WARRINGTON'S new international signing Paul Johnson got his Wolves career off to a flier as he scored on his debut to send Widnes crashing to an embarrassing derby day defeat.

Johnson, who made the switch from Bradford Bulls in the off-season, took only five minutes to chalk up his first four-pointer in the Wolves' primrose and blue to cap off a satisfying display.

There was no Adrian Morley or Vinnie Anderson in the Wolves ranks at the Halton Stadium, but they were hardly needed as the the visitors never broke sweat to dispatch Widnes.

The Vikings fielded eight new signings, including Warrington old boys Scott Grix and Paul Noone, but it was a miserable afternoon for them as their side conceded 11 tries.

Johnson's opener on five minutes set the bench mark and despite a try from youngster Scott Yates on 19 minutes, the Vikings were never in contention in the game.

Widnes boss Steve McCormack said his young side was outclassed by a Warrington team who he expects to make a real stake for the Super League crown in 2007.

He said: "We played Saints this time last year and they were in superb form and went on to win the league.

"Warrington have come here and done as good a job as Saints did when they came. They were very impressive."

Along with Johnson, Lee Briers and Chris Bridge were the pick of the backs and between them they had a hand or boot in every Warrington score.

Stuart Reardon and Chris Riley were the main beneficiaries as they both plundered doubles with Brent Grose and Briers chipping in with well-taken efforts.

Pressure

In the second half, Warrington piled on the pressure on the Vikings and Simon Grix, Richie Barnett, Mark Gleeson and Kevin Penny all made the most of Widnes's poor tackling to walk in for easy tries.

Warrington head coach Paul Cullen was pleased with his side's work-out.

He also singled out his captain Lee Briers, who landed seven from seven attempts and his new centre Johnson.

He said: "It was a decent effort by the lads. We had prepared well for this game and it showed.

"We have completed phase one of our pre-season training and will look forward to phase two and three which is the start of the season.

"Lee has had another solid game and Paul Johnson is a quality player.

"It will not matter if he plays in the centre or the back row as he can slot in anywhere and do a very good job and I'm pleased to have him with us at Warrington.

"It's important to get the win for the fans in these types of games and that showing today is payback for them for last year."

SALFORD Reds' football director, Steve Simms, has ruled out a rugby league return with a top British Super League club for Australian star Loti Tuquiri.

The former Brisbane star, who became one of Australia's most high profile Rugby Union stars, has revealed he will shortly consider a return to League when his lucrative RU contract is up.

He is strongly tipped to join his former club, the Brisbane Broncos, despite several high profile English clubs being linked with him.

He said: "I just don't think anybody over here could afford him - you're not talking about a é50,000 contract, you could possibly treble that," said Simms.

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