It's back! Super League returns for a brand new season on Thursday night and Warrington Wolves are involved in the opening fixture of the year, away to arch-rivals Wigan.
2019 ended terribly for Wire and they have been handed a terrifying start to 2020 - Wigan and St Helens as the first two fixtures. Visits to the DW Stadium are always challenging games and this one is going to be no different. Both sides will be desperate to start the season well and there has been plenty of change at both clubs in terms of personnel and both will be hoping to be at the top table when prizes are handed out at the end of the year. It all makes for an exciting game on Thursday night as the two North-West sides clash.
Looking at Wire's team news, there are new faces in the camp for this year. Gareth Widdop is the major signing who will be the starting scrum-half when fit, while Anthony Gelling has been signed from Widnes to bolster the centres. Youngster Matty Ashton is a pacy full-back or winger, while Keanan Brand is another youthful player, a centre. Finally, Leilani Latu and Samy Kibula have been signed to add some depth to the forwards pack. It's not just signings though, as fringe players Luther Burrell, Danny Walker and Luis Johnson have been given more prominent squad numbers and can expect more gametime than in 2019.
Widdop will not be available for Thursday night due to an ankle injury that will keep him out of the first three games of the season and he has therefore not been named in the 21-man-squad for Thursday's game. Another man who won't be featuring is Jack Hughes. The co-captain didn't play in the pre-season friendly against Salford and hasn't recovered from surgery in time for the trip to Wigan, though fellow co-captain Chris Hill will be available despite also missing the Salford game. New signings Latu, Brand and Kibula haven't been included in the squad, meaning Ashton and Gelling are the only new signings involved. Predicting lineups is going to be much harder this year due to the change in naming squads - clubs are now asked to name 21-man-squads rather than 19, though still cutting that down to 17 on matchday of 13 starters and four interchanges.
Let's find out how I want Wire to line up on Thursday night...
Full Back - 26 Matty Ashton
When Gareth Widdop's injury was announced, I expected Declan Patton to come back in at scrum-half, although Ashton, the new signing from Swinton, started at full-back in Wire's friendly with Salford, with regular full-back Stefan Ratchford moving to the halves to replace Widdop. Ashton was brilliant in the friendly and showed some superb moments in both attack and defence. His pace makes him a dangerous player and I want to see him at full-back on Thursday night. Nothing more exciting than a rapid player.
Winger - 2 Tom Lineham
With Ashton likely to be at full-back, the two wing spots are going to be contested by Lineham, Josh Charnley and Jake Mamo. I'd expect Lineham to start the season as first-choice on this flank, as he got the nod against Salford and has kept the number two shirt. He scored our only try at the DW last season and knows how to finish in a big game.
Centre - 3 Anthony Gelling
The second new signing who I think will be starting this match is Gelling, who will make his Wire debut against his former club. Despite not impressing particularly against Salford, he got a try in the second half from a Ratchford kick, and the hope is that he will be good under the kick of the halves. My concern with him is that he looked defensively poor in the friendly and doesn't necessarily have the ball-playing skills to give Lineham tries on his outside. Still, he has been given the 3 shirt and will start the season as first-choice ahead of Burrell and Brand.
Centre - 4 Toby King
Toby King quietly had a very good season in 2019, being a regular tryscorer and a solid defender. He has been rewarded with a squad upgrade from shirt number 18 to 4. He will definitely start in the centres alongside Gelling this season and looked good in the pre-season friendly, scoring the first try from a high kick. He may have to defend against new signing Jake Bibby.
Winger - 5 Josh Charnley
Another former Wiganer who will start in Wire colours on Thursday night is Josh Charnley. The winger saw very little ball in the friendly and this was what stopped him having a proper shot at th golden boot in 2019. There is a thought that Gelling and King could get switched in order for Gelling and Charnley to reignite the partnership they had at the Warriors. Charnley's work-rate and hard yards carrying the ball out from his own line are among the best in the league.
Stand-Off - 6 Blake Austin
Even though Gareth Widdop is unavailable, Wire still have one of the most exciting halves in the country in Blake Austin. The former Canberra man was sensational in the first half of 2019 though undoubtedly tailed off beyond June. If Wire can get his early-season form out of him again, he will be huge. This is a game that I want him to organise and control the tempo of, which he did so well in the Challenge Cup semi-final last season.
Scrum-Half - 1 Stefan Ratchford
Likely to be playing out of position is Stefan Ratchford, as I mentioned earlier, due to Matty Ashton's inclusion at full-back. Ratchford played in scrum-half, soon to be Widdop's position, in the Salford game and impressed, notching two assists and creating plenty of chances. Ratchford's area of weakness is his defensive work and positioning, so moving him to the halves means he has to do far less of that, which could be good.
