A debut try from Tom Gilmore helped Salford Red Devils claim victory on their return to the The Salford Stadium.
Welsh international duo Rhys Williams and Elliot Kear also got on the scoresheet, and it was a penalty from Krisnan Inu in the 79th minute which finally secured the win.
Nathan Roebuck opened the scoring 18 minutes into his debut and the youthful players in the Warrington ranks continued to impress, with Josh Thewlis and Riley Dean each going over to give them a three-score lead with five minutes remaining in the half.
The Red Devils had started to gain some familiarity and hit-back just before the break. Kear leaped to claim a kick from Gilmore and fed his winger Williams with an offload to send him in at the left corner.
Halftime: Salford Red Devils 6-18 Warrington
Salford were much improved in the second-half, with Jack Ormondroyd and Oliver Ashall-Bott both held up over the line early on.
Kear then showed how alert he was once again, darting down the short side from dummy half in the 51st minute and another impressive touchline conversion from Inu cut the gap to a single score.
Inu levelled the scores with his next conversion, after Gilmore supported a break from Andy Ackers to claim his debut try.
Inu could have sealed the game with two drop-goal attempts, but did so off the tee instead, with a penalty awarded less than two minutes from the end.
The two sides will meet again on Saturday, in a Coral Challenge Cup semi-final. Click HERE to hear the post-match thoughts of Ian Watson on RDTV.
Fulltime: Salford Red Devils 20-18 Warrington
Salford Red Devils: Ashall-Bott, Roberts, Inu, Kear, Williams, Gilmore, Atkin, Mossop, Jones, Ikahihifo, McCarthy, Ormondroyd, Burke, Ackers, Pauli, Lannon, Greenwood
Warrington: Thewlis, Roebuck, Brand, Wrench, Akauola, Patton, Dean, Johnson, Walker, Latu, Robson, Longstaff, Davis, Kibula, Doro, Oakley, Shelford
Salford Tries: Williams, Kear, Gilmore
Salford Goals: Inu (4/4)
Warrington Tries:Roebuck, Thewlis, Dean
Warrington Goals: Patton (3/3)
Image Credit: Steve McCormick
