PREVIEW: Warrington Wolves v Huddersfield Giants.
Warrington meet Huddersfield in their second game of the busy Easter Period on Monday. The two teams sit side by side in the table, in 10th and 11th. Both sides are looking to find some consistency after struggling to hit a rewarding run of form so far.
Last Time Out
Warrington have finally started to steadily pick up points in the league. They won their Good Friday derby over Widnes in a tough 19-10 victory, a performance which highlighted that although the Wolves are now registering points on the board, their game play is still not up to their usual standard. For Huddersfield, they lost the first of their Easter fixtures, in a 22-29 defeat against Catalans Dragons last Wednesday evening. This follows a draw with St Helens, where Huddersfield showed some of their best.
Key Battle
Both sides are hit with some injuries. Warrington’s wingers Ryan Atkins and Matty Russell both miss out with injuries sustained against Widnes, but hope to have Daryl Clark and Joe Westerman back, offering some relief.
Huddersfield’s Leroy Cudjoe is still absent, but Ryan Brierley looks set to head back into the squad, which could be a real boost for the Giants.
With the quick turnaround of games and two very top-heavy sides, Kurt Gidley will have to show some real leadership on the field. Alongside Ashton Sims, the louder members of the Warrington squad will need to direct the team well to cause some problems for the Giants.
This will be a case of vice-versa with Danny Brough having to show the same leadership and direction for his Huddersfield side on the field.
Prediction
Two struggling sides usually means that we could expect a high-scoring game. Both sides have some injury woes but also have some bodies coming back into the side that could make a difference.
Easter is always a tough time for the bodies, but someone will prevail. In this case, I think Warrington will get another hard fought win to leapfrog Huddersfield in the table – Warrington by 10.
Squads
Warrington Wolves: Daryl Clark, Mike Cooper, Brad Dwyer, Rhys Evans, Kurt Gidley, Chris Hill, Jack Hughes, Benjamin Jullien, George King, Toby King, Tom Lineham, Harvey Livett, Declan Patton, Joe Philbin, Stefan Ratchford, Andre Savelio, Ashton Sims, Joe Westerman, Sam Wilde.
Huddersfield Giants: Ryan Brierley, Danny Brough, Paul Clough, Tyler Dickinson, Lee Gaskell, Ryan Hinchcliffe, Sebastine Ikahihifo, Kruise Leeming, Jake Mamo, Nathan Mason, Jermaine McGillvary, Darnell McIntosh, Alex Mellor, Aaron Murphy, Sam Rapira, Oliver Roberts, Daniel Smith, Shannon Wakeman, Sam Wood.
Match Details
Venue: Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington
Kick-Off: 15:00 (3pm) GMT
Referee: Ben Thaler
