KEY STATS: Errors and ill-discipline rife but a case for the defence
ULTIMATELY, the most important stat from Friday's trip to Salford came out in Warrington Wolves' favour.
However, there were a few more that will both please and concern Sam Burgess in equal measure.
On the whole, The Wire's performance was a scratchy and laboured one as they struggled against a Red Devils side whose own display was not one of a side that had conceded an average of 40 points per game before this.
Advertisement
Eventually, they got the job done, but they made life hard for themselves.
Here's a look at some key things we noticed from the match stats…
Errors and discipline hamper Wire
An area that has been pleasing on the whole for Warrington this year is their discipline.
They went into Round 17 as Super League's least-penalised team, but there was a concerning fall-off on this occasion.
The seven penalties they conceded - including one, criminally, for dissent - was their highest total of the season to date and it was only a late collapse in discipline from the hosts that saw them finish on the right side of the penalty count (10-7).
Advertisement
Their ill-discipline allowed Chris Hankinson to keep Salford in touch even though they scored only one try to Wire's four, with the centre booting over four penalties either side of half time.
That sole Salford try from Ethan Ryan came courtesy of a Wire error, with Josh Thewlis spilling the ball in contact to allow the hosts to recycle for the winger to burst through a stretched and scrambling defence.
Burgess' men made 12 errors in all – nine of which came before half time – and combined with their ill-discipline, it meant any attempts to build pressure until the final stages were negated.
Wire's ill-discipline allowed Chris Hankinson to keep Salford in touch by kicking four penalties (Image: Paul Currie/SWpix.com)
Advertisement
Middle unit's impressive defensive numbers
Warrington's middle unit is often criticised for its lack of size, but one area in which they excel is in defence.
This was in perfect evidence on Friday night where the seven players who turned out there at different stages put up some impressive off-the-ball numbers.
Four players finished the game with a 100 per cent tackle completion rate – Ben Currie led the way with 43 in another sterling display at loose forward which also saw him average nine metres per carry and come up with an excellent assist for James Harrison's try.
Luke Yates (30), Jordy Crowther (28) and Harrison himself (22) all went through the game without missing a single tackle while Paul Vaughan (24), Joe Philbin (23) and Stefan Ratchford (15) all missed two each.
Advertisement
Overall, that leads to a tackle efficiency rate of just under 97 per cent and with the ball too, they appeared to have more punch.
In total, Warrington's middles totalled 430m with ball in hand from a combined 60 carries – bringing an average of 7.16m each – and broke 16 tackles, seven of which came courtesy of Vaughan.
From one less carry, Salford's big men mustered 278m between them – 4.71m per carry average – and broke through eight tackles.
In the outside-backs too, Wire held an edge and made on average two metres more per carry than their counterparts.
Wire's back five made 540m from 56 carries (9.64m average) led by Matt Dufty's 169m, while they broke 16 tackles and made six clean breaks between them.
Advertisement
Salford's made six more carries but less metres at 462 (7.45m each) with 15 tackle busts and a single clean break. Centre Esan Marsters (150m, six tackle breaks) led the way for them.
Jordy Crowther tackles Salford's Nathan Connell (Image: Paul Currie/SWpix.com)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
31 minutes ago
- New York Times
How does Sarina Wiegman solve England's problems after her first Euros defeat?
