Thursday, 18 April 2019

Sweet 17: Salford Red Devils (h)

Warrington Wolves will attempt to bounce back from last week's humbling and make this a Good Friday with a win over Salford Red Devils, who are the visitors to the Halliwell Jones. Salford are the Round Eleven fixture and by 5pm on Friday, we will have played everyone in the league once. Salford are 7th in the league and should prove interesting opposition on the Bank Holiday. Here is the team I would like to see take to the field...


The team news is dominated by the return to fitness of Bryson Goodwin, while Ben Westwood is back in the mix after serving a four-match suspension. Jake Mamo remains unavailable for the third game in a row, while Tom Lineham misses out after being handed a one-game ban for his challenge on Regan Grace last week. This is the first of two games in the Easter period, with the home fixture against Salford followed by a trip to Hull KR on Monday afternoon, so squad rotation could be something to consider. I have gone very strong in my selection here, with the possibility of Mamo and Lineham being available for Monday, allowing for a little extra rotation.

Full Back - 1 Stefan Ratchford
Let's make no bones about it, Ratch had an absolute stinker last Friday against St Helens, but his poor performances are so few and far between that we can forget about that one. No doubt that he will start against his former club.

Wing - 3 Bryson Goodwin

The one place where there is a lot of discussion to be had is on the right wing. Lineham and Mamo are unavailable, so the duties are likely to fall to Bryson Goodwin, who will make his return to the team slightly out of position. Steve Price alluded to Goodwin playing on the wing this week so this is where I expect to see him - it will be his first game since getting injured against Castleford in Round Five.

Centre - 4 Ryan Atkins

Atkins' last outing at home was probably his best of the season, and with no place in the squad for Mamo and Goodwin out of position, the centres will remain as they are.

Centre - 18 Toby King

Likewise with King. Despite both Atkins and King being disappointing last week, there isn't really much choice here, unless someone like Livett or Currie gets moved there.

Wing - 5 Josh Charnley

Despite 'only' getting one try in the last two games, Charnley still has a positive tries-to-games ratio for us this season, scoring 11 in the first ten matches of 2019. Against a defence that leak a lot of points, this could be a chance for him to get scoring.

Stand Off - 6 Blake Austin

In terms of tries, Austin is certainly the form man. He has scored eight tries in the last four matches and will be looking to add to that tally here. It will be interesting to see if either of the halves are changed...

Scrum Half - 20 Harvey Livett

Here is a position that I am recommending a change. Declan Patton's form is so up and down, with a particularly poor display last week. I like Patton and I still think he should be our first-choice number seven, but I'd like to see Livett given a game there to give Patton a rest. 

Prop - 8 Chris Hill

Hill has started every game this season, a run which will continue here. If the game is comfortable at any point, it could be a chance to rest Hill and give Philbin a run out at prop, something Steve Price has recently discussed. 

Hooker - 9 Daryl Clark

Always such a key player to us, Clark has been our best player this season and is pretty much undroppable - though hopefully he will get some minutes' rest over the next two games.

Prop - 10 Mike Cooper

The forward pack will surely stay the same. Cooper's importance to us was demonstrated when we conceded 12 points without him on the field in a ten minute spell last week. His offloads will be important against a suspect defence.

Second Row - 11 Ben Currie

One of the few players who came out of last week with a shred of credit. His tackling has been exemplary lately and with pacy players like Kris Welham, this could be important on Friday.

Second Row - 12 Jack Hughes

I did consider a change here, though Hughes has only just been rested against London two weeks ago. He will need to put in a better defensive showing than last week.

Loose Forward - 34 Ben Westwood

Warrington legend Ben Westwood is back after four matches out with suspension and I think he should go straight back into the starting 13. We have missed his physicality, particularly last week where the lack of leadership was also noticeable. 

Interchange - 14 Jason Clark

A useful option from the bench, Clark has been excellent in his appearances. He is certainly seen as an interchange rather than a starter though, and I expect this to continue.

Interchange - 17 Joe Philbin

Philbin has started all four games at loose forward that Westwood has been unavailable for. Though he has done well, he seems to perform better from the bench, and so I hope that he is used in stints from the interchange bench on Friday.

Interchange - 13 Ben Murdoch-Masila

One good bit of team news this week was that BMM came through unscathed after fears that he may had sustained a serious injury at St Helens last week. Fortunately, he is in the squad for this game. He will need to be a lot better than last week though, where his tackling was highly unsuccessful.

Interchange - 23 Matt Davis

Davis has been impressive in his first two Wire appearances and I expect him to keep his place in the squad for this one.

My team sees Declan Patton and Lama Tasi miss out on places in the squad. I think Patton needs a rest, while Tasi just isn't doing enough to justify selection at the minute. 


Salford have won just one game in their last six after making a really bright start to the season. Despite this, they will provide firm opposition and have plenty of creativity in their ranks, particularly from scrum half Jackson Hastings. The Devils have conceded 20 points or more for the last eight games in a row, and this is something we should look to capitalise on. We will rightly be favourites for this game and should look to start the busy Easter period in style. Hopefully we can give some players a bit of rest over the two Easter games, particularly given that our Challenge Cup draw (home to Wigan) doesn't really allow for any rest.

I reckon we'll have too much for Salford here. Let's get back on track with a win here! Remember to check back on my blog for a report and player rankings from the game.

Prediction: Warrington 36-16 Salford


It's always our year.

Daniel (@aloosewire)

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