DARYL Clark felt early errors in the Super League Grand Final impacted on Warrington Wolves' energy levels in the late stages.

“It was a tough game," said Clark, one of The Wire's stand-out performers in the 12-4 loss to Wigan Warriors at Old Trafford.

“It could have gone either way until they scored their last try in the 77th minute, up until which there was only four points in it.

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“We had a few chances, it was just poor execution, dropped the ball, not completing sets.”

He added: “The early errors didn’t help and we were left defending our line a lot early on. That took a bit out of us.

“You just can’t give the ball away like we did. A team like Wigan are going to hurt you and they did. They just stuck at it longer and they broke us late on.”

Like the rest of his teammates, Clark is left reflecting on reaching two finals in 2018 and losing both.

Head coach Steve Price also steered The Wire to the Challenge Cup Final in his first year at the helm, following the team's ninth-place finish in a poor 2017.

“Steve's said that he's proud of the turnaround and how far we’ve come from last year, but we’ve played two finals and we ought to have won at least one of them," said Clark.

No way through for Daryl Clark. Picture: Mike Boden

"It’s the second time I’ve done a season and lost both finals and it doesn’t get any easier. It’s part of the game, nothing I can do.”

Clark was at the centre of a controversial first-half incident in which Wigan full-back Sam Tomkins' knees collided with the hooker's head.

With Tomkins also having tripped Bryson Goodwin earlier in the contest, did Clark feel his England teammate should have been shown a yellow card at least?

“I don’t know what the punishment is for a slide tackle," said the former Castleford Tigers man.

"He gave a penalty and that’s it. There was nothing more I could do about it.”

Clark's season will continue as a member of Wayne Bennett's England squad for the three-Test series with New Zealand.

He will have company from Wire teammates Chris Hill and Stefan Ratchford for contests at the KCOM Stadium in Hull on October 27, at Anfield in Liverpool on November 4 and at Elland Road in Leeds on November 11.

It is a return to the international scene for the first time since 2016 for the 25-year-old former Man of Steel winner but a change of focus will not take away how he feels about the season's end with The Wire.

“Not at all. England is completely separate to the club. That’s not going to soften the blow of losing the Grand Final," he said.