Here we go again then folks! Warrington Wolves travel to East Yorkshire to take on Hull FC at the KCOM Stadium in an interesting clash on Friday night. The Wire's last game in March sees them take on the black and whites, who currently lie 5th in the table. Here are my selections to take on Lee Radford's side...
Full Back - 1 Stefan Ratchford
The full back is enjoying an excellent start to the 2019 campaign and is one of eight players who have started every game this season. His goal-kicking has been superb in the last few matches and could be key against a side who concede a lot of tries.
Winger - 22 Jake Mamo
Rumours have been rife this week that the winger is due to sign a two-year extension to his contract at the Halliwell Jones, after a bright start to life in yellow and blue. The Australian back has been in great scoring form, with three tries in three games. I did wonder if he may lose his place after a poor defensive performance last week, but given his scoring form, he is likely to remain in the team.
Centre - 4 Ryan Atkins
I left Atkins out of my Sweet 17 for the Wakefield game after a poor performance against Wigan, but the centre was in fine form at the Mobile Rocket Stadium, making seven tackle busts, including one which led to a penalty early in the second half. He deserves to keep his place for the Hull encounter after that display.
Centre - 18 Toby King
King's confidence will be high after bagging his first try of the season last week and he has been impressive since returning to the centre after starting the year in the second row. Bryson Goodwin is back in training but isn't quite ready to return to the team yet, so there is no need to change the centres.
Winger - 5 Josh Charnley
Two tries on Thursday followed by an England recall on Monday, not a bad few days in the life of Josh Charnley! The winger is in magical form, with seven tries in as many games this season. As always, our biggest scoring threat in this game.
Stand Off - 6 Blake Austin
Austin was absolutely untouchable at Wakefield last week and against a defence that have been fairly generous so far in 2019, the halfback will fancy his chances of creating scoring opportunities aplenty. Can he keep up his run of scoring in every away game in the country?
Scrum Half - 15 Declan Patton
The divisive Patton produced probably his best game of the season last Thursday and for all the criticism that has headed his way, there has been no sign from Steve Price that his place is in danger. His high kicks have been a successful route to the try line so far this season, as have his looping passes out wide. He will be hoping for a better outing than his last visit to the KCOM, where he was sent off for a swinging arm.
Prop - 8 Chris Hill
Hill forced his way over the line from 10m out for his first try of the season last week, and was back to something like his best in terms of carries and yardage. Crucially, his discipline improved from the previous few games, which could be key against a well-drilled team like Hull FC.
Hooker - 9 Daryl Clark
You could make a very good case for Clark being the league's player of the season so far, with a ridiculously consistent performance level in the seven games so far. He will undoubtedly keep his place and Price will probably think twice about taking him off, even if the scoreline is healthy, after the debacle that ensued following his substitution last week.
Prop - 10 Mike Cooper
Cooper was in terrific form last week with a number of offloads being the icing on the cherry in a splendid performance. He can feel aggrieved to have not made the England squad this week, but is an automatic pick for the Wire and one of our key players.
Second Row - 11 Ben Currie
Currie has been seamlessly integrated back into the fold, with three very convincing performances. It would now be nice to see him add scoring to his game - maybe this is the match for that. He is now without doubt a first-choice starter.
Second Row - 12 Jack Hughes
Another player who is an automatic pick after the consistency of his displays this season. The attacking side to his game is developing really well, with two tries and a brilliant break in the last three games. No doubt over his selection.
Loose Forward - 14 Jason Clark
The one position where there is some doubt is at loose forward - with three different players starting there in as many weeks, and a total of four starting in the position this season. For me, Philbin is far better from the bench and was unimpressive as a starter last week. Tasi offers very little in terms of output and with Westwood suspended, Jason Clark is the obvious pick. He has been very impactful in his appearances lately and it is about time he played from the off.
Interchange - 17 Joe Philbin
Last week was Philbin's first start since 2017 and it showed why he is better utilised from the bench. He also needs to be used in the correct position, prop or second row. Been very good off the bench this season.
Interchange - 13 Ben Murdoch-Masila
While I actually think BMM is one of the best forwards in the league when fit and firing, the form of Currie and Hughes makes them undroppable at the minute, meaning the Tongan is being utilised from the bench. Away from home he has been brilliant with his big hits, including three belters last week at Wakefield.
