KEY STATS: Concerning Wire trends continue plus Stone's debut in numbers
WITH Adam Holroyd now set for a spell on the sidelines, Sam Stone's arrival at Warrington Wolves appears to be timely.
The Australian went straight into the back row against Huddersfield Giants having joined on loan from Salford Red Devils during the week but could not celebrate his debut with a victory, with the Giants inflicted more misery upon his new side with a 24-16 win at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.
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Our look at the game's key statistics includes a closer analysis of Stone's display as he emerged as the leading defensive player in the Warrington side.
While he lined up on the right edge, the 27-year-old was often seen in the middle third and even more towards the left off the ball as he went looking for work.
The 48 tackles he managed with four misses topped Wire's tackle count and was the joint-highest figure on either side – Huddersfield hooker Zac Woolford matched his number.
In terms of his Wire teammates, Jordy Crowther (41), Sam Powell (37) and Luke Yates (35) had the next highest figures, with Yates completing all of his tackles without a single miss.
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Sam Stone - the furthest left of the Wire players - made 48 tackles on his debut (Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com) However, he was kept relatively quiet with the ball with his 10 carries yielding just 48 metres, but he was not alone in the Wire pack on that front.
With the exception of Paul Vaughan, whose 137m was the highest figure for a forward on either side, the Warrington big men struggled for go-forward and collectively, they averaged just 5.6m per carry throughout the game (459m from 82 carries).
By contrast, the Huddersfield pack – down a man pretty much from the start following Sam Hewitt's early concussion withdrawal – averaged a whole two metres more per carry and collectively made over 200m more with ball in hand than their counterparts (673m from 88 carries, 7.6m per carry average).
That figure was pretty much flipped on its head for the backs – Wire's faster men made 742m combined at an average of 7.2m per carry compared to Huddersfield's 546m and 6.5m per carry average, but the disparity in the number of carries is far greater (103 for Wire, 84 for Huddersfield).
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Four Wire backs cleared the 100m mark, with Rodrick Tai topping the charts for the game overall with 149m from 13 carries. Connor Wrench (128m), George Williams (121m) and Jake Thewlis (111m) were not far behind.
Wire's backs had no issue making metres, with Rodrick Tai topping the charts with 149 run metres (Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)
Concerns deepen on both sides of the ball
At the moment, Warrington are not making the most of their time in attacking positions while their opponents are not needing much time in 'good ball' areas to post points.
That much is clear from simply watching the game but Saturday's game continued a worrying trend in the statistics.
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Warrington had nearly twice as many play-the-balls in Huddersfield's 20-metre zone (24) than the Giants had in theirs (14).
It is not the first time that has happened of late – in the Challenge Cup Final against Hull KR and the Super League defeat to the same opponents, they spent more time on the attack but came up on the wrong side of the result.
And even in the defeats at Wakefield and Leigh that have formed part of this barren run of seven defeats in nine Super League games, the split of time spent in prime attacking position was pretty even.
On Saturday, Wire's time in attack – particularly in the second half – was often stifled by basic errors and poor execution. They made 11 errors compared to Huddersfield's six.
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