Warrington's fifth game of the 2019 season sees the Wolves take on early league leaders Castleford Tigers at the Halliwell Jones. This is a massive game for Wire as we look to bounce back from our first defeat of the season to Catalans Dragons at the weekend. Here is the lineup I would like to see selected for this crunch clash...
I am proposing two changes from the loss at the Stade Gilbert Brutus, both in the forward pack. While the performance from Steve Price's men was severely under-par, I feel it would be hugely risky to make too many changes in a game against such a good side which will require big-game experience and management.
Full Back - 1 Stefan Ratchford
A fairly obvious pick here, Ratchford has been superb so far and was voted by followers of A Loose Wire's Twitter page as our player of the season so far. One thing we need to see an improvement in is the consistency of the full back's goal-kicking, particularly in a game likely to be as tight as this one.
Winger - 2 Tom Lineham
Despite Lineham's poor performance in France, he is arguably our second biggest threat in a scoring sense and cannot afford to be dropped for a game like this. It is essential that his partnership with Bryson Goodwin is improved on Thursday.
Centre - 3 Bryson Goodwin
Goodwin has suffered a slow start to the season and is yet to score. With this in mind, his place will be under threat in the coming months from Mamo, King and Livett if he doesn't up his game, but it is way too early in the season to be considering dropping him. Let's hope he and Lineham find their working rhythm again.
Centre - 4 Ryan Atkins
Despite scoring in the last two fixtures, Atkins' performance level has been low this season. If this was any other game, I'd be dropping Atkins for Mamo, but because it's such a huge match, I'd keep Atkins in with the hope that his big-game experience can help us get a result. Ideally, he can continue his streak of getting on the end of Dec Patton kicks.
Winger - 5 Josh Charnley
Warrington's top scorer this season is an automatic pick, and will be looking to return to scoring ways after failing to cross the whitewash for the first time in 2019 last weekend.
Stand Off - 6 Blake Austin
2019's marquee signing has made a bright start to life in the primrose and blue and has been one of our go-to players for creativity so far. Arguably his first big test in a Wire shirt, let's see what he can produce.
Scrum Half - 15 Declan Patton
The player who probably has the most question marks over his name after Saturday, with many fans criticising his performances. For me, Patton should stay in the team because his kicking game has been good, and sticking with Patton is better than any alternative - which would involve moving Stefan Ratchford to the halves. Steve Price clearly likes the Austin/Patton partnership, and will almost certainly continue to pick the halfback pair.
Prop - 8 Chris Hill
Despite a very frustrating performance on Saturday which saw the captain lose possession and give penalties away more often than I care to remember, I think we should keep faith with him for the next few games, given the quality of opposition. We will need leadership and experience on the pitch and Hill will provide that.
Hooker - 9 Daryl Clark
Clark has been my personal player of the season so far, particularly in the last two matches against Huddersfield and Catalans. The hooker will be playing against his former team and will hopefully continue his wonderful 2019 form. Such a reliable player.
Prop - 10 Mike Cooper
Another player who defines the word 'reliable'. Cooper has been superb and his energy, drive and physicality will be key in this game.
Second Row - 12 Jack Hughes
I was very disappointed with Hughes' performance against Catalans, but it is almost certain that he will start. His display in France was unusual for him and hopefully he will return to his pre-Catalans form on Thursday.
Second Row - 13 Ben Murdoch-Masila
Here's a player who I think we need to get into the team. We are an instantly better team with Murdoch-Masila on the field. His sheer power and strength gains us so many metres, an area of the game which we were lacking in at Catalans. Toby King's performances at second row have been mixed - it's time to get our best second rower back in the starting thirteen.
Loose Forward - 14 Jason Clark
I've been really impressed with Jason Clark in his appearances off the bench so far, the Australian has brought steel and yardage to the team. Lama Tasi has been okay at loose forward but hasn't made enough metres to warrant a start, in my opinion. Castleford haven't conceded many points so far, thus making metres will be key to our chances in a scoring sense.
Interchange - 22 Jake Mamo
With the questionable form of Patton and Atkins, there are some schools of thought that Mamo should come into the team at either centre or full back. I think giving Mamo his first start when he has only made fleeting appearances so far would be a mistake - use him off the bench for longer instead.
Interchange - 18 Toby King
Steve Price seems to have settled on using Toby King as a second rower, but I haven't been impressed with him since the Leeds game. I'd like to see Murdoch-Masila brought into the starting lineup, with King dropping to the bench. To be honest, I'm surprised King has made the squad ahead of Livett.
Interchange - 16 Lama Tasi
After starting the last two games at loose forward, I think it is time to drop Tasi back onto the bench. He has been okay in both games, but hasn't had a significant enough impact for me to justify starting him. He can be an option for the prop and loose forward positions off the bench.
Interchange - 34 Ben Westwood
Wire legend Ben Westwood will surely return to the matchday squad after being omitted for the Catalans game. There will be calls to start him which I can understand, but I actually think Jason Clark deserves the nod ahead of him, with Westwood an excellent option from the bench.
LINEUP LAST TIME OUT: (vs Catalans Dragons)
Ratchford, Lineham, Goodwin, Atkins, Charnley, Austin, Patton, Hill, D.Clark, Cooper, King, Hughes, Tasi
Interchanges: J.Clark, Mamo, Philbin, Murdoch-Masila
MY SWEET 17: (vs Castleford Tigers)
Ratchford, Lineham, Goodwin, Atkins, Charnley, Austin, Patton, Hill, D.Clark, Cooper, Murdoch-Masila, Hughes, J.Clark
Interchanges: Mamo, King, Tasi, Westwood
It will be a very difficult game on Thursday. Castleford have been excellent and have convincingly won all four of their games so far. Warrington will need to find an intensity to their game that been missing so far this season, barring the first halves against Leeds and Huddersfield. This is an acid test of where this squad is at, testing ourselves against one of our two main title rivals. Hopefully the much-publicised pre-match light show will be a spectacular success and get the atmosphere going. Let's hope the Halliwell Jones is bouncing and helps the players secure a huge win in the fifth game of the season.
Prediction: Warrington Wolves 20-16 Castleford Tigers
It's always our year.
Daniel
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