Top of the league and in-form St Helens travel to the Halliwell Jones this Friday night to face Steve Price’s Warrington Wolves, who will aim to bounce back from their 21-12 defeat against Hull FC.ย
TEAM FORM GUIDE
Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves will be without Declan Patton this round following his red card at the KCOM Stadium last Friday night, which saw them fall short to Hull FC a week after defeating the 2016 Super League champions. They head into the round with just two wins in five.
St Helens
Top of the table, unbeaten and already-favourites for a big year. St Helens travel to the Halliwell Jones Stadium with four wins from four, and Justin Holbrook’s squad look far the superior side so far in the 2018 campaign. Their biggest win came against the hottest team in 2017, the Castleford Tigers, as well as victories against Huddersfield, Catalans Dragons and Salford.
SQUAD NEWS
Warrington Wolves
Kevin Brown returns for the home side after missing last week’s game with concussion, whilst Harvey Livvet, who has appeared for Rochdale Hornets on dual-registration this year, is also in the mix.
Declan Patton and Sitaleki Akauola both miss out with suspension. Second-rower Ben Currie also misses out due to injury.
St Helens
Youngster Danny Richardson, who received a call-up to the England Knights squad, keeps his place in the squad following a solid start to 2018. Matty Lees replaces Jon Wilkin, who suffered a head-knock last week against Salford.
PREVIEW
Warrington Wolves’ marquee signing Tyrone Roberts is yet to make a big impact at the club, having only partnered with Kevin Brown on two occasions so far in the 2018 campaign. Brown, who kept his spot in Wayne Bennett’s England Elite squad, returns after missing out last-week due to concussion. The pair will look to be at their best to beat the in-form St Helens, who have conceded just 32 points so far – The Wolves conceding 77.
Super League player of the month Ben Barba has been the player to watch, and his impressive form has seen him become quick favourite for Man of Steel. The former Cronulla Sharks fullback has enjoyed the year so far, with four tries and six try-assists.
Warrington will have to be at their best to claim the two points at home, but all the odds go in St Helens’ favour.
KEY STAT
Warrington’s average points per game is just 12.8, compared to St Helens’ 31.8.ย
St Helens have only conceded on average 8 points per game. Warrington 15.4
SQUADS
Warrington Squad: Ryan Atkins, Kevin Brown, Mitch Brown, Daryl Clark, Mike Cooper, Dominic Crosby, Bryson Goodwin, Chris Hill, Jack Hughes, George King, Toby King, Tom Lineham, Harvey Livett, Ben Murdoch-Masila, Joe Philbin, Stefan Ratchford, Tyrone Roberts, Morgan Smith, Ben Westwood.
St Helens: Jonny Lomax, Tommy Makinson, Ryan Morgan, Mark Percival, Adam Swift, Theo Fages, Matty Smith, Alex Walmsley, James Roby, Kyle Amor, Zeb Taia, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Luke Douglas, Luke Thompson, Dom Peyroux, Danny Richardson, Regan Grace, Matty Lees, Ben Barba.
THE IMPORTANT DETAILS
Date: 9/03/2018
Venue: Halliwell Jones Stadium
Kick-off: 7:45
Referee: James Child
