WHEN the frustration fizzles away and pain passes of two points lost, Wolves will wonder what could have been.
They looked favourites to secure what may have proved a vital win in the first half, before failing to trouble the scoreboard in the second.
But it was a Magic Weekend settled by the finest of margins for Tony Smith’s side, who will curse the presence of the video referee.
Had this not been a televised fixture then Ben Harrison’s offload to Stefan Ratchford in the build-up to a late Gene Ormsby score would likely have gone unpunished.
As it was, the rare piece of second-half magic from Warrington was chalked off for Harrison’s ball-carrying arm hitting the deck in the tackle.
It need not have come to that had Wolves shown the composure to finish off a Richie Myler break immediately after the interval.
Later, a huge hit from Tommy Makinson on Daryl Clark effectively ended proceedings with Wolves offering little between those Myler and Ormsby moments.
But these are the details that matter greatly against Super League’s top sides, and Grand Final winners Saints proved as much.
The Langtree Park outfit have a terrible record at Magic Weekend, and Wolves looked like inflicting more pain when Ratchford cut through their lacklustre defence.
Warrington, in truth, did not have to hit full stride to dominate Keiron Cunningham’s side for long periods of the first half.
Their kicking game was not always at its best, but Tony Smith’s outfit gained good field position and one clever moment from the boot furthered their advantage.
Declan Patton executed a reverse grubber that not only sat up perfectly for Harrison, but sold full back Shannon McDonnell who was expecting the half back to continue moving play left.
However it was Ratchford who was wrong-footed soon after as Saints went about their first reprieve, via a converted Louis McCarthy-Scarsbrook effort and Makinson penalty.
Chris Bridge, having taken over kicking duties from Ratchford, and a Ryan Atkins try restored Wolves' lead to the delight of a large travelling primrose and blue contingent.
But that was the last they had to cheer as Adam Swift and Jon Wilkin completed a second comeback to end Wolves' Magic dominance.
MATCH FACTS
Warrington Wolves...16 St Helens...20
Wolves: Stefan Ratchford; Joel Monaghan, Chris Bridge, Ryan Atkins, Gene Ormsby; Dec Patton, Richie Myler; Chris Hill, Daryl Clark, Ashton Sims, Ben Currie, Ben Westwood, Ben Harrison. Subs: Roy Asotasi, James Laithwaite, Brad Dwyer, George King.
St Helens: Shannon McDonnell; Tommy Makinson, Matt Fleming, Jordan Turner, Adam Swift; Travis Burns, Jon WIlkin; Kyle Amor, James Roby, Alex Walmsley, Louis McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Mark Flanagan, Josh Jones. Subs: Mose Masoe, Andre Savelio, Greg Richards, Luke Thompson.
Scoring: Stefan Ratchford try, 10mins, 4-0; Ben Harrison try, 15mins, 8-0; Louis McCarthy-Scarsbrook try, Tommy Makinson goal, 8-6; Makinson penalty, 24mins, 8-8; Ryan Atkins try, 28mins, Chris Bridge goal, 14-8; Bridge penalty, 36mins, 16-8; Adam Swift try, 49mins, 16-12; Jon Wilkin try, 61mins, Makinson goal, 16-18; Makinson penalty, 84mins, 16-20.
Penalties: Wolves 5 St Helens 7
Referee: Richard Silverwood
Attendance: 26,970
Star man: Richie Myler
Wolves' first loss to St Helens at Magic
Ryan Atkins has appeared at all nine Magic Weekend events
Atkins has scored on every Magic outing with Warrington since 2010
Ben Harrison’s first try this season
Daryl Clark made his 100th Super League appearance (85 for Cas, 15 for Wolves)
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