AUSTRALIAN Test centre Matt King reflected on his “darkest day” as he contemplated what promises to be a career highlight. The former Melbourne Storm star scored a hat-trick of tries in Warrington’s semi-final victory over Wigan. King’s heroics completed a remarkable transformation for both player and the club under England coach Tony Smith, who took over from James Lowes after the team made their worst start to a season. Fortunes hit rock bottom when the Wolves crashed to a 60-8 defeat at Harlequins in March and King responded to barracking from his own fans with a one-fingered gesture. “That was a dark day,” said King, who later issued a public apology. “But obviously the last few months have been good and the team’s heading in the right direction. “Yesterday was great for us. We always worked hard. Things just weren’t going our way but we’re off to London in a few weeks and it’s a great reward for everyone.” King played down his tryscoring feat, preferring to highlight the contribution of man-of-the-match Lee Briers, whose 70th-minute drop goal settled jangling nerves, and half-back partner Michael Monaghan, whose scheming sparked Warrington’s first-half purple patch. “There are bigger stories than me scoring a couple of tries,” he said. “I thought the boys inside me played the house down, Mick Monaghan was on fire and Briersy played well. “I was lucky enough to put the ball down. I didn’t have to do too much.” Warrington captain Adrian Morley said: “We didn’t expect to be leading by so much and I think it worked against us.” “I thought we took the foot off the gas and Wigan, the champion side that they are, stuck at it. “When it got to six points, it was very worrying. We were all blowing – I’m sure Wigan were blowing as well – and it was a case of just digging in for each other. “They had all the momentum but thankfully the scoreline was too much for them and we got the result.” Briers, whose extra-time drop goal secured victory for the Wolves in the quarter-final at Hull KR, popped over another precious one-pointer to earn the praise of his skipper. “He’s a big-game player,” added Morley. “It meant they had to score twice.” Meanwhile, Warrington moved back into the top eight in the engage Super League after play-off rivals Harlequins slumped to a 42-18 home defeat by Bradford. | 
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