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Friday, 5 July 2019

Sweet 17: London Broncos (a)

London's calling! Warrington travel south to the capital on Saturday to take on Danny Ward's London Broncos in Round 21 of the 2019 Super League.
The main team news of the week is that Luther Burrell will make his Warrington debut in this match, as confirmed this week by Steve Price. Price would not confirm whether this would be as a starter or from the interchange bench - more on that later. Elsewhere, co-captain Chris Hill begins a two-match suspension, while Ben Murdoch-Masila, Kevin Brown and Stefan Ratchford continue their recoveries from their respective injuries. The other potential Super League debutant this weekend is Pat Moran, who has impressed on loan at Sheffield Eagles this year, and has been recalled to the Wire squad in respect of Hill's suspension. Let's see how I expect Wire to line up in Ealing this weekend...


Full Back - 22 Jake Mamo
Mamo has really impressed at full back, alright he isn't phenomenal under the high ball but people blaming him for Luke Thompson's try are being very harsh - he had a very good game and it was Jonny Lomax brilliance rather than Mamo's mistake that caused the try. Been one of few players clicking in attack of late.

Winger - 2 Tom Lineham
The former Hull FC man bagged a hat-trick the last time we played London, and it would be nice to see him back among the tries this weekend. He had a very good game in defence last time out against St Helens, though hopefully we'll see more of his attacking prowess against London.

Centre - 3 Bryson Goodwin
The news broke this week that Goodwin will be leaving Wire at the end of 2019 to return to South Sydney Rabbitohs. I'll miss Goodwin, particularly as he's hitting probably his best form in a Warrington shirt. Luther Burrell is likely to be his eventual replacement, but I don't expect him to be dropped here.

Centre - 18 Toby King
Even though Luther Burrell is likely to start this game, I don't see Price choosing to drop either centre, both of whom are in good form right now. As a result, King will certainly be in the team. The only possible change would be if Burrell does play at centre and King moves to the second row, where he played at the start of 2019.

Winger - 5 Josh Charnley
It's been a real return to form for Charnley lately after a bit of a lull during the middle of the season. By Saturday night, he will be one of just three Warrington players to have played every game in 2019.

Stand Off - 6 Blake Austin
Austin has played every game in 2019 and if there were other options available, I might've expected him to be given a rest here. This isn't a luxury available to us at the minute and I imagine Steve Price is looking for a good performance from Austin to get his struggles against St Helens behind him. 

Scrum Half - 15 Declan Patton
I feel like I'm repeating myself here, but Patton will have to keep his place, simply because there are no options. We'll see an ex-Wire halfback on show on Saturday in Morgan Smith, who I think would've done a far better job than Patton this year.

Prop - 17 Joe Philbin
This is perhaps the most drastic of my selections for this game. A few weeks back, Steve Price commented on his desire to give Philbin some game time as a prop. With the usually automatic picks of Chris Hill and Mike Cooper disrupted this week due to Hill's suspension, this is a great opportunity to see how Philbin does in the prop forward position.

Hooker - 9 Daryl Clark
Clark is an absolute beast of a human and would improve any team in the world. I never fail to be amazed by Clark's impact on the team. No doubt he'll be a key player as always. 

Prop - 10 Mike Cooper
With no Chris Hill, this will be a big game for Cooper, who will be up against a powerful London Broncos pack. You can always trust Cooper to have a good impact on the game, particularly on first and second plays.

Second Row - 11 Ben Currie
Currie's defence hasn't been amazing lately, but there have still been some good moments - two phenomenal last-ditch tackles spring to mind - one in the cup win over Hull KR, and one outstretched try-saver in the home win over London in April. His tackling stats are still among the highest in the team and he is still a reliable player for me.

Second Row - 28 Luther Burrell
I'm interested to see whether Burrell starts or is on the bench, and whether he is utilised as a centre or a second row. With the form of our centres, I think it is unlikely he will start there - unless Toby King moves back to the second row. I would use this as a chance to rest Jack Hughes and use him sparingly from the bench. I eventually see Burrell playing as a centre, but he might have to wait a while to play there.

Loose Forward - 19 Sitaleki Akauola
Akauola did a good job with his first start of the season last week, and had a very good game against Saints. I expect him to keep his place for the trip to London, with other options such as Philbin, Davis, Clark and Hughes as possible interchanges in this 13 role. 

Interchange - 14 Jason Clark
I'm really looking to see a big impact from Clark in the latter stage of the season. We haven't had it yet in 2019.

Interchange - 26 Pat Moran
Pat Moran is in this week's matchday squad having been recalled from his loan at Sheffield Eagles, where he has really impressed, with two tries against Batley Bulldogs a fortnight ago and a string of good performances. If he's in the squad, he needs to play, otherwise he might as well be getting another game for the Eagles.

Interchange - 23 Matt Davis
I toyed with the idea of Davis starting against his former club, but I was so impressed with Akauola last week that I expect him to keep his place at loose forward, meaning Davis is more likely to be on the bench.

Interchange - 12 Jack Hughes
I'm not convinced that this will happen, but I think Hughes could do with a little breather - I don't think he's playing well at the minute and of course there was the sin-binning last week. It's also a chance to start Luther Burrell.



This is not a game to take lightly and I am pleased that Steve Price has confirmed that there won't be mass rotation this weekend. London have really picked up form lately and have won three of their last four, including a golden point victory over St Helens. They are fighting against relegation and need every point that they can get, so we will be facing a desperate and hard-working side. In Luke Yates they have a player who has been the most impressive loose forward in the league for me, a player who is a great capture for Salford next season. Jordan Abdull and ex-Wire Morgan Smith have formed a good partnership in the halves and they are supported by the dangerous Rhys Williams - another Salford signing for 2020. Rob Butler is a great option from the bench and they are a team full of grit and power.

London have struggled when teams have tried to play attractive rugby against them and throw the ball about, being on the receiving ends of heavy defeats to Castleford and Hull FC. This is a chance for Wire to throw some attacking shape at London and get the attacking side of our game clicking again, because it hasn't been for a while. Let's hope the boys put on a show in Ealing and get two points to further cement our grip on 2nd place and build some momentum ahead of the final eight Super League games of the season, and the Challenge Cup semi final at the back end of July.

It's always our year.

Daniel (@daykind19)


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