2014 Warrington Wolves season

March 2017 March 2017 January 2024 2014 #00529c #fff300 Super League Super League XIX 5th 17 1 9 793 515 Challenge Cup Semi-finals 3 0 1 Chairman Steven Broomhead Head coach Tony Smith Michael Monaghan & Ben Westwood Halliwell Jones Stadium 9,870 13,157 (vs St Helens, 13 Feb 2014) Joel Monaghan (26) Chris Bridge (67) Chris Bridge (178) 2013 2015 yes List of Warrington Wolves seasons 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. 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.http://warringtonwolves.com/wolves-head-down-under-n Wolves head Down Under - Warrington Wolves 14 March 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140314034750/http://warringtonwolves.com/wolves-head-down-under-n 14 March 2014 dead dmy-all 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/AVenueResultScoreTriesGoalsAttTVReport29/12/13 Friendly 12px Widnes Vikings A Select Security Stadium Won 36-32 Russell, Penny, Ormsby, Atkins, Currie, Riley, Peet O'Brien (4) 3,025 No 02/02/14 Friendly 12px Leigh Centurions A Leigh Sports Village Won 34-20 Penny (3), Burke, Shaw, Philbin O'Brien (5) 1,024 No 05/02/14 Friendly 12px Salford Red Devils H Halliwell Jones Stadium Won 14-8 J Monaghan, Westwood, C Riley Westwood 3,022 No 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/AVenueRScoreTriesGoalsAttTVReport13/02/14 Super League 1 12px St. Helens H Halliwell Jones Stadium L 8-38 J Monaghan (2) 13,157 Sky 21/02/14 Super League 2 12px Leeds A Headingley Stadium L 12-18 J Monaghan, WestwoodRatchford (2) 16,164 Sky 02/03/14 Super League 3 12px Hull F.C. H Halliwell Jones Stadium W 18-16 Ratchford, B Evans, Waterhouse Ratchford (3) 10,276 09/03/14 Super League 4 12px London A The Hive Stadium W 44-16 R Evans (4), Atkins (2), C Bridge, Ormsby, Asotasi Ratchford (4) 1,377 14/03/14 Super League 5 12px Salford A AJ Bell Stadium W 28-12 C Bridge, Higham, Ormsby, J Monaghan, Asotasi Ratchford (4) 6,260 20/03/14 Super League 6 12px Wigan H Halliwell Jones Stadium L 4-12 Ormsby 11,550 Sky 30/03/14 Super League 7 12px Huddersfield A John Smith's Stadium W 33-14 R Evans, Myler, Westwood, Russell, Ormsby, J Monaghan Ratchford, C Bridge (3), DG-Ratchford 7,068 11/04/14 Super League 8 12px Hull Kingston Rovers H Halliwell Jones Stadium L 12-25 Myler (2) C Bridge (2) 8,778 18/04/14 Super League 9 12px Widnes H Halliwell Jones Stadium W 44-6 R Evans (2), O'Brien, J Monaghan, M Monaghan, C Bridge, Currie, Atkins C Bridge (4), Ratchford (2) 10,750 Sky 21/04/14 Super League 10 12px Castleford A Wish Communications Stadium L 6-40 M Monaghan Ratchford 6,853 04/05/14 Super League 11 12px Bradford A Provident Stadium L 28-34 England, C Bridge, Penny, J Monaghan, Russell C Bridge (4) 6,173 09/05/14 Super League 12 12px Catalans Dragons H Halliwell Jones Stadium W 42-10 J Monaghan (2), England, Ratchford, C Bridge, Higham, Laithewaite C Bridge (7) 8,816 Sky 18/05/14 Super League 13 12px St. Helens N Etihad Stadium W 41-24 R Evans (2), J Monaghan (2), Ormsby, Hill, Atkins, Russell C Bridge (4), DG-Ratchford 28,213 Sky 25/05/14 Super League 14 12px Wakefield Trinity A Rapid Solicitors Stadium W 36-4 Currie (2), Ratchford, Atkins, Myler, Ormsby, C