Midway through England's victorious run at Euro 2022, there was a debate about whether Lionesses fans should sing 'Football's Coming Home'. Some argued it was effectively England's national football anthem, regardless of gender. But many thought the words didn't quite apply to England Women, and that the whole experience of supporting that side was very different. Advertisement Well, England's 2-1 defeat to France in their opening Euro 2025 game felt incredibly familiar to watching the men's side over the years. There was a promising start which gave way to weariness in warm conditions as the match continued. There was a lack of control in midfield. There was a spirited late rally which came to nothing. Ultimately, there was a 2-1 defeat to France — the result that knocked the men's side out of the last World Cup. This is England. But this isn't Sarina Wiegman. In Euro 2022 we marvelled at Wiegman's insistence on keeping her starting XI intact for every game, despite calls to give others a chance, and despite the fact England had topped the group after two matches and could have rested players for their final group game. Then again, it's easy to name an unchanged side when it's a winning side. And Wiegman usually is: from 12 group stage matches with the Netherlands and England, across two European Championships and two World Cups, she had previously collected 12 wins. Indeed, this was her first loss outside of the tournament's final. So this is an unfamiliar situation for Wiegman, and it's slightly difficult to know how she'll react. England had a couple of clear problems in Zurich. First, the midfield was overrun at least partly because of Wiegman's use of Lauren James in the advanced midfield role. James was England's brightest player in the opening moments, and it's a perfectly viable system against weak opponents, but given Georgia Stanway's long injury lay-off, Keira Walsh's disjointed season and the quality of France's midfield, it was a risk that ultimately didn't pay off. 'I make a lot of considerations before I make a starting line up; sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn't go well, but I don't have regrets,' Wiegman said afterwards. 'I don't see (playing James as the No 10) as a mistake, it was a choice. If she scored in the first minute, and if the cross she made in the first where we couldn't just get a head on it, I think we'd be having a different conversation.' The other issue was at full-back, where England found themselves overrun by France's wingers. In particular, Jess Carter was skinned three times by Delpinhe Cascarino in the first half — two warning signs, and then the assist for Marie-Antoinette Katoto's opener. This was something of a surprise given Carter is regarded as England's best player in one-against-one duels out wide, and she was probably favoured over Niamh Charles precisely for this reason. But with England's defensive line pushing up and squeezing the play, they left space in behind into which the wingers ran. On the opposite flank, Lucy Bronze twice went haring forward when England lost possession and allowed France to break, first when Sakina Karchaoui lobbed into the sidenetting, then for Sandy Baltimore's goal to make it 2-0, when Bronze inadvertently teed her up. So does Wiegman make changes ahead of Wednesday night? Well, England will face a different task against the Netherlands. The Dutch didn't field electric wingers in their 3-0 win over Wales. Jill Roord is more of a midfielder, although she offered a serious goal threat from the left, twice hitting the woodwork. On the right, Victoria Pelova is more scrappy, effective at slaloming past challenges in more central positions. Advertisement But that could change: Lineth Beerensteyn can play either as a No 9 or out wide, and given England's struggles in the full-back positions, you wouldn't be surprised if Netherlands manager Andries Jonker showed her a couple of videos of Cascarino's performance and told her to do the same. It's also fair to say the Dutch don't quite have the midfield quality of France, and therefore Walsh and Stanway may cope better. That said, the Dutch are feisty and aggressive, and won't stand off England or let them play. One solution would be to keep the defence intact, but move James to a right-sided position, where she has often excelled in the past. That would allow her to attack Esme Brugts, a talented left-back but one who is better going forward than defensively. James also works well with Bronze, a good relationship that predates them being Chelsea team-mates. That would allow Wiegman to stiffen the midfield with Grace Clinton or Jess Park, providing support for Walsh and Stanway. Ella Toone is another option, although she does her best work in the opposition box, and England need someone who can help out in deeper positions. Wiegman's selection decision will be crucial. England suddenly find themselves in a very difficult situation. Defeat to the Netherlands would eliminate them (unless Wales were to beat France, leaving England praying for an unlikely 9-3-3-3 group and scraping through in second, which simply isn't going to happen). But even a draw wouldn't be great. Assuming a France victory over Wales, that would leave France on six points, the Netherlands on four, England on one and Wales yet to get off the mark. France and the Netherlands could therefore engineer a draw in their final group game, which would send them both through and the champions home. Or France could rest up and allow the Netherlands to get the win they need, in the knowledge that finishing Group D runners-up might be better — it would probably mean avoiding Spain until the final. It would be out of England's hands. The way to avoid all this, of course, is by winning on Wednesday night. Wiegman is known as a stubborn manager, but in this situation, changes are surely needed if England are to remain in the competition.