Warrington Wolves 42 Leeds Rhinos 10: Pre-season bad habits on show in dismal opening night display

Rohan Smith used the trial games to experiment and the Rhinos just could not find any rhythm.

It was not so much the defeats but the lack of intensity and cohesion, two red flags heading into a testing Super League opener at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

In the space of 40 chastening first-half minutes, Leeds discovered it is not as simple as flicking a switch and getting in competitive mode.

Smith's men were overpowered and outenthused by a Warrington team desperate to put a disastrous 2022 season behind them.

As poor as the Rhinos were – and they were dreadful – the Wolves played with energy and no little skill to storm into a 30-0 lead.

Leeds were simply not at the races and looked shellshocked as they left the field at half-time.

There was a marginal improvement in the second period but that largely owed to Warrington showing mercy.

The Rhinos proved last season that a strong start is not the be-all and end-all, yet there is a fear that the momentum generated from last year's run to the Grand Final has been lost.

It would be foolish to make firm judgements one round in but Leeds need to break some bad habits that have crept in during pre-season.

Looking longer term, they cannot expect to ease their way into the campaign and click into gear at the business end in a repeat of last year.

Perhaps of most concern is the absence of key personnel at such an early stage of the year.

Leeds arrived in Warrington without several influential figures – a list headed by Mikolaj Oledzki and Harry Newman – but there was no excuse for what they served up in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

Indie band The Lathums created a vibrant atmosphere and the Wire rode on the back of it to blow the Rhinos off the park.

Short kick-offs were a theme of Leeds' pre-season and they employed the same tactic in the early stages in round one.

If the Rhinos thought their luck was in when Blake Austin gathered Richie Myler's kick just seconds in, they were sadly mistaken.

Warrington survived the early raid and set about bullying Leeds through the middle.

It was an ominous start for the Rhinos with the Wolves making metres at will and leaving defenders in their wake, led by the indefatigable Paul Vaughan.

Peter Mata'utia had already gone close when Matt Dufty got the scoreboard moving inside four minutes.

Ben Currie ran a good line to hit George Williams' flat pass and Dufty was in support to apply the finishing touches.

After adding the extras, Stefan Ratchford knocked over a penalty moments later to leave the Rhinos 8-0 behind and bailing water.

Warrington's second try owed to an error by Myler, the full-back dropping Josh Drinkwater's high kick to give Daryl Clark the chance to go over from dummy-half in the next set after taking advantage of soft defence.

The home side were rampant and Leeds had no answer as their nightmare start continued.

Josh Thewlis was the next to score, showing his athleticism to touch down in the corner with the Rhinos short on numbers on their left edge.

The first time Leeds entered Warrington territory 27 minutes in, Myler was tackled on the last.

Myler endured a particularly chastening first half, with his slip allowing Danny Walker to score from his own kick.

The Rhinos needed the half-time hooter but worse was to come when Sam Kasiano claimed Williams' high kick to make it five first-half tries for the Wire.

The UK's Strongest Man, Paul Smith, entertained the crowd at half-time, carrying the kind of frame that Leeds needed to repel the onslaught.

Fortunately for the Rhinos, the pace relented after the restart with the game long since over as a contest.

Debutant Derrell Olpherts opened his Leeds account with a strong finish in the corner just before the hour mark but Warrington quickly reasserted their dominance.

The impressive James Harrison powered his way over before Greg Minikin became the latest player to take advantage of tired goal-line defence.

Justin Sangare – one of the Rhinos' stronger performers off the bench – had the last word with a debut try but the opening night belonged to the rejuvenated Wolves.

Warrington Wolves: Dufty, Thewlis, Mata'utia, Ratchford, Ashton, Williams, Drinkwater, Mikaele, Clark, Vaughan, Currie, Nicholson, Harrison.

Substitutes: Kasiano, Walker, Bullock, Minikin.

Leeds Rhinos: Myler, Roberts, Fusitu'a, Handley, Olpherts, Austin, Sezer, Holroyd, Leeming, Lisone, Gannon, Martin, Tetevano.

Substitutes: O'Connor, Donaldson, Sangare, Smith.

Referee: Liam Moore.