The main squad news is the return of Tom Lineham, who has now served his three-match suspension. Lineham returns to face the opponents of his playoff semi final heroics from last year, when he produced two tries, the second of which is now iconic in recent Wire history, to take us to the Grand Final against all odds. Also coming into the squad for this one is Luther Burrell, who could make both his Warrington debut and rugby league debut after his switch from rugby union's Northampton Saints (ironic). There is no place for Ben Murdoch-Masila or Jack Johnson though.
Full
Back - 22 Jake Mamo
No doubts here, as Stefan Ratchford continues his recovery Jake Mamo will carry on at full back. Was brilliant last week, though there is a concern if he was faced with a one-on-one against the likes of Thompson, Walmsley, Peyroux or Taia due to his strength. Ratchford was unusually awful in the April defeat to Saints and individual errors at the back can’t be afforded on Friday.
Winger - 2 Tom Lineham
Lineham returns to the team after a three-match suspension. He will almost certainly start out wide, which I am fine with as he does well in the big games and there’s still something so special about his brace against Saints that took us to Old Trafford last year. The concern with Lineham though is discipline - he picked up a ban in our last fixture against Saints for a shocking challenge on Regan Grace.
Centre - 3 Bryson Goodwin
Goodwin is one of only two players in the starting 13 that I expect to be different from April’s visit to St Helens. He has been in fine form lately and can hopefully continue his good run in this one. The battle of the centres will be interesting - with Percival, Naiqama, Goodwin and King all playing some really good stuff at the minute - and there’s possibly Luther Burrell to throw in there too.
Centre - 18 Toby King
What has been impressive about King’s game in recent weeks has been his defensive output, which was particularly noticeable in last week’s win over Wakefield. He has also revitalised the attacking partnership he has with Josh Charnley, which will hopefully prove fruitful on Friday. His versatility and ability to play in the second row could be useful if Burrell is to play some minutes.
Winger - 5 Josh Charnley
Remarkably hasn’t scored for Wire against Saints yet, what a time it would be to break that particular duck on Friday. He’s on a run of three tries in the last three games and has rediscovered his scoring touch as the business end of the season approaches. Could be interesting to see how he plays with Burrell alongside him.
Stand Off - 6 Blake Austin
There is an opinion in some quarters that Austin didn’t turn up to April’s defeat at the hands of the Saints, but I find this a bizarre view, considering that he scored the game’s first try. He’s scored in almost all of the big games this year - though Saints will have worked hard on how to stop him this week and in Theo Fages possess a halfback with an outstanding defensive game. My concern is if Saints try to completely shut Austin’s impact on the game down - though halves like Tony Gigot and Jackson Hastings have been able to have excellent games against Saints this year, so it is possible for a halfback to rise above the defensive solidity that Friday’s opponents have.
Scrum Half - 15 Declan Patton
Patton can’t afford to have a bad game on Friday. Not because he’ll lose his place in the team - he won’t, there’s literally no other options - but because opinion could turn very negative against him if he does. Now I don’t rate Patton and I’m currently living a life largely dominated by a feeling of shock - shock that I’m actually looking forward to Kevin Brown being available again - words that would’ve seemed like sacrilege six months ago. But, Patton had a good game on Friday night, and got very little recognition for it, so the feeling towards him is negative even when he plays well. If he has a stinker this Friday, it’s hard to see a way back into the fans’ good books.
Prop - 8 Chris Hill
It was interesting to hear this week that Hill was contemplating leaving Warrington until Mike Cooper returned to the club in 2017. It's quite hard to imagine the Wire pack without Hill in it, although there have been times where he's let himself down, usually in discipline-related incidents by conceding daft penalties, one of which was one which awarded Saints a last-gasp penalty in the dying moments of our league game at the Totally Wicked Stadium last year which cost us a draw. Let's hope for none of that and lots of good leadership in this game - and no missed tackles like for Wakefield's try last week!
