The next round of Super League matches kicks off on Thursday and it does so with a repeat of the 2016 Grand Final as the Warrington Wolves host the Wigan Warriors at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
This is the first time the two sides will have met since the night that Wigan edged out the Wolves to claim overall glory and while Warrington have claimed revenge isn’t on their minds you can be sure they won’t want to lose again.
Warrington Wolves
It might be that the Wolves are still suffering a hangover from that Grand Final defeat because they are yet to win a match in the Super League this season. They did beat the Brisbane Broncos in the World Club Series but domestically they are in something of a drought, one which they will be eager to come out of as quickly as possible.
Warrington have struggled in attack so far this season which will come as a surprise to many. They have failed to make it beyond 14pts in two of their three matches and to say that is a worry will be an understatement as they were one of the best attacking sides in the competition last time around.
Wigan Warriors
In contrast to Warrington, Wigan are still riding the crest of a wave after their Grand Final success last season. Since then they have followed that up with a win in the World Club Challenge against the Cronulla Sharks and despite a mounting injury list they have won all three of their Super League matches which is no mean effort.
Critics of the Warriors would argue that they haven’t faced any of the sides who are expected to challenge at the top end of the table just yet but that would be being harsh because you can only beat what is in front of you and that is what Wigan have done. As ever their defence has been relatively miserly but their attack has looked much more cohesive.
Team News
Tony Smith will check on the fitness of Matty Russell after a back spasm forced him out of last week’s defeat at Salford. Stefan Ratchford, Ben Currie, Chris Hill and George and Toby King remain on the sidelines.
Wigan have a horrendous injury list forming which Lewis Tierney, Joe Burgess and Ryan Sutton have added their names to over the last week. They join the likes of Sam Burgess, Michael McIlorum and Oliver Gildart in the casualty room. Liam Forsyth, Romain Navarette and Tom Davies could be handed debuts.
Betting
The two sides have flipped in the market since the team news came available but I’m not so sure they should have done. If there is one thing we know about this Wigan Warriors club it is that their academy churns out some real stars so while they will be weaker without the likes of Burgess and Tomkins they might not be walkovers.
In any case Warrington are missing some key players of their own and their attack hasn’t been as solid as I would have expected it to be this season yet whereas Wigan always defend their try line well and still have the forwards to get them up the park and the half back combination to ride that momentum.
I get why Warrington are now the favourites in this match but I’m keen not to write Wigan off just yet and with the drift that is taking place on the visitors they are now the value in this match particularly with Warrington struggling to see matches out.
Tips
WON – Back Wigan Warriors to beat Warrington Wolves for a 3/10 stake at 2.75 with Ladbrokes
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