Interchange - 21 Danny Walker
Walker was disappointing when he came on last week in terms of his defence, but I think he should keep his place in the squad. A young player starting out at his boyhood club is a special situation and one which requires careful management of the player's mind and mentality - dropping him from the squad now would damage his confidence. Price will be trying to ensure the team remain on song for 80 minutes, which would allow him to bring Walker on for Clark without any hesitation.
Interchange - 2 Tom Lineham
My only change to the squad sees Tom Lineham come back in, taking a place on the bench. Lineham hasn't been seen in the squad since Catalans in Round Four, which has led to rumours about his future. However, with the news this week that a new contract is likely for the number two, it is time he was used again.
LINEUP LAST TIME OUT:
Ratchford, Mamo, Atkins, King, Charnley, Austin, Patton, Hill, D.Clark, Cooper, Currie, Hughes, Philbin
Interchanges: J.Clark, Tasi, Walker, Murdoch-Masila
MY SWEET 17:
Ratchford, Mamo, Atkins, King, Charnley, Austin, Patton, Hill, D.Clark, Cooper, Currie, Hughes, J.Clark
Interchanges: Philbin, Murdoch-Masila, Walker, Lineham
My one change to the starting 13 is for Jason Clark to start at loose forward, while my only change to the matchday 17 sees Tom Lineham come in from Lama Tasi. From the 19-man squad that the Wolves have named for this match, the two players that miss out for me are Tasi and Livett. Tasi hasn't done enough to warrant a place and I think having a back as well as forwards on the bench gives us more options, particularly with Mamo's versatility across the backline. Lineham is also arguably better defensively than Mamo and this could be crucial later on in the game. As for Livett, I am a massive fan of the lad and want to see him play a big role this season, but given the performances of Ryan Atkins and Jason Clark last week, I can't quite make room for him this time.
Hull FC are a difficult team to assess, coming into this game on the back of a narrow win in the capital against London Broncos. FC won by just four points in a very tense affair, the like of which they have been involved in a few times this season (losing the Round One game to Hull KR by two points and winning in Round Three against Wigan by a point.) They often concede a lot of points, with 56 conceded in their last two games, as well as 22 against Wigan and 26 against Castleford. Interestingly, FC have made the lowest number of errors of any team in the league, and conceded the fewest penalties, meaning our discipline will need to be very good. Generally, the KCOM Stadium hasn't been a particularly happy hunting ground for the Wire, with three losses in our last four visits there, including defeats in the last two. However, Warrington did run out 80-10 winners in our most recent meeting with Hull FC at the Halliwell Jones in possibly the best performance of last season. Steve Price was annoyed with the second half last week and has assured fans that the team will cut out lapses in concentration, so I am expecting an improvement in our defensive plays this week.
Given our consistency this season, we should have enough quality to get the result, though FC do have quality in their ranks, with prop Scott Taylor rated as their star player in the London win last week. Jake Connor and Albert Kelly provide the panache, while Bureta Faraimo is a good scorer from out wide. Marc Sneyd's kicking game is intriguing - he can be very creative with the ball in play, but is inconsistent with goal kicking, missing four at the weekend. They will be without the injured Jamie Shaul, who was concussed in the London game, so they could give a debut to former Wire player Andre Savelio, who was a popular figure in his time at the club a few years ago.
Elsewhere this weekend, the league leaders St Helens (and our main opposition for the title this season) take on Hull KR at home in a fixture that will leave us hoping for a miracle rather than expecting anything) while 3rd placed Castleford travel to bottom-of-the-league Leeds Rhinos. It is a bit of a weird situation for Wire fans, who may take a break from wanting the Rhinos to lose, as a win for bottom-of-the-league Leeds would help put further daylight between ourselves and Cas. Can bottom-of-the-league Leeds kickstart their season and defeat their local rivals? Or will the Tigers beat bottom-of-the-league Leeds and prevent them from gaining their first win at Headingley this season, a win that could see them move off the bottom of the league? Meanwhile, the impressive Salford travel to Wakefield as Wigan host Catalans. One of the biggest games of the weekend sees London host Huddersfield in a massive relegation scrap.
See you all at the KCOM on Friday as we look to make it seven wins from the first eight games...
Prediction: Hull FC 18-36 Warrington Wolves
It's always our year.
Daniel (@aloosewire)
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