The penultimate round of matches in the first phase of the Super League season get underway on Thursday evening when two huge rivals go against each other when Wigan Warriors host St Helens in a battle of the current top two.
Battles between these two are always fascinating although given the margin of St Helens’ lead in the Super League table this one feels a little more low key than many others. I’m sure that will change when the whistle blows.
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Wigan Warriors
Usually at this stage of the season we are used to the Wigan Warriors getting up to full speed but this time around they are showing a concerning inconsistency which they will be looking to get rid of heading into the Super 8s, and hopefully from their point of view, the playoffs at the end of the campaign.
All sorts of issues with players from injuries to suspensions to other punishments have not helped the Warriors this season. Another issue could be a drop in intensity after their coach Shaun Wane announced that he would be leaving at the end of the campaign. All that being said though, there is nothing to get their form back quite like a derby clash with the big rivals.
St Helens
It has been almost the perfect season for St Helens so far. They have lost just two matches in 21 this season and have a massive point difference of 405 which shows just how dominant they have been over the course of the campaign. A win here would open up a 10 point lead at the top of the table and would allow them to cruise to the Leaders Shield.
You can tell when a team has been dominating the competition when they have scored the most points for the season and conceded the fewest and that is the case with St Helens so far. They look head and shoulders above anything this season and will be looking to dent the morale of their closest rivals here.
Team News
Joe Greenwood has returned from injury to face his former club while Chris Hankinson is set for a debut having been signed by Swinton. The Wigan injury list has claimed more victims with George Williams, Oliver Gildart and Sean O’Loughlin all missing out here.
Zeb Ta’ai is injured for the league leaders so he will not feature in this match. Matty Lees comes into the squad for him but Ryan Morgan and Jack Ashworth will be the ones pushing to start the contest.
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Betting
I always think Wigan Warriors are a worse side when they don’t have Sean O’Loughlin around and so I expect St Helens to take advantage of that. They are nearly at full strength and are in fine form with really only complacency likely to deny them what they want to achieve over the coming weeks.
St Helens have to cover six points here which is a big ask in a derby on the road but rarely do we see a blowout in this fixture so rather than risk that they do or do not take the handicap I will take them to win by only by 12 points or less as that is the likely margin of victory.
Tips
WON – Back St Helens to win by 1-12pts for a 4/10 stake at 2.88 with Betfair
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