WARRINGTON assistant coach Willie Poching was delighted with his side’s response after they bounced back from their Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat to Wigan with a 12-try, 64-6 thrashing of Bradford.
The Wolves kept the pressure on leaders Wigan by reducing their lead at the top of Super League to just a single point, and Poching was happy that the Wolves put in such a performance after the disappointment of losing their two-year grip on the cup last time out.
Poching said: “We were very good right from the start and the response we got from the boys after last week was fantastic. It wasn’t about getting back to winning ways today, but about performing the way we want to, they way we have done and the way we know how and the boys did that plus a bit extra.
“The boys were disappointed after last week and they hurt a lot, the whole group hurt, and when you lose a game like that it’s always hard. But we did some soul searching and a lot of work and it was a productive week which we saw the fruits of today.
“We knew Bradford were a dangerous team and we trained and prepared for them to be at their best and that’s why we were able to put in that sort of performance.
“There were passages of play and passing exchanges that were just unbelievable and the boys worked so hard to get their rewards. It was a great team effort.”
Poching was full of praise for the whole squad, with Ryan Atkins scoring four tries, but singled out Simon Grix who played in the unaccustomed role of stand-off for a special mention.
He added: “We were very good across the park but I thought Simon Grix really took charge of the game whenever he had the ball in his hands. He has been very good for a while now and he carried that on today.
“Chris Bridge was also very good in a variety of positions, starting in the centres and then also playing loose forward and full-back, and he fulfilled the roles perfectly.”
Bradford coach Mick Potter admitted his side cannot continue to ride the “rollercoaster” of being good one week and poor the next.
With a play-off place still not beyond them, the Bulls need to find some late-season consistency if they are to break into the top eight.
Potter said: “We were poor in most facets of the game and they were very good.”
