LEADING 34-18 with just eight minutes left on the clock Warrington Wolves suffered a dramatic collapse as Hull KR snatched a surprising last gasp victory.
Warrington, who pushed league leaders St Helens all the way last week ran out of steam in the closing stages as the defence frailties of young winger Kevin Penny were once again cruelly exposed.
With the clock ticking down Penny was involved in a one on one chase for the ball with Rover’s Peter Fox and tried to regather the ball instead of kicking it to safety, allowing his opposite number to score to bring the visitors within four points.
Then with the last move of the game Penny was again found out of position on the wing allowing the visitors to kick through and snatch a dramatic victory as the reliable Michael Dobson slotted over another conversion from wide out to send the visiting supporters home in raptures.
Meanwhile Warrington fans were left watching in disbelief wondering how a “home banker” had resulted in a disappointing defeat.
First half tries from Chris Hicks, Lee Briers, Ben Westwood and Martin Gleeson, and three conversions from Hicks gave the Wolves a 22-12 half-time advantage, with Jake Webster and Kris Welham crossing for the visitors, with Dobson converting one and adding a penalty.
Warrington added two second half tries from Simon Grix, both converted by Hicks but failed to kill the game off and paid the ultimate penalty.
With Chris Riley and Paul Rauhihi both leaving the field with injuries and Penny’s confidence shot to bits, making the Grand Final looks a pipe dream for the Wolves.
On the plus side Paul Wood came off the bench and completed the match following a lengthy lay off with a shoulder injury and man-of-the match Ben Westwood did not deserve to be on the losing side.
Scorers:
Warrington (22) 34
Tries: Hicks, Briers, Westwood, Gleeson, Grix (2) Goals: Hicks (5)
Hull KR (12) 36
Tries: Webster, Welham (2), Cockayne, Fox (2) Goals: Dobson (6)
Teams:
Warrington: Hicks, Riley, Gleeson, King, Penny, Briers, Monaghan, Morley, Clarke, Rauhihi, Mitchell, Westwood, Grix. Replacements: Cooper, Parker, Blythe, Wood.
Hull K R: Briscoe, Fox, Welham, Webster, Steel, Galea, Dobson, Aizue, Fisher, Mills, Vella, J. Netherton, Gene. Replacements: Cooke, Crossman, Cockayne, K. Netherton.
