If the Warrington captain Joel Monaghan did not have the freedom of the town before this remarkable performance, then he surely will do now.
After all, Warrington were staring down the barrel of a second successive loss to Widnes Vikings before Monaghan, one of the most prolific try-scorers in Super League, scored what was undoubtedly the biggest try of his Warrington career with only 12 seconds left on the clock.
Prior to that it seemed as if the Vikings were going to finally pick up their first win on the road in 2015. A performance crafted out of spirit, guile and endeavour almost got Widnes home but they fell short thanks to a piece of individual brilliance from Warrington which sealed one of the most thrilling games of the season.
“What a piece of play from Joel,” purred the Warrington coach, Tony Smith. “You wouldn’t want anyone else there in that position. To pick it up off your toes and then beat a couple of guys really shows his class. He’s still a top-notch finisher in the world of rugby league.”
The Widnes captain Kevin Brown certainly tried his best to guide his team home with a masterful performance but Monaghan’s moment of magic inflicted yet another away defeat on Widnes – and they remain second bottom of the table. “It was a tough game with two sides really going at each other,” said their coach, Denis Betts. “It was pretty evenly matched, and neither side really had a chance to take that game a little bit further. We have to be a bit smarter, some of our decision-making just wasn’t quite on.”
Trailing 14-8 at the interval in a game that never really seemed out of either side’s grasp at any one point, Brown produced two incredible moments of magic early in the second half to turn the game on its head.
After first dancing his way over the line to level the game up at 14-14, Brown picked the pocket of the Warrington forward Ben Harrison, stealing the ball from his grasp and racing home to put Widnes 20-14 up – and seemingly in control.
Yet Warrington fought back well and when Ben Westwood crashed over to make it 20-18 they gave themselves fresh hope of a comeback – but Declan Patton sliced the conversion attempt wide.
It seemed for all the world that Widnes would hold on as the clock ticked down, with some magnificent last-ditch defending denying Warrington time after time.
But somehow, with just seconds left on the clock, the Wolves produced a knockout blow to claim the local bragging rights. The pass from Stefan Ratchford was far from ideal but such is the class of Monaghan he plucked it from his feet before swatting off Jack Owens and sealing a remarkable win – and moving Warrington into Super League’s top four in the process.
This was Super League at its most exhilarating and incredible best.
Warrington Ratchford; Monaghan, Bridge, Atkins, Ormsby; Patton, Myler; Hill, Higham, England, Currie, Westwood, Harrison. Interchange Clark, Asotasi, Sims, Laithwaite.
Tries Ormsby, Monaghan 2, Clark, Westwood. Goal Ratchford 1.
Widnes Hanbury; Flynn, Marsh, Dean, Owens; Brown, Mellor; O’Carroll, White, Gerrard, Tickle, Galea, Isa. Interchange Clarkson, Heremaia, Joseph, Manuokafoa
Tries Owens, Flynn, Brown 2. Goals Owens 2.
Referee B Thaler. Att 10,856.
