George King scores hat-trick as Warrington run in 13 tries against Oldham
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 07/05/16 7:22pm
George King claimed a six-minute second half hat-trick as 13-try Warrington brushed aside giant-killers Oldham 70-10 to progress to the quarter-finals of the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup.
The Roughyeds, only promoted to the Kingstone Press Championship last year, provided one of the competition's biggest ever shocks when travelling away and beating 2015 finalists Hull KR last month.
But the plucky part-timers ultimately had little answer to the power, pace and fitness of the full-time Super League leaders, even on their own tight temporary Bower Fold ground.
The Wolves carved out a 22-6 interval lead through tries from Chris Hill, Ben Jullien, Ben Currie and Rhys Evans, then opened up to add further scores from King (three), Tom Lineham and Gene Ormsby (two), Currie, 18-year old Morgan Smith on debut and Jullien after the interval.
A spirited Oldham, only three off of the bottom of rugby league's second tier, despite winning three of their last four Championship games, went ahead through Michael Ward's seventh-minute touchdown and threatened on several more occasions but failed to breach their opponents line again until Gareth Owen went over on the final play.
High-flying Wolves paid their lower-league opponents great respect by naming a strong side - with only veteran prop Ben Westwood and utility back Matty Russell missing from those fit to start.
Oldham started brightly and a Steven Roper cross-field kick then called for some desperate defence and it was little surprise when hooker Owen put Ward through a gaping hole to open the scoring with Palfrey easily adding the extras.
After weathering the early storm, Warrington finally got onto the scoreboard when barnstorming prop Hill bludgeoned his way over from close range and Kurt Gidley, with the first of six successful conversions, levelled matters.
Oldham might have retaken the lead but Jack Holmes was denied a touchdown by a knock-on and Will Hope was held half a metre short.
After half-an-hour Currie sent Ormsby, playing his first game after a loan spell with Huddersfield, free down the wing with Jullien quickly up in support to edge Wolves ahead for the first time.
Currie then weaved his way across the whitewash and Tony Smith's side, three times winners of the trophy since 2009, began to breathe easier.
Rhys Evans claimed an 80-metre interception try just before the break and the floodgates began to open shortly afterwards with a battery of five tries in barely 14 minutes after the restart.
Currie made an incisive break from his own half before putting substitute King in for his first try of the season.
King quickly made it a brace, before adding a quick-fire third, and six more tries followed to somewhat tarnish the memory of the problems that gutsy Oldham had posed in the early exchanges.
Ratchford assumed the kicking duties after Wolves 10th try and landed three conversions in front of a crowd of 2,394.