We´re back, Super League 2023 got underway at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington as the Wolves took on the Rhinos some one-hundred and forty-five days since St Helens lifted the Super League Grand Final Trophy at the culmination of the 2022 season.

Daryl Powell knew that he needed a good start to the season to get the fans onside but was rocked by the lengthy suspension of new signing Josh McGuire before the thirty-two year old had even played a single minute of competitive rugby.

Leeds coach Rohan Smith was also looking for a good start, but after performing miracles last season in lifting the Rhinos from relegation prospects to Grand Finalists, time would be on his side if things didn´t go to plan in the early rounds.

The Rhinos started their season with a short kick-off and it paid off as they retained possession but it was the Wolves who had the first scoring opportunity on three minutes, Peter Mata´utia just failing to ground a grubber kick into the Leeds goal area.

On three minutes it was the Wolves who registered the first points of the season after a great break from Ben Currie who found full-back Matt Dufty in support to take a no-look pass and scamper in. Skipper Stefan Ratchford made no mistake with the conversion, Warrington off to a terrific start.

Daryl Clark was held up just short of the line, and as Leeds tried to slow down the next play the ball referee Liam Moore sounded his whistle and Ratchford added another two points from under the shadow of the uprights.

A Richie Myler knock-on under a towering Josh Drinkwater kick gifted the Wolves the ball to the Wolves and on the second play Clark went over from dummy half as the Rhinos defence struggled to cover. There was only one team in the game as Ratchford hit the target again for 14-0.

The clock was showing twenty-one when the Wolves went in for their third, the ball moved wide right for an acrobatic Josh Thewlis to ground one-handed in the corner while airborne. Ratchford was unable to find the sticks from the touch line, but the home side were already three converted tries ahead, more than Powell would have dared dream about before kick-off.

On the half hour mark Myler lost his footing while chasing a Danny Walker grubber, the Wolves substitute winning the race with the chasing Rhinos to ground the ball before it ran dead in goal. Ratchford was on target with the conversion for a 24-0 lead.

With two minutes of the half remaining Sam Kasiano had the easiest of jobs to pluck a George Williams chip over the top and drop over the line. Ratchford was again on target and in an almost perfect first half of rugby from the Wolves they took a 30-0 lead into the half time sheds.

The Rhinos managed to steady the ship in the opening twenty of the second half and prevented any further scoring. With an hour on the clock the Rhinos finally got on the board was Derrell Olpherts scored his debut try as he took a Blake Austin pass ten from the Warrington line and sprinted for the corner to ground one-handed. Rhyse Martin was on target with the touchline conversion.

But within two minutes the Wolves were back in again with loose forward James Harrison crashing through Myler to force the ball onto the ground. The try was scored under the sticks to give Ratchford a simple sixth conversion of the evening for 36-6.

Twelve minutes from time Greg Minikin brushed aside four Rhinos defenders after a ten-metre run to bring up the Wolves forty with ridiculous ease. Ratchford was again on target with the boot as the Rhinos started to look humiliated.

Another Rhinos debutant got their second try of the night on seventy-one when Justin Sangare took an Austin pass and hit the gap ten metres out to cross. Martin was unable to convert from close on, hitting the near upright and bouncing back into the field of play.

There will be plenty of naval gazing at Headingley on Saturday morning as Smith gathers his troops for a gruesome post-mortem. Daryl Powell, on the other hand, will be delighted at his sides start to the season and will have won over some of the doubters with this opening performance of the season. Perhaps this will finally be Warrington´s year.

Warrington Wolves: Dufty (T), Thewlis (T), Mata´utia, Ratchford (7G), Ashton, Williams, Drinkwater, Mikaele, Clark (T), Vaughan, Currie, Nicholson, Harrison (T). Subs: Kasiano (T), Walker (T), Bullock, Minikin (T).

Leeds Rhinos: Myler, Roberts, Fusitu´a, Handley, Olpherts (T), Austin, Sezer, Holroyd, Leeming, Lisone, Gannon, Martin (G), Tetevano.  Subs: Donaldson, O´Connor, Sangare (T), Smith.

Half-Time: 30-0.  

Full-Time: 42-10.

Score Progression: 4-0, 6-0, 8-0, 12-0, 14-0, 18-0, 22-0, 24-0, 28-0, 30-0 : HT : 30-4, 30-6, 34-6, 36-6, 40-6, 42-6, 42-10: FT.

Lead Exchanges: Warrington.

Referee: Liam Moore.