Wolves rise to the Challenge
Warrington Wolves won the Carnegie Challenge Cup for the first time since 1974 with a 25-16 victory over Huddersfield Giants at Wembley.
Last Updated: 29/08/09 7:44pm
Warrington Wolves won the Carnegie Challenge Cup for the first time since 1974 with a 25-16 victory over Huddersfield Giants at Wembley.
The Wolves grabbed three tries in the first 14 minutes through Richie Mathers, Michael Monaghan and Chris Hicks to take a firm grip on the contest.
The Giants scored two tries of their own in the first half, through Shaun Lunt and Brett Hodgson, to trail by just eight points at the break.
But Vinnie Anderson added the Wolves' fourth try in the 59th minute and, despite a spirited rally from the Giants that included a try from David Hodgson in the 77th minute, Lee Briers sealed Warrington's victory with a late drop goal.
Monaghan's vibrant display, scoring one try and creating problems for the Huddersfield defence all afternoon, earned him the Lance Todd Trophy - just the third time an Australian has won the award.
Flying start
Huddersfield made just one change from the side which defeated St Helens in the semi-finals. Martin Aspinwall was named on the bench in place of the injured Danny Kirmond while Giants coach Nathan Brown opted to name Lunt as his starting hooker rather than England star Scott Moore.
Warrington coach Tony Smith was able to welcome Mickey Higham back into his side following three months out with a ruptured bicep.
Higham was on the bench alongside 21-year-old Tyrone McCarthy, who only made his senior debut two weeks ago, while Smith named Vinnie Anderson at stand-off for the first time this season.
Mathers gave the Wolves a flying start with a try after just 70 seconds.
Giants full-back Brett Hodgson's attempted clearance kick was charged down by Louis Anderson, who collected the loose ball and put Mathers in under the sticks.
Video referee Richard Silverwood approved the try and Chris Bridge slotted the conversion.
Silverwood was called into action again six minutes later as he disallowed a try by Lunt. Replays showed the former Workington man grounded with an outstretched arm after a scurrying run, but Silverwood determined there had been a double movement.
Lunt did manage to get on the scoresheet two minutes later, though, breaking clear after David Faiumu had set Brett Hodgson free with a fine offload.
But Warrington responded in stunning fashion and Monaghan, their emergency hooker, crossed from close range after an error from Darrell Griffin.
And the Wolves added a third try in the 14th minute, Briers' clever deep pass allowed Bridge to send Hicks over in the corner for a 19th try of the season.
Bridge converted on both occasions and nearly had the opportunity to do so for a fourth time, only for Matt King to have a score ruled out for a ball steal.
The Giants had struggled to get any foothold in the opening quarter but improved as the first half wore on and gave themselves a lifeline when Brett Hodgson crossed just before half-time.
A series of offloads created space for Leroy Cudjoe on the right flank and his inside pass allowed the supporting Hodgson to dive over.
The conversion was missed, however, meaning Huddersfield went into the break trailing 18-10.
Decisive
Neither side were able to create any genuine early opportunities after the restart, with the game mainly played in the centre of the field as the forwards wrestled for territory.
The decisive try came in the 59th minute, Monaghan's pass exploited a huge gap in the Huddersfield defence and Vinnie Anderson cruised in under the posts.
Bridge failed to add a penalty with 16 minutes remaining after Scott Moore's late tackle on Briers, while King again went close to scoring as he plucked a Briers bomb out of the air, only to fall inches short of the line as he tried to transfer his weight over it.
With time running out to kick-off what was becoming an ever more fanciful fight back, Cudjoe narrowly failed to haul in Luke Robinson's chip kick close to the line and when they did eventually score, through David Hodgson, it was far too late with just four minutes remaining.
And it mattered little anyway, as Briers slotted a last minute drop goal, his 60th for the club, to get the Warrington celebrations started.