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
England left exposed in midfield as Sarina Wiegman struggles to strike a balance
It was a long walk for Georgia Stanway, head down, as she trudged around the edge of the Stadion Letzigrund pitch in front of a sell-out crowd. England trailed 2-0 and she had been replaced by Grace Clinton in the 77th minute. The Bayern Munich midfielder has had a long road to recovery, too — 70 to 80 rehab sessions — since undergoing knee surgery on January 30. Her rustiness showed as, alongside Keira Walsh, the duo struggled to get a grip in the midfield area and were overrun. Advertisement Before starting England's opening game against France on Saturday, Stanway had only played 135 minutes of football since her injury. Given her importance in midfield, and England's lack of depth in that area, she seemed a must-starter against a front-footed, technically proficient and physical France midfield. The bigger surprise was seeing Lauren James start. Up until last Sunday, she had not played a game for three months because of a hamstring injury and only played 30 minutes against Jamaica last weekend. The gamble seemed to have paid off, though, when in the opening minute James, playing in the advanced midfield role, found herself with a great goalscoring opportunity but failed to hit the target, then delivered a promising deep cross which her team-mates could not reach. The Chelsea forward instigated an England goal on the quarter-hour mark which was eventually disallowed. She cut inside and ran at the French defenders before switching the ball to Beth Mead who was in space. Pauline Peyraud-Magnin palmed Hemp's shot away and Alessia Russo was quickest to react, but VAR found Mead to be a millimetre offside. Advertisement England struggled to recover from that disappointment and, from then on in, were architects of their own downfall. They were sloppy in possession, particularly in midfield which looked exposed. Sarina Wiegman put that down to losing the ball early in the build-up play. Her team created their own problems by playing short passes which allowed France to press aggressively. Wiegman wanted her side to skip players and play balls in behind, but they were not tight enough on the ball nor quick enough to play out of the press. Stanway and Walsh failed to get into any kind of rhythm and looked off the pace. They were not the only ones. France's technical midfield trio of Oriane Jean-Francois, Grace Geyoro and captain Sakina Karchaoui stayed compact, were intense but tidy, hoovered up second balls and ruled the middle of the pitch. Advertisement As shown below, they released the ball quickly out wide to release wingers Sandy Baltimore and Delphine Cascarino and wreaked havoc, terrorising England full-backs Jess Carter and Lucy Bronze. 'It felt like they could go wherever they wanted,' said Carter, who thought England were a 'little bit scared' and not 'aggressive enough'. 'We all have days where we're just having a bit of a 'mare on the ball and, unfortunately, today there was more than one player doing that.' This was not a game where England could afford to let standards drop. 'France is a proper team,' said Wiegman. 'You have to do things right.' Captain Leah Williamson described the one-v-one defending as 'cheap' and disagreed that the defence was disjointed, instead pointing to her team being too 'expansive' and failing to keep the ball. Advertisement By contrast, as shown by the pass map below, England's midfield was left exposed with a big hole in the middle of the pitch. For all of James' offensive talents, her freer role leaves the midfield vulnerable. Mead tucked in more centrally to compensate but it was not effective. James has more often played on the wing for the Lionesses and only in the No 10 role when England have played a 3-5-2 with more bodies in midfield. Should Wiegman have started her on the wing or even kept it tighter for an hour and then brought James off the bench? Ella Toone or Grace Clinton do not offer the same attacking threat as James and may have been too safe against such a hard-hitting opponent. Equally, looking to the bench, England do not have any depth behind Walsh and Stanway that could have elevated their levels. Advertisement Wiegman did not have any regrets about her starting XI and did not think starting James was a mistake. 