Bridge C Bridge (4) 3,698 30/05/14 Super League 15 12px Leeds H Halliwell Jones Stadium W 24-6 C Bridge (2), Hill, J Monaghan C Bridge (4) 10,312 Sky 13/06/14 Super League 16 12px Hull Kingston Rovers A KC Lightstream Stadium W 34-4 J Monaghan (2), Ormsby, Ratchford, B Evans, Atkins C Bridge (5) 6,850 22/06/14 Super League 17 12px Salford H Halliwell Jones Stadium W 36-20 Ormsby, Atkins, C Bridge, J Monaghan, R Evans, Currie C Bridge (6) 10,120 29/06/14 Super League 18 12px Bradford H Halliwell Jones Stadium W 50-24 O'Brien (2), J Monaghan (2), Harrison, Atkins, Westwood, Ormsby, R Evans Ratchford (7) 9,003 04/07/14 Super League 19 12px Hull F.C. A KC Stadium W 24-18 Ratchford, Ormsby, Harrison, Atkins C Bridge (4) 12,328 13/07/14 Super League 20 12px London H Halliwell Jones Stadium W 72-12 J Monaghan (4), Currie (3), Hill (3), Ormsby, Wood, Harrison C Bridge (10) 9,381 18/07/14 Super League 21 12px Widnes A The Select Security Stadium L 14-28 Atkins, C Bridge, Currie C Bridge 7,158 Sky 27/07/14 Super League 22 12px Wakefield Trinity H Halliwell Jones Stadium L 26-40 R Evans (2), J Monaghan, Ratchford, Atkins C Bridge, Ratchford (2) 9,252 01/08/14 Super League 23 12px Catalans Dragons A Stade Gilbert Brutus W 26-24 M Monaghan, Ormsby, R Evans, J Monaghan C Bridge (5) 7,000 Sky 15/08/14 Super League 24 12px Castleford H Halliwell Jones Stadium W 48-10 R Evans (2), Atkins, O'Brien, C Bridge, England, Ratchford, J Monaghan C Bridge (3), Ratchford (5) 8,391 Sky 28/08/14 Super League 25 12px Huddersfield H Halliwell Jones Stadium D 24-24 Harrison (2), O'Brien, Atkins O'Brien (4) 8,777 Sky 04/09/14 Super League 26 12px St. Helens A Langtree Park W 39-12 J Monaghan (2), Ratchford, M Monaghan, O'Brien, Myler, Atkins Ratchford (4), O'Brien, DG-Myler 12,854 Sky 11/09/14 Super League 27 12px Wigan A DW Stadium L 20-24 J Monaghan (2), Myler Ratchford (4) 15,656 Sky 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. Warrington Super League XIX – play-off series DateCompetitionRndVsH/AVenueRScoreTriesGoalsAttTVReport20/09/14 Super League Elimination Play-Off 12px Widnes H Halliwell Jones Stadium W 22-19 J Monaghan (3), R Evans Ratchford (3) 7,229 Sky 25/09/14 Super League Preliminary Semi-final 12px Castleford A Wish Communications Stadium W 30-14 J Monaghan (2), Atkins, O'Brien Ratchford (5) 6,219 Sky 03/10/14 Super League Qualifying Semi-final 12px Wigan A DW Stadium L 12-16 15,023 Sky 2014 Tetley's Challenge Cup DateCompetitionRndVsH/AVenueRScoreTriesGoalsAttTVReport06/04/2014 Challenge Cup Round 4 12px Hull Kingston Rovers A KC Lightstream Stadium W 28-24 Atkins (2), Asotasi, Evans, J Monaghan Bridge (4) 4,911 27/04/2014 Challenge Cup Round 5 12px Doncaster H Halliwell Jones Stadium W 68-0 C Bridge (4), Penny (3), Russell, Atkins, Dwyer, J Monaghan, R Evans C Bridge (10) 3,002 08/06/2014 Challenge Cup Quarter-finals 12px Bradford A Provident Stadium W 46-10 Myler (2), J Monaghan (2), Russell, Ormsby, Currie Bridge (7) 5,064 BBC Sport 09/08/2014 Challenge Cup Semi-finals 12px Leeds N Langtree Park L 16-24 Ratchford, Westwood, C Bridge C Bridge 12,102 BBC Sport References Category:Warrington Wolves seasons Warrington Wolves season