Warrington Wolves boss Steve Price says Wigan Warriors gave best performance of the season
The Wolves were 23-0 winners in last year's quarter-finals en route to Wembley but this time needed a late penalty goal from Stefan Ratchford to see off the reigning Super League champions.
"It had a bit of everything," Price said. "It was a tough game.
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Hide Ad"That's the best they've played this season. They showed a lot of heart and were very courageous.
"We knew the type of game they were going to bring and we had to produce our A game.
"We could have executed a bit better but, when it could have gone either way, I we found another level. I'm really proud of the effort.
"There's a huge amount of belief in our team but we've got to keep evolving and improving."
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Hide AdWarrington, who will visit Hull KR in the quarter-finals, scored tries through Bryson Goodwin, Ryan Atkins, Jack Hughes and Daryl Clark, who was named man of the match.
"Clark got knocked out a bit early on but played really tough," Price said of the former Castleford hooker. "He's been really consistent over a number of weeks and his running game today was fantastic."
Wigan trailed 24-14 early in the second half but fought back to level with two tries in a five-minute spell through Dan Sarginson and Zak Hardaker, to add to first-half scores from Sam Powell and Thomas Leuluai.