positions and he took them very well.

“It’s quite a feat for any young man or any Super League player to score five tries in a game.”

Smith was equally measured about his team’s dominance on the pitch.

He said: “I’m pleased for the players, they were in a good frame of mind and played some good Rugby League both offensively and defensively.

“We tackled very well and it’s tough in those sorts of games for your opponents.”

For many Wolves players, the humiliation of last season’s 60-8 defeat at the hands of Harlequins would have made it difficult to take pity on their rivals.

That certainly seemed to be the case today as Wolves relentlessly punished the travellers time and time again, both in attack and defence.

“Last season got mentioned by some of the players at half time and they said ‘Lets not feel sorry for them as they did it to us,’” said Smith.

“They are just as pleased with themselves about the ‘nil’ result then they are with the positive score line, as we’ve not been known for our defensive skills over the last 30 years.”

There seemed to be no danger of Wolves conceding many points this afternoon, as they were equally impressive in defence as they were in attack, repelling four consecutive sets just metres from their try line at one stage.

It was the first time during the Super League era that Wolves have not conceded in a league match, an impressive feat against any team at that level.

But when you contrast this with the fact that Harlequins scored more points than any other against Wolves last season, it is a definite sign that Tony Smith has done a remarkable job in reducing the team’s defensive shortcomings.

To round off a perfect start to the season, Wolves’ new signings all showed signs that they were finding a rhythm in their new team.

Richie Myler scored a debut Super League try to add to his impressive tally of four in three games, while impact substitute David Solomona was devastating during his time on the pitch.

Smith was happy with their contribution, saying: “David was explosive and he adds another dimension, which we expected him to.

“Myler showed some good passages of play, he fitted in well and was a little unlucky on a couple of occasions, the incident with the referee was one of the biggest hits of the day!”

“But all the new boys did a pretty sound job for us.”

Both Solomona and Atkins were taken off after picking up knocks, as was Paul Wood, who was helped from the field by Wolves medical staff, but Smith was not worried that the injuries would be long term.

“Atkins got a knock early on,” he said.

“He seemed to recover ok but he wasn’t quite himself at half time so rather than risk him we wrapped him up in cotton wool.

“Solomona also got a knock late on and Woody got a kick to the back of the calf but they should be fine.”

Wolves have now shown their intent to challenge for the top spot and on this performance not many people would bet against them mounting a serious challenge on Leeds’ crown.

With Chris Hicks and Jon Clarke still set to return from injury, it is a sobering thought for any Super League side that this Wolves team could get even stronger.

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