Hooker - 9 Daryl Clark
Last week showed the difference in the team when Clark plays compared to when he doesn't. He is at the centre of everything and runs the game from dummy-half. While I imagine Saints will focus largely on marshalling Austin, it is the runs of Clark that usually create the spaces for Austin's trademark tries. With no James Roby on the pitch, this is Clark's chance to show why he is now the best hooker in the league. For years Roby has been undisputed - but Clark's performances in 2019 have taken him even above Roby in my opinion. Absolutely key to any chance of a result.
Prop - 10 Mike Cooper
Last time we took on the Saints, it was a very even game until Cooper was sin-binned. During that ten minutes, the game completely got away from Wire, proving the importance of Cooper and a good forward pack. Saints outclassed Wire in the forwards department and we'll be needing big games from Hill and Cooper. In terms of metres and offloads there aren't many better in the league and if there is one of our props that I'd back to have a good game, it would be Cooper. With Luke Thompson and Alex Walmsley playing as props for Saints, it is interesting that all four of the starting props are English.
Second Row - 11 Ben Currie
Another Englishman certain to start this game is Ben Currie, who has been in good form of late. He is always one of the top tacklers in the team and has made a number of great try-saving tackles this season and was very close to getting another when David Fifita passed inside to Ryan Hampshire, a move Currie tried to prevent by gesturing to Jake Mamo to block the pass. I believe that Currie and Saints' Zeb Taia are the two best second rowers in the league, and with Taia out injured, this is a big game for Currie to show Super League that he's back.
Second Row - 12 Jack Hughes
Hughes has been a little off-colour lately in my eyes, but he is still a crucial player and is an undisputed starter for us. In the midst of Tom Lineham's brace which gave us memories for a lifetime, it often gets forgotten that Hughes actually scored our first try in last year's semi final. He's been a player for the big occasion this year with tries against Castleford and two against Wigan, and interestingly all of his tries have come at the HJ in 2019.
Loose Forward - 17 Joe Philbin
I'm never really sure what Steve Price's thoughts are on how to best utilise Philbin. For a while, it seemed like he preferred using him from the interchange bench, then he became a starter, then it reverted back, and now he's back starting games again. He also alluded to the fact that he wanted to give him opportunities to start games at prop, but that hasn't happened yet. Anyway, he's a good carrier of the ball and makes up metres, and will be needed to set the platform for the defence in the early stages of the match.
Interchange - 14 Jason Clark
No doubts here, as Stefan Ratchford continues his recovery Jake Mamo will carry on at full back. Was brilliant last week, though there is a concern if he was faced with a one-on-one against the likes of Thompson, Walmsley, Peyroux or Taia due to his strength. Ratchford was unusually awful in the April defeat to Saints and individual errors at the back can’t be afforded on Friday.
Winger - 2 Tom Lineham
Lineham returns to the team after a three-match suspension. He will almost certainly start out wide, which I am fine with as he does well in the big games and there’s still something so special about his brace against Saints that took us to Old Trafford last year. The concern with Lineham though is discipline - he picked up a ban in our last fixture against Saints for a shocking challenge on Regan Grace.
Centre - 3 Bryson Goodwin
Goodwin is one of only two players in the starting 13 that I expect to be different from April’s visit to St Helens. He has been in fine form lately and can hopefully continue his good run in this one. The battle of the centres will be interesting - with Percival, Naiqama, Goodwin and King all playing some really good stuff at the minute - and there’s possibly Luther Burrell to throw in there too.
Centre - 18 Toby King
What has been impressive about King’s game in recent weeks has been his defensive output, which was particularly noticeable in last week’s win over Wakefield. He has also revitalised the attacking partnership he has with Josh Charnley, which will hopefully prove fruitful on Friday. His versatility and ability to play in the second row could be useful if Burrell is to play some minutes.
Winger - 5 Josh Charnley
Remarkably hasn’t scored for Wire against Saints yet, what a time it would be to break that particular duck on Friday. He’s on a run of three tries in the last three games and has rediscovered his scoring touch as the business end of the season approaches. Could be interesting to see how he plays with Burrell alongside him.