Prop - 8 Chris Hill
Co-captain Chris Hill missed the pre-season friendly game with Salford but is back for the season opener. There is no doubt that he will be a starting prop, what I hope is that this year he has better replacements from the bench so that he doesn't have to do such huge minutes like he did last year - I am convinced that being overplayed and over-relied on led to him being fatigued last season. He may be 32 but he's still a very dependable starter and there's no question over his place.
Hooker - 9 Daryl Clark
Wire's best player in 2019 was Daryl Clark. The hooker was incredible all year and will be the starting number 9 once again this season. He will control the speed of the play-the-balls and his selective and unstoppable runs from dummy-half will be key to Wire's attack. I want to see plenty of him with the ball.
Prop - 10 Mike Cooper
First of all, it's important to mention that Mike Cooper celebrates his testimonial year at Warrington in 2020, with the first event being his testimonial match that was the pre-season friendly against Salford. Cooper is one of the most reliable players in the whole squad and he and Hill have a huge job as always. With Wigan's pack containing George Burgess now, it will be an interesting battle of the forwards. Metres from Hill and Cooper will be essential.
Second Row - 11 Ben Currie
Here's a man who needs a big year. I'm not sure how Currie will be used this year, I wouldn't be surprised to see him given a run at loose forward, though I expect him to start the season in the second row. He wasn't particularly impressive against Salford though he has talked of his determination to have a good season. I certainly think he'll start the season and I want to see plenty of good work from him both defensively and offensively in this game.
Second Row - 13 Ben Murdoch-Masila
Someone who I want to see have more of a role from the start of games this season is Ben Murdoch-Masila. Tonga have proven that if he is used correctly, he can have a big impact on games. I'm not sure whether he's more likely to be used in the second row or at loose forward this year, though it is more likely to be the former for this game due to Jack Hughes' absence. I hope to see plenty of big carries and good edge work - he was one of the more positive performers in the Salford friendly.
Loose Forward - 14 Jason Clark
My final starter is Jason Clark. If Hughes was fit, I'd be having the trio of Currie/Murdoch-Masila/Hughes locking down the second row and loose forward positions. However, Jason Clark should come in for this one and start at the latter, where he played in the Salford friendly. I want to see this guy have a more tangible impact on games this year so I'll be looking out for his contribution in this opening match.
Interchange - 15 Joe Philbin
Wire's first interchange will be Joe Philbin, who was one of our best players last season. A destructive forward and a terrific runner with the ball, Philbin is a powerful player to bring off the bench. We need to get big minutes out of him in this match.
Interchange - 19 Matt Davis
I expect this to be a game that is decided largely through the middle, so I have gone for players likely to do big minutes and win plenty of tackles. Davis is not only a good passer of the ball, but has superb energy and can tackle endlessly. Would be a great option in an all-action game like this.
Interchange - 23 Luther Burrell
Not one I was expecting to include, but Burrell was very impressive in the Salford game and scored a try after a lovely move. I reckon he could be an exciting option from the bench, adding a bit of scoring threat.
Interchange - 22 Luis Johnson
A really good showing in the Salford game has reminded people of Luis Johnson's potential. It was at the DW that he made his Wire debut in 2018, and I'd give him a shot on Thursday. I think he could do better minutes than the other forwards available.
So that means the four players I haven't included from the 21-man-squad are Sitaleki Akauola, Declan Patton, Danny Walker and Jake Mamo. I don't have any interest in seeing Patton near the squad, for me Akauola doesn't do long enough stints to have an impact in a game like this, there's no point having Mamo when Ashton will do a similar job, and although I really considered Danny Walker, I decided against it in the end.
This is an extremely tough game. We've got a pretty rotten record at the DW in recent years and with Wigan having recruited Jackson Hastings, George Burgess and Jake Bibby, there's no shortage of danger men. Oliver Gildart will not be available for the Cherries but Joe Burgess, Zak Hardaker and Liam Marshall are all capable of causing us problems, while Bevan French is a remarkably difficult player to stop and will be playing in the halves (I expect). My hope is that we can catch Wigan cold but I feel that they have to be slight favourites due to the attacking quality in their team, home advantage, and the loss of Widdop.
Predicted Wigan lineup: Hardaker, Marshall, Hankinson, Bibby, J Burgess, French, Hastings, Clubb, Powell, G Burgess, Isa, Farrell, O'Loughlin. Interchanges: Smithies, Greenwood, Partington, Byrne.
Super League Round One Predictions
Wigan to beat Warrington by 12-17 points
Wakefield to beat Hull KR by 18-23 points
St Helens to beat Salford by 18-23 points
Catalans to beat Huddersfield by 12-17 points
Castleford to beat Toronto by 24-29 points
Hull FC to beat Leeds by 1-5 points.
Catch my 2020 season predictions here, and if you want to join in my predictions competition, click here.
Let me know your thoughts on this piece - would you play the same team that I have suggested on Thursday night?
Daniel (@aloosewire)
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