Wolfpack suffer worst loss against Warrington Wolves in Challenge Cup

Victimized by ill-discipline, the Toronto Wolfpack suffered the worst beating of their short rugby league career — thrashed 66-10 by Warrington Wolves in the sixth round of the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup on Sunday.

Leading 8-0 early in a chippy first half, Toronto conceded 54 unanswered points in the second half as referee Ben Thaler sent a procession of Wolfpack players to the sidelines.

Toronto was reduced to 10 men for 10 minutes in the second half with Andrew Dixon already off for punching a Warrington player and captain Josh McCrone and Darcy Lussick shown yellow cards for talking back to the referee.

It was a matchup of the top team in the second-tier Betfred Championship against the third-placed side in the elite Super League. And it was hard to tell which side was which early on at Halliwell Jones Stadium as underdog Toronto climbed into an 8-0 lead.

Tries by wingers Adam Higson and Liam Kay put the Wolfpack ahead after 14 minutes, with Toronto playing an attractive, expansive game.

Chippy affair

A melee erupted after Mike Cooper barrelled over for Warrington's first try in the 23rd minute. Toronto vice-captain Ashton Sims, a former Warrington player with shoulder-length locks, accused the Wolves of pulling his hair while fellow Wolfpack forward Jake Emmitt showed Thaler his forearm, saying he had been bitten.

Asked if he wanted to make a formal complaint, Emmitt declined. Thaler, meanwhile, chastized Toronto for constant talk-back, saying he was "sick of the dialogue."

There was a sign of things to come in when, in the 29th minute, Kay was sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes for a dangerous tackle. The referee summoned both captains soon after, calling for an end to the extra-curricular activities.

A Ryan Brierley penalty kick gave Toronto a 10-6 lead before the game turned in the 38th minute. Dixon gave Andrew Livett a shot on the ground after a Toronto turnover and the players squared off, with Dixon throwing a punch to the head.

The Toronto forward was red-carded with Warringon pulling ahead 12-10 on a Josh Charnley try at the stroke of halftime.

Warrington pulls away

Livett and Ben Murdoch-Masila scored tries early in the second half to increase the Warrington lead to 22-10. It went from bad to worse as McCrone was sent to the sin bin in the 47th minute for talking back to the referee

Jack Hughes scored with Toronto down to 11 men for a 28-10 lead. Then the bottom fell out in the 53rd minute as Lussick was sinbinned for backchat.

It became one-way traffic the rest of the way. Tom Lineham had three tries with singles coming from Ben Westwood, Tyrone Roberts, Murdoch-Masila and Charnley keeping the scoreboard ticking over.

Bryson Goodwin finished with nine conversions.

"In the first half I thought we deserved to be in front," Wolfpack head coach Paul Rowley said. "I thought we were dominating every aspect, although it was a very tight game. It looked like two evenly matched sides.

"But you can't play with three men in the bin and one red against a team that is high on confidence and playing extremely well on their own pitch. We accept responsibility for not being good enough in terms of our discipline and how we dealt with situations. We should have been better."

Experienced squad

To rub salt in the wound, Toronto lost Higson to an apparent shoulder injury late in the second half.

Founded in 1876, the Wolves have lifted the Cup eight times. Sunday marked just the sixth game for second-year Toronto in the historic knockout competition.

Warrington (10-4-0) stands third in the elite Super League standings and has now won 10 straight in all competitions since dropping a 30-12 decision to league-leading St. Helens on March 9.

Toronto (11-1-1) tops the second-tier Betfred Championship table and saw its 11-game win streak in all competitions snapped.

Sunday marked just the second time the Wolfpack had faced a Super League team in a competitive game. Toronto lost 29-22 to the Salford Red Devils in the fifth round of last year's Challenge Cup.

The Challenge Cup has been held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915-19 and 1939-40. Warrington has lifted the trophy eight times, finishing runner-up on eight other occasions.

The Wolfpack's only other loss this season was a 47-16 defeat at the hands of the London Broncos on Feb 25.

Warrington will host Wigan Warriors in the Cup quarter-finals. The other games see Hull FC at St Helens, Leigh Centurions at Leeds Rhinos and Catalans Dragons at Huddersfield Giants.

Leigh, like Toronto a member of the second-tier Betfred Championship, is the only non-Super League still alive in the competition.