Round three of the Super League XXVIII season begins on Thursday evening and it does so with a couple of potentially entertaining teams in action when the Warrington Wolves welcome the Salford Red Devils to the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
These two have made different starts to the season with the Wolves winning both of their opening matches while the Red Devils have a win and a defeat on their ledger. These two have eyes on the top six this term and have the chance to lay a marker down.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Arena channel with the build-up in Warrington beginning at 7.30pm and the kick off coming at 8pm.
Warrington Wolves
There were always going to be plenty of eyes on the Warrington Wolves in the early stages of this season after an absolute train wreck of a campaign last time around. They needed a good start to fend off the inevitable noise which would have come their way without one and also needed it for their own confidence and belief in what they are doing. They have won their opening two matches and been pretty emphatic in doing so.
Warrington haters or doubters will point out that they have beaten a Leeds side who haven’t got going this season and a Huddersfield team who were disadvantaged by not playing in the opening week but you can only beat what is in front of you. Importantly, Warrington have put plenty of points on the board and only really conceded them when they have had the result pretty much in the palm of their hands. It has certainly been an encouraging beginning for the Wolves.
Salford Red Devils
I guess after such a good campaign a year ago there are a number of eyes on the Salford Red Devils this term as well. Whenever a team are a surprise package the immediate thought is to see whether that season was a fluke or the start of an overall improvement as a club. Salford go into this match having beaten the Leigh Leopards but lost to Hull KR. You can look at those results both ways depending on your allegiance.
If you are a Salford fan a win at a promoted team is a good one but if you don’t like Salford then similarly they have beaten one of the worst teams in the league. The loss to Hull KR wasn’t what was needed but they have won both their matches. The thing we are waiting for with this Salford side is that spark to come back offensively. They have generally looked much better in defence this season which is a complete flip from last year, but the combinations aren’t clicking going the other way at the minute. They might need them to click here.
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Team News
You can always tell when a team is in a good place as there are few changes to the squad when that is the case. That is the case with the Warrington Wolves who make just one change as Luke Thomas replaces Matty Russell. Josh McGuire remains suspended.
Salford Red Devils coach Paul Rowley will be without Alex Gerrard for this match and a few that follow. Adam Sidlow is able to return though and Joe Burgess is fit for a second week in succession which is a boost. Dan Sarginson remains injured.
Betting
I think we are going to find out a lot more about both of these teams in this match. You can pick holes in the form of both sides at the minute but I think here we will see just where both teams are at. There is no competitive disadvantage or anything like that and both are into their work. The eye test will tell us that the Warrington Wolves are looking good at the minute but I do have questions over what they have beaten so far.
It might well be that the Wolves are good enough to win this match as well but I’m interested to see how they go about things against a Salford Red Devils side who look to have improved in defence since last season and who eventually will click into gear offensively with the danger they have in the halves and out wide. My gut feeling is Warrington will win this but that Salford can stay within a couple of scores assuming they can finally convert their dominance into points.
Tips
Back Salford Red Devils (+12) to beat Warrington Wolves for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Betfred
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