'We'd be having a different conversation,' she pointed out, had James scored in the first minute or a team-mate had got a head to her cross. Indeed, if Russo's goal had stood, would we have been questioning Wiegman's decisions? You need a lot of quality and a bit of luck in major tournaments. England had neither. They were unlucky to have their goal ruled out and that France's second goal stood following another VAR check on Maelle Lakrar's challenge on Russo in the build-up, but the reality is they were still outclassed. Walsh's well-hit strike in the 87th minute reignited the England machine but it was too little, too late. Advertisement England could not afford to start this tournament slowly and must improve against the Netherlands on Wednesday to stand any chance of making the knockout stages. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. England, Women's Soccer, Women's Euros 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Report: Arsenal wonderkid delays new contract decision
Ethan Nwaneri Stalls on Arsenal Contract Over First-Team Guarantees Young Star Weighs Future Amid Intense Competition Ethan Nwaneri's future at Arsenal is under increasing scrutiny, with the 18-year-old reluctant to sign a new deal unless he receives assurances over first-team opportunities, according to a report by Alex Crook of talkSPORT. Nwaneri, who became the youngest player in Premier League history at just 15 years and 181 days, has entered the final year of his contract and now finds himself at a pivotal crossroads. Advertisement Despite making 37 appearances across all competitions in the 2024/25 season and scoring nine goals—four of them in the Premier League and two in the Champions League—Nwaneri only started 11 league matches. With Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard occupying the wide positions, and potential new arrival Noni Madueke adding further depth, the Hale End graduate sees a crowded pathway to regular minutes. Ballon d'Or Ambitions Show Star's Mindset What separates Nwaneri from most young prospects isn't just his talent, but his ambition. Speaking to talkSPORT, he was unequivocal in outlining his goals: '100 per cent, yeah. That's just the goal, but definitely. I've got that in the back of my mind,' he said when asked if he aims to win the Ballon d'Or. Photo IMAGO Advertisement Such confidence highlights the self-belief driving the youngster, but it also explains his hesitation. Sitting on the bench at this crucial stage of development could derail those lofty ambitions. Interest From Across Europe and Rivals Like Chelsea With Arsenal yet to tie him down and the player's camp seeking clarity on his role, several top European clubs are circling. Notably, Chelsea are said to be monitoring his situation closely. If Arsenal fail to secure his signature soon, they risk losing one of their brightest academy graduates for free next summer. This would be a significant blow for the club, particularly given the success of other Hale End products like Bukayo Saka and others that have been sold on for significant profit. Nwaneri has been with Arsenal since the age of eight and is seen as the next big thing to emerge from their academy. Advertisement Contract Talks Complicated by Arsenal's Transfer Plans The timing of Arsenal's interest in Noni Madueke from Chelsea only complicates matters further. While personal terms have reportedly been agreed, a formal offer is still pending. However, for Nwaneri, the message is clear: more competition is on the way. Although Arsenal finished second in the Premier League for a third consecutive season and reached the Champions League semi-finals, the lack of silverware once again puts pressure on Mikel Arteta's squad selections. For Nwaneri, continued rotation and cameo appearances may not suffice in a squad packed with ambition but struggling for tangible success. Our View – EPL Index Analysis From a Gooner's perspective, the Ethan Nwaneri situation is delicate but understandable. There's no denying the lad's talent or ambition—his Ballon d'Or comment shows he's thinking big, and that's something we should celebrate, not fear. But Arsenal have seen this story before. Letting a top Hale End graduate walk for free after nurturing him for a decade would sting, especially if he thrives elsewhere. Advertisement At the same time, the first team isn't a charity. Breaking in at a club pushing for titles and Champions League glory means facing elite competition. If Nwaneri wants guaranteed starts, that could come off as entitled. Still, his rise this past season—nine goals, including that stunner against City—has proven he's capable of impacting games now. Mikel Arteta is tasked with balancing long-term development and short-term success. If Nwaneri truly sees a path at Arsenal, the club must communicate it clearly. But if he feels blocked by Saka, Trossard, or a new arrival like Madueke, perhaps a loan or performance-based guarantees in the contract could be a compromise. Losing him to Chelsea or abroad would be hard to stomach. For all the ambition in the current project, Arsenal can't afford to be known as a club where talent walks away just when it's ready to bloom.
