In-form Warriors look to extend unbeaten run as they come up against old enemy Warrington

Wigan Warriors will be looking to pick up their fourth win in a row as they travel to Warrington Wolves, with neighbours Leigh Centurions to come back at the DW stadium just four days later.

After 15 games, Adrian Lam’s Warriors sit fourth in the Super League table courtesy of a campaign which has gone from one extreme to the other. Wigan won all seven of their opening league fixtures before going on to lose the next five, but have won their three most recent games and regained some form prior to this tough test against the Wolves.

Last time out, the Cherry and Whites were successful at home to Wakefield Trinity, running out 25-12 winners. A dominant second half display helped them on their way with Jake Bibby finishing off an impressive hat-trick, and they hadn’t conceded any points until the 69th minute, something which will please head coach Lam.

Meanwhile, Warrington haven’t been in action for a couple of weeks due to COVID protocols causing widespread issues across Super League including in their camp.

July 5 was the last time that a Wire side stepped out onto the pitch, Leeds Rhinos pulling off a shock 16-22 victory at the Halliwell Jones stadium to stop the Wolves in their tracks. Prior to this, Steve Price’s men had picked up six consecutive league victories but the Rhinos got themselves into a commanding lead at half-time and defended resolutely to earn the two points.

Leeds did go down to 11 men towards the end of the game and Warrington took advantage scoring two tries, but in truth that just made the scoreline look less comfortable for the Rhinos than they had been throughout the evening.

Warrington currently sit third in the Super League table, but could be leapfrogged by Wigan should the Warriors be victorious on Wednesday night.

Team News

During that five-game losing streak earlier in the campaign, no secret was made about the fact that Wigan were missing numerous players from their squad due to injury. Some of those are now making their respective returns to the squad, including John Bateman and Liam Byrne who are both in the squad for the trip to Warrington.

However, the injury list still isn’t quite where boss Lam will want it. Forward Morgan Smithies remains sidelined with an ankle injury, Zak Hardaker is unavailable due to a neck injury, winger Dom Manfredi continues to recover from a knee injury, Jai Field remains side-lined with a torn hamstring injury and Bevan French is expected to miss the the remainder of the 2021 season with a hamstring injury too.

At the time of writing, Warrington have only named a 20-man squad for the meeting with Wigan, though boss Price has confirmed that they are waiting on some form of clearance to add one more and make up a full complement of 21.

However, that one will not be new signing George Williams despite hopes from many that the back would make his Wolves debut against former club Wigan. Price has said that he may well be in contention for the trip to Leeds on Sunday, but Wednesday’s game comes just too soon for him.

Elsewhere, Gareth Widdop remains out of action as he has been since late June with an ankle problem, while fellow Warriors man Josh Charnley also misses out on the squad. In scoring a try towards the back end of Warrington’s last outing against Leeds, the winger appeared to be in pain with his wrist though no injury has been confirmed as yet.

Overview

With Catalans Dragons comfortably sitting top of the Super League table and St Helens looking well on their way to securing second, Wednesday night’s game presents a big opportunity for both Warrington and Wigan.

Sitting third and fourth in the table respectively, both will want to confirm their place in the play-offs as soon as possible but will also want to maintain their progression into them with good form towards the end of the 2021 campaign.

Due to the COVID outbreak, Warrington now have two games in hand over the Warriors, and though that isn’t necessarily a good thing, it does present the Wolves with a ‘second chance’ to earn victories should they not come out on top against the Warriors. As for Wigan, a win would see them go above Warrington and into the top three, which could be huge mentally for both clubs.

Edging closer to the business end of the season and with the emotions of a derby to contend with as well, this week’s clash at the Halliwell Jones stadium is certainly set up for a classic encounter. Whether we will get one remains to be seen.

Our man Eithan Boulter-Ashcroft will be there covering the game live for Prost International, so drop him a follow on Twitter – @99EITHAN

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