Chris Riley
became the first Warrington Wolves player to score five tries in a Super League
match (Bottom Picture).It was the tenth occasion that a
player had scored 5 or more tries in any Super League match with Lesley Vainikolo holding the
record with six for Bradford Bulls against Hull in a 2005 play-off match.Chris broke the previous Warrington Wolves
Super League record of four tries in a match held jointly by Lee Penny and Rob
Smyth, who both scored theirs in the 2000 season.Lee scored four in a 24-28 defeat to Leeds at Headingley and Rob’s four also came on his
debut, 24 – 44 loss at home to Huddersfield Giants at Wilderspool.
Chris became the
eleventh Warrington
player to score five or more tries in a match.
The first player
to score five tries in a match was Jackie Fish who did so in a 44 – 0 win over
Goole in the second round of the Challenge Cup in 1900. Prop forward George Thomas (top picture) and winger Bert
Bradshaw both scored five tries in the 78-6 league defeat of St
Helens at Wilderspool in 1909.
The feat was next
achieved by two Welsh wingers. Steve Ray
in 1933, scored his five in a 46 – 6 defeat of Wigan Highfield.Six years later Izzy Davies crossed for his
five tries in a 30 – 0 victory over Leigh.
Brian Bevan
crossed the line five times in a match on six occasions, three of these were
against Oldham in 1948.The first was in the final league match of
the 1947/8 season as Warrington
clinched the Lancashire League.Bevan’s
third try was his 100th for Warrington.Oldham must
have been sick of the sight of him as two of these matches were in the same
week.Warrington
beat Oldham 55 – 0 in the semi-final of the
cup on the Tuesday and 37 – 0 in the league match on the Saturday at
Watersheddings.His other five try hauls
were against LiverpoolCity in 1952, Orford
Tannery in the 1953 Challenge Cup tie first leg, he also scored three tries in
the second leg and in 1958 against Rochdale Hornets. (2nd picture Brian Bevan with Terry O'Grady)
As Warrington pressed on to
the 1955 Championship skipper Ally Naughton crossed for five tries in a 31 – 3
league win at Belle Vue Rangers.The
match turned out to be Warrington’s
final ever visit to the Belle Vue Zoological Gardens.
Winger Terry
O’Grady scored five tries in a 33 – 11 win over Featherstone Rovers in 1961 at
Wilderspool.The match was Bevan’s first
match back with Warrington
following his appearance for Eastern Suburbs in the Sydney Sevens tournament.
Parry Gordon was
the last player to score five tries in a league match prior to Chris’s five
against Harlequins.Parry crossed for
his five in a 26 – 10 win over Dewsbury at Wilderspool.The match was sandwiched between the second
and third round ties of the 1974 Challenge Cup, which Warrington went on to win.
International Bob
Eccles became the second Warrington
forward to score five tries.He achieved
this in a 1982 John Player Trophy second round 36 – 15 win over Blackpool
Borough at Wilderspool.This was a
tournament record number of tries in a match. (3rd picture Bob Eccles)
There have been
seven instances of a player scoring six or more tries in a match for Warrington.The first was by Tommy “Tubby” Thompson
against Bradford in 1933.Brian Bevan twice scored seven tries in a
match against Leigh and Bramley and touchdown six times in a match on four
occasions against York, Rochdale Hornets,
Bramley and LiverpoolCity.
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