The second match of the opening day of the Super League XXVIII Magic Weekend is probably the pick of the Saturday offerings as the Wigan Warriors go up against the Catalans Dragons at St James’ Park in Newcastle.
This is a match which pits second against third in the Super League table and a big win for either would send them to the top of the pile for 24 hours at least, so there is a big incentive for both sides in this one.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Arena channels with the build-up to this one beginning at 3.30pm and kick off coming at 3.45pm.
Wigan Warriors
Wigan had a bit of a rocky patch in the Super League at the beginning of last month. They lost successive matches and while they ended that two game losing run last time out, they did need extra time to get the better of Hull KR. They came out on top in that extra period though and the one thing that did tell us was that there is no lack of fight, determination and heart in this Warriors side. They will want to add skill to that now.
Wigan will know that they have already lost to Catalans this season so if their minds were to need focusing then that might well do it for them. If there is one thing Wigan will be keen to sort out it is their attacking exploits. You have to go back to the end of March for the last time that they put 30 points on a team in a match. That coincides with when Jai Field got injured so they will be delighted that he is in the squad for this one.
Catalans Dragons
There has been a bit of a similarity to the season for the Catalans Dragons to the one which Wigan have put together. They looked to be on a good run of form and then from nowhere they threw in three successive defeats in April but to their credit the French outfit have come out of it the other side. In fairness to the Catalans, injuries were a huge part of the losses they suffered but they have won their last three in Super League and look to be building up a head of steam.
One of those wins was over the champions St Helens which feels like it carries plenty of merit. Only the Warrington Wolves who are top of the table have scored more points than the Dragons this season and you would imagine a stage like this will bring out the best in them from an attacking standpoint. The question then becomes whether they can repel the Wigan attack throughout the 80 minutes. If they can they should have every chance here.
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Team News
The big news from a Wigan Warriors point of view is that Jai Field is back in the squad after a period on the sidelines. He replaces Harvey Makin in the squad. Kai Pearce-Paul misses out but Cade Cust could start at stand off.
Catalans Dragons have three big players back for this Magic Weekend encounter with Sam Tomkins, Mitchell Pearce and Alrix Da Costa all back from injury and available. Matthieu Laguerre is among the trio making way.
Betting
It might be that the Wigan Warriors attack improves with the return of Jai Field but at the same time it might be that he needs a game or two to get back into the swing of things in which case the Catalans Dragons would look to have every chance of pulling off an upset here. Field played when these two met at the DW Stadium earlier in the season when the Dragons won 18-10 so even with him back there is no guarantee Wigan win this.
In fact, Catalans were without Sam Tomkins and Mitchell Pearce in that match too and they are both likely to be present in this one so there is a good case to be made that Catalans will be stronger than in that first meeting whereas Wigan are no stronger and could be classed as weaker with no Mike Cooper, Ethan Havard or Kai Pearce-Paul to call upon. Willie Isa is another man who played in that match who won’t be featuring here. The point is that Wigan have already lost to Catalans this season and their attack is just in the stuttering stage so I think the converted try start that the French outfit are getting is a little too big.
Tips
Back Catalans Dragons (+6) to beat Wigan Warriors for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Coral
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