Stand Off - 6 Blake Austin
There is an opinion in some quarters that Austin didn’t turn up to April’s defeat at the hands of the Saints, but I find this a bizarre view, considering that he scored the game’s first try. He’s scored in almost all of the big games this year - though Saints will have worked hard on how to stop him this week and in Theo Fages possess a halfback with an outstanding defensive game. My concern is if Saints try to completely shut Austin’s impact on the game down - though halves like Tony Gigot and Jackson Hastings have been able to have excellent games against Saints this year, so it is possible for a halfback to rise above the defensive solidity that Friday’s opponents have.
Scrum Half - 15 Declan Patton
Patton can’t afford to have a bad game on Friday. Not because he’ll lose his place in the team - he won’t, there’s literally no other options - but because opinion could turn very negative against him if he does. Now I don’t rate Patton and I’m currently living a life largely dominated by a feeling of shock - shock that I’m actually looking forward to Kevin Brown being available again - words that would’ve seemed like sacrilege six months ago. But, Patton had a good game on Friday night, and got very little recognition for it, so the feeling towards him is negative even when he plays well. If he has a stinker this Friday, it’s hard to see a way back into the fans’ good books.
Prop - 8 Chris Hill
It was interesting to hear this week that Hill was contemplating leaving Warrington until Mike Cooper returned to the club in 2017. It's quite hard to imagine the Wire pack without Hill in it, although there have been times where he's let himself down, usually in discipline-related incidents by conceding daft penalties, one of which was one which awarded Saints a last-gasp penalty in the dying moments of our league game at the Totally Wicked Stadium last year which cost us a draw. Let's hope for none of that and lots of good leadership in this game - and no missed tackles like for Wakefield's try last week!
Hooker - 9 Daryl Clark
Last week showed the difference in the team when Clark plays compared to when he doesn't. He is at the centre of everything and runs the game from dummy-half. While I imagine Saints will focus largely on marshalling Austin, it is the runs of Clark that usually create the spaces for Austin's trademark tries. With no James Roby on the pitch, this is Clark's chance to show why he is now the best hooker in the league. For years Roby has been undisputed - but Clark's performances in 2019 have taken him even above Roby in my opinion. Absolutely key to any chance of a result.
Prop - 10 Mike Cooper
Last time we took on the Saints, it was a very even game until Cooper was sin-binned. During that ten minutes, the game completely got away from Wire, proving the importance of Cooper and a good forward pack. Saints outclassed Wire in the forwards department and we'll be needing big games from Hill and Cooper. In terms of metres and offloads there aren't many better in the league and if there is one of our props that I'd back to have a good game, it would be Cooper. With Luke Thompson and Alex Walmsley playing as props for Saints, it is interesting that all four of the starting props are English.
Second Row - 11 Ben Currie
Another Englishman certain to start this game is Ben Currie, who has been in good form of late. He is always one of the top tacklers in the team and has made a number of great try-saving tackles this season and was very close to getting another when David Fifita passed inside to Ryan Hampshire, a move Currie tried to prevent by gesturing to Jake Mamo to block the pass. I believe that Currie and Saints' Zeb Taia are the two best second rowers in the league, and with Taia out injured, this is a big game for Currie to show Super League that he's back.
Second Row - 12 Jack Hughes
Hughes has been a little off-colour lately in my eyes, but he is still a crucial player and is an undisputed starter for us. In the midst of Tom Lineham's brace which gave us memories for a lifetime, it often gets forgotten that Hughes actually scored our first try in last year's semi final. He's been a player for the big occasion this year with tries against Castleford and two against Wigan, and interestingly all of his tries have come at the HJ in 2019.
Loose Forward - 17 Joe Philbin
I'm never really sure what Steve Price's thoughts are on how to best utilise Philbin. For a while, it seemed like he preferred using him from the interchange bench, then he became a starter, then it reverted back, and now he's back starting games again. He also alluded to the fact that he wanted to give him opportunities to start games at prop, but that hasn't happened yet. Anyway, he's a good carrier of the ball and makes up metres, and will be needed to set the platform for the defence in the early stages of the match.
