Two of the bigger names in Super League get the Super League XXVIII season underway on Thursday evening when the Warrington Wolves host the Grand Final losing team from last term in the Leeds Rhinos at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
These two met in the opening weekend of last season when the Rhinos went down on home soil after an early red card. You feel this is a big match for both teams although potentially for different reasons.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Arena channels. A season preview forms part of the build-up from 7pm with the season opener kicking off at 8pm.
Warrington Wolves
This is a big game for the Warrington Wolves. There is a lot of rugby which will be played after this match but after a pathetic season last term I’m not sure the Wolves can afford to begin this campaign slowly without some serious repercussions coming their way. There are plenty of doubts over Warrington’s stomach for a Super League season as a whole but a commanding performance and a win here will slowly start to quieten the talk down.
We know that in the main Warrington are a good attacking side and when you look down their personnel that remains the case this time around. Last season they were far too easy to score against and didn’t really make the most of the attacking talent at their disposal. Improvement is a must this season but if they are going to achieve what they will hope to, no matter how unlikely that might seem, then they simply have to defend much better.
Leeds Rhinos
For much of the opening half of last season the Leeds Rhinos were a right mess. They can be cut some slack because a ridiculous injury list didn’t help them at any stage but after they dispensed with the services of Richard Agar as head coach it took far too long for him to be replaced. When Rohan Smith eventually did come in to replace him the Rhinos started going places and a season which was going nowhere ended up concluding at Old Trafford.
If Leeds can start this campaign like they played the season half of the previous one then they are entitled to not only think they can go one better at Old Trafford, but also be right in the mix when the League Leaders’ Shield is given out. Leeds will need their forwards to muscle up and make sure they get the team down the field but if they can do that there looks to be enough talent in the back line to make them a dangerous threat.
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Team News
Warrington Wolves have already been dealt a blow this season before it has even kicked off as new signing Josh McGuire has been banned for seven games for insulting language in a friendly. He misses this match while Gil Dudson is out with a hand injury. Sam Kasiano and Josh Drinkwater are in line for debuts.
Rohan Smith could give as many as six players their Leeds Rhinos debuts in this match. Derrell Olpherts, Justin Sangare and Sam Walters are the trio most likely to play. Aidan Sezer will partner former Wolves player Blake Austin in the halves.
Betting
I’m not as massively hot on the Warrington Wolves as some are heading into the season but they might well be getting the Leeds Rhinos at a good time in this opening match because their opponents will be missing Harry Newman and Mikolaj Oledzki. The latter is always a loss but the former might be significant as Rohan Smith played two wingers in the centre position in a recent friendly and duly got beat so there is a clear weakness in that part of the pitch.
That just so happens to be an area of strength for Warrington with their centres and wide players being dangerous threats. Then when you factor in the potentially elite half-back pairing of George Williams and Josh Drinkwater it is easy to see why the Wolves will be confident heading into this opening game. While having Josh McGuire available would be nice, the addition of Sam Kasiano to the Warrington ranks gives them added power and skill in the forward areas and regardless what happens this season I think the home side can start out with a win.
Tips
Back Warrington Wolves (-4) to beat Leeds Rhinos for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with William Hill
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