Warrington Wolves will look to rebound from their Challenge Cup semi final defeat to Castleford Tigers as they host Wakefield Trinity.
Warrington come into this match wounded following defeat to Castleford Tigers in last weekend’s Challenge Cup semi-finals and with only the Super League to play for now, they will have to go all out in their attempt to pick up two points on Friday evening. Currently in his last year with the Wolves, head coach Steve Price has named an unchanged side to play an in-form Trinity outfit.
Chris Chester’s Wakefield have won all three of their previous games and will be up for the challenge at the Halliwell Jones stadium as they look to put further distance between themselves and the bottom of the table in Salford Red Devils and Leigh Centurions. Trinity defeated the latter of those sides at home last weekend in a close encounter, coming out on top with a 30-20 win come the sound of the final hooter.
For Warrington, Stefan Ratchford looks set to make his 300th Super League appearance while Kelepi Tanginoa has been passed fit for the visitors, despite coming off in the aforementioned triumph over Leigh. Elsewhere, Trinity boss Chester will have food for thought in regards to whether to include winger Tom Johnstone, who has missed the last two months with injury.
Last week’s semi-final defeat puts Warrington back to square one and Price’s hopes to finish his stint at the club with silverware now lie on winning with the Grand Final, something which ‘wire’ have never achieved before despite appearing at Old Trafford on four occasions. To achieve their goal, there’s no doubt that the team need to recapture their form on the pitch prior to their cup disappointment.
Any further slip-ups in this campaign would damage the Wolves’ pursuit of both the League Leaders Shield and of course the Grand Final, and with St Helens, Wigan Warriors and Catalans Dragons pulling away at the top of the table , nothing less than a win against Wakefield is needed to keep up the pace.
4,000 Warrington fans will be behind the team against Trinity, and will hope that their support is able to help the team to rebound quickly.
The game kicks off at 19:45 on Friday evening – June 11