Wigan Warriors host a motoring St Helens side on Friday night at the DW Stadium. Wigan go into this game picking up just the 1 win in their last 5 games, in all competitions. Meanwhile, St Helens go into this game in fantastic form, winning their last 7.
Will Wigan be able to end a poor run of form with a morale boosting win against their fiercest rivals?
Have Saints hit form at the right time, or have they peaked too soon?
ANYTHING can happen… in a Wigan/Saints Derby.
LAST TIME OUT
Wigan go into this game on the back of a disappointing 36-22 loss away to Castleford Tigers. It was a real cat and mouse game, with Wigan always playing catch-up. Tigers got off to the best start, when the ever impressive winger, Solomona race 90 metres to open the scoring. After missing the conversion, Gale kicked a penalty to extend his sides lead to 6-0. McShane would increase the hosts lead just before the half-hour mark, after going over from dummy-half following some real poor defence from the Warriors. Wigan, who had a real poor first half, finally got off the mark when Powell picked up the scraps from a deflected Matty Smith pass, to go over for the Warriors. Wigan and a strong finish to the half, but couldn’t add to their score, Castleford led 12-6 at halftime. After what was a good start to the second half for Wigan, it was Castleford who scored first through Solomona yet again. This seesaw game continued as Ben Flower went over for Wigan to keep them in the game. However, Tigers would score next, through Solomona yet again, who completed his hat-trick. There was a bit of biff late on as Oliver Holmes and Dom Crosby were both sent to the sin-bin. Wigan grabbed back to back tries through Bateman and Mossop to close the gap to just 4 with 10 minutes to go. However, Wigan couldn’t get over again and the Tigers grabbed back to back tries of their own in the final few minutes through Hampshire and Oliver holmes to wrap up a brilliant 36-22 win over Wigan.
St Helens come into this game on the back of a superb 39-16 victory over the struggling Catalan Dragons. It was Catalan who got off to the best start, when Dave Taylor barged under the posts to open the scoring. However, Saints responded well. The man of the match Adam Swift, scored the first of his eventual four tries on the night after a great 60 metre move was finished off by the winger. Saints stepped up their game and it was Swift who was over again in the corner after a good flowing move. Walsh was sent to the sin-bin late in the first half following an illegal tackle which sparked a bit of fracas between the players. Catalan pounced on this, as Paul Aiton sent Baiteri crashing over for another try. Saints, who looked to be going into halftime time behind, scored right on the hooter when Adam Swift completed his hat-trick after getting on the end of Jordan Turner’s kick to the corner. That seemed to really knock the Dragons off their game, as in the second half, Saints dominated. After returning to the game from his sin-bin, Luke Walsh pounced on the Dragons poor discipline as he kicked two consecutive penalties, to give Saints a 20-12 lead. Swift would score his fourth try of the game following a great assist by Morgan Knowles. Walsh would kick a drop goal to further extend the Saints advantage. Catalans did hit back late on as Duport went over for an easy try. Any hope of a late comeback was cut short when saints scored back to back tries through Owens and Greenwood to wrap up a fantastic 39-16 win over the Catalan Dragons.
KEY BATTLES
As of writing this preview, St Helens pair Luke Thompson and Luke Walsh are named in the 19-man squad. However, they face a disciplinary hearing today, so may not feature.
In their recent run of form, Luke Walsh has been real influential in driving their side to victory, playing a huge part in each game. If Walsh is to miss this game, then it would be a huge loss for Saints in the halves. You’d imagine that it would be up to Turner and Wilkin in the halves. These are positions that play a huge part in winning games and if Walsh is to miss this game, it would disturb the flow of the team. Wigan on the other hand have been really poor of late, especially in the halves. While Williams has been Wigan best player, his partnership with Smith has been rather poor, both frustratingly not playing to their full potential.
As always, Wigan/Saints serves up a real feisty, old fashioned game of rugby. Both sides giving it everything for the fans, knowing how much it means to them. The majority of the feistiness will come from both sets of forwards. This game will be won by those players. You pick out a handful from both sides: Sutton, Bateman, Tautai, Walmsley, Greenwood and McCarthy-Scarsbrook. Players who will take the biggest of hits and give them out too. The side who can control the ruck speed and win that battle down the middle will go a long way to winning this game.
Both sides are missing their starting wingers. Manfredi, who was last week ruled out for the rest of the season, due to an ACL injury and Makinson, who has been out for the majority of the season with his own injury. However, Charnley for Wigan and Swift for St Helens have stepped up this season and proven to be real influential for their teams in tough times, coming up with the important points when it matters, scoring 30 tries between them all season.
PRE-GAME MEDIA
Wigan full-back Sam Tomkins told BBC Radio Manchester:
“It means more now because I missed it for two years. It’s a massive game don’t think there’s a bigger rivalry frustrating to watch from New Zealand.
“Anyone who’s been supported either club knows tradition behind this game people always say how much they’re looking forward to it and how important it is – we’re under no illusions about significance of it.
“We need no motivation for Saints but adds to it that its in Super 8s.”
Credit to BBC Sport: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/37110167
St Helens boss Keiron Cunningham told BBC Radio Merseyside:
“We know what its about on Friday, we know what the stakes are and we understand what you get for the result of it.
“That game’s gone (from last month), it will be a whole new entity on Friday night with different players playing and players that didn’t play against us and players that didn’t play against them.
“It’ll be an interesting game and I’m sure it’ll be full of fireworks as it always is and hopefully its as entertaining for us as it was last time.”
Credit to BBC Sport: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/37110167
PREDICTIONS
It’s a real tough game to predict this week. Many will fancy Saints going off their recent form and performances, and righty so. However, this is a derby, and anything can happen in these games. In the past we’ve seen weakened Wigan sides beat a strong Saints side and vice versa. This isn’t a weak side vs a strong one, it’s more a story of an out of sorts, substandard Wigan vs a very confident and in form St Helens. It’ll be a cracker.
Wigan Warriors by 4
SQUADS
Wigan Warriors 19-man squad: Bateman, Bretherton, Charnley, Crosby, Farrell, Flower, Gelling, Gildart, Isa, Nuuausala, Powell, Sarginson, Shorrocks, Smith, Sutton, Tautai, Tierney, S Tomkins, Williams.
St Helens 19-man squad: Lomax, Turner, Swift, Walsh, Walmsley, Roby, Amor, Vea, Wilkin, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Tasi, Richards, Thompson, Peyroux, Greenwood, Owens, McDonnell, Fleming, Knowles.
(Luke Walsh and Luke Thompson face a disciplinary hearing today, so may not feature, depending on their outcomes)
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Ben Thaler
Venue: DW Stadium, Wigan
Date/Time: Friday 19th August 2016 – 20:00pm GMT
