FULL TIME, PICTURES ADDED: Hull FC 20 Warrington Wolves 20 (From This Is Cheshire)

FULL TIME, PICTURES ADDED: Hull FC 20 Warrington Wolves 20

4:49pm Sunday 5th February 2012 in Sport By Mike Parsons

WARRINGTON Wolves grabbed a late point after a dramatic finale to the opening game of the season.

Ben Westwood, probably Wolves’ fourth choice kicker, missed the last-minute touchline conversion to Rhys Evans’ try as a pulsating clash ended all square.

Chris Hicks had managed to win the game for Warrington from a similar situation a few seasons back.

It was a Mike Cooper offload that paved the way for the ball to be swung along the line for Westwood and Chris Bridge to feed Evans over by the corner post.

Wolves, who had been trailing since Danny Tickle’s second try in the 56th minute, could have restored parity earlier but debutant Trent Waterhouse attempted to feed Rhys Williams over when he could have scored himself.

But chances were missed at either end in a game played at 100 miles per hour and the fact that Wolves finished strongly showed they had managed their jet-lag concerns well since the return from Australia on Monday.

Wolves’ biggest problem was the amount of possession they turned over from their adventurous style of play.

It allowed Hull to mount periods of pressure and they had the goods to fight back from 10-4 and 16-10 deficits to build a winning position, only for Evans to spoil the party.

Things did not start off well for Wolves.

Rhys Williams’ forward pass on the second tackle of Wolves’ first set left his team under pressure in their own 20-metre area.

And when Rhys Evans and Stefan Ratchford were sucked into a double tackle on Hull’s left, a switch play left Chris Bridge on his own allowing Wade McKinnon to feed Kirk Yeaman over after only three minutes. Danny Tickle was wide from the touchline but Hull had a perfect start.

But it was by keeping the ball alive all over the field that put Hull on the back foot, with tries in the 11th and 14th minutes.

A grubber kick by Richie Myler allowed Williams to wrap up Will Sharp by the corner post and when Hull lost possession on the first tackle Trent Waterhouse used all his strength to pounce on the loose ball and wriggle over. Ben Westwood converted for a 6-4 lead.

Then Wolves went left again with a lovely pass from Simon Grix sending Waterhouse away and with options on either shoulder he elected to put Williams over in the left corner. Westwood was off target with the extras but Wolves were 10-4 in front.

Somehow, with chances not taken at either end, it stayed that way until the 35th minute.

Wolves had squandered possession on Hull’s 40-metre line and piggy-backed by a penalty and knock-on Danny Tickle charged over from a Danny Houghton pass and converted himself for 10-10.

But Wolves responded in the best possible way.

Hull conceded possession from the re-start and Myler fired the impressive Grix through a big hole from 20 metres in the 38th minute. Westwood’s conversion put Wolves back in front at 16-10.

The home side got another fast start to the second half after Wolves coughed up possession.

A scramble for a kick to the corner resulted in Tom Briscoe touching down before the ball ran dead. The touch judge flagged for an infringement but referee Steve Ganson awarded the try as Hull cut the gap to two points after 42 minutes.

Some scrappy play from Ratchford, firstly a forward pass and then a knock-on in a three-minute spell, put Wolves under pressure.

A further penalty for a Myler high tackle left Wolves defending their own line. Tickle had the strength to break one tackle and get the ball down in Riley’s challenge to put Hull ahead. Tickle’s extras made it 20-16 with 56 minutes gone.

The return of Garreth Carvell and Trent Waterhouse together with the introduction of Micky Higham perked up the team but Higham left the pitch in the 63rd minute with an injured left arm.

Wolves: Chris Riley; Rhys Evans, Chris Bridge, Ryan Atkins, Rhys Williams; Stefan Ratchford, Richie Myler; Adrian Morley, Michael Monaghan, Garreth Carvell, Trent Waterhouse, Ben Westwood, Simon Grix. Subs: Ben Harrison, Mike Cooper, Micky Higham, Paul Wood.

Hull FC: Wade McKinnon; Will Sharp, Tony Martin, Kirk Yeaman, Tom Briscoe; Richard Horne, Danny Nicklas; Mark O’Meley, Danny Houghton, Andy Lynch, Willie Manu, Danny Tickle, Joe Westerman. Subs: Sam Moa, Jordan Turner, Richard Whiting, Martin Aspinwall.