Interchange - 14 Jason Clark
Clark did a good job last time out against Wakefield and we are starting to see a few positive signs from him. I still don't think he's really considered to start games but he's a sound option from the bench and can do multiple stints, which could be useful in a game where the forward battle is likely to dominate proceedings.
Interchange - 19 Sitaleki Akauola
With no Ben Murdoch-Masila, Akauola is all we've got in terms of a big, powerhouse of a forward. His driving runs are brilliant, though he was careless in possession last Friday night and against a team as good as Saints those errors won't go unpunished.
Interchange - 23 Matt Davis
Interchange - 19 Sitaleki Akauola
With no Ben Murdoch-Masila, Akauola is all we've got in terms of a big, powerhouse of a forward. His driving runs are brilliant, though he was careless in possession last Friday night and against a team as good as Saints those errors won't go unpunished.
Interchange - 23 Matt Davis
Davis was one of very few players who came out of April's mauling at the hands of St Helens with any credit at all, after a solid stint from the interchange bench. He is always busy on the pitch and gets himself well involved in the game. Very comfortable with the ball in hand.
Interchange - 28 Luther Burrell
What a game to make your rugby league debut in! I don't agree with people saying that he shouldn't start because it'd be too much. He's obviously fit otherwise he wouldn't be in the squad. For me, I wouldn't start him because I don't think Goodwin, King, Currie or Hughes should be dropped. We're not sure if Burrell is going to play as a centre or a second row but having him on the bench would allow any of the aforementioned four to switch around. Imagine the scenes if he bags a debut try against the Saints...
Predicted St Helens Team:
Lachlan Coote; Tommy Makinson, Kevin Naiqama, Mark Percival, Regan Grace; Theo Fages, Jonny Lomax; Alex Walmsley, Aaron Smith, Luke Thompson; Dominique Peyroux, Morgan Knowles; Joseph Paulo
Interchanges: Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Matty Lees, Jack Ashworth, Kyle Amor
In terms of the Saints team, they are missing James Roby and Zeb Taia. Aaron Smith will continue to deputise for Roby at hooker, though they have a harder decision to make in terms of Taia's replacement. I expect Morgan Knowles, who has been terrific this year, to move to the second row, with the returning Joseph Paulo likely to start at 13. There are danger men all around the Saints team, none more so than Lachlan Coote, who has been breathtaking this season and can run a game all on his own with his passing and set-up play. Coote has seamlessly replaced Ben Barba and Justin Holbrook's team actually look better for it. They have flying wingers in Makinson and Grace, who both possess phenomenal pace and finishing ability, though with the speed of Mamo I am less concerned about the possibility of one-on-ones. Fages and Lomax are arguably the best halfback partnership in the league, with Lomax the more attacking, creative player and Fages a more defensive outlet, meaning that they complement one another well. Where Saints outdid us last time though was in the pack - the sheer force of Thompson and Walmsley was too much for us to handle - this is something we have to do better with this time. I actually don't think Saints' interchange bench is too strong, though McCarthy-Scarsbrook always has a say in matters where Warrington are concerned. Rat.
Friday should be a special occasion. With more than 12,500 tickets sold already and still two days ago, it's going to be not far off a full house inside the Halliwell Jones for the best two sides in the country to meet. For me, I am not necessarily expecting us to win, and as weird as it sounds, I'm not too concerned about winning. I see this game as an acid test for us - have we improved since we played Saints in April? It's almost like this is a dry run for the Challenge Cup Final or the Grand Final, if we ended up playing Saints in either of those finals. How will we cope with the pressure? For me, as long as we put in a respectable performance, a creditable one, one that we can take some heart from, one that gives us some hope, that'll be enough for me. I'm not obsessing over finishing 1st as even if we win this, we'd still be four points behind them. If we win, sensational. If we lose but there's significant improvement from April, that'll please me too. Bigger picture, folks. Friday isn't 'the' game.
Still, let's win it, ay?
It's always our year.
Daniel (@aloosewire)
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