Steve Price's Warrington side will look to bounce back from their defeat at Wakefield with a victory at home over newly-promoted Toronto Wolfpack, in the first ever Super League meeting between the two teams.
Wire have named an unchanged 21-man-squad for this game to last week, meaning there is still no place for injured co-captain Jack Hughes, while his fellow skipper Chris Hill will serve the final game of his ban on Friday. Leilani Latu will have to wait to make his debut for the club after suffering a head injury in his game for Widnes on dual-registration at the weekend - the prop has failed a fitness test for Friday night's clash with Toronto. Declan Patton is once again not involved and the wait goes on for Samy Kibula to make his first appearance in a Warrington jersey, as he doesn't make the 21 either.
Let's see what lineup I would select for this one...
Full Back - 26 Matty Ashton
Steve Price made the controversial decision to drop Ashton at Wakefield last week and it didn't work. Wire lacked any pace or off-the-cuff plays that Ashton brings. Surely he will be back for this one, and at full-back. I wouldn't be too surprised to see him on the bench if Price doesn't want to move Ratchford again, which I'd be okay with, but against Toronto, I think it's worth the risk.
Winger - 2 Tom Lineham
There is of course, the possibility of Ashton playing on the wing, though I don't really see Lineham being dropped. He has defended very well in the last few games and is a key part of Price's goal-line defence.
Centre - 4 Toby King
Whilst he hasn't played particularly poorly, Toby King must feel that his place at centre could be under some threat. Again, he is extremely solid in defence but not offering much in attack. I wouldn't mind seeing Keanan Brand given his debut for this one to see what he's about, but I think King will stay.
Centre - 1 Stefan Ratchford
I've moved Ratchford from full-back to centre, which is what I hoped would happen at Wakefield last weekend. Ratchford's handling skills and vision are crucial assets for any centre and I've said for years that his best position is there. It'll be interesting to see what Price chooses to do with him on Friday.
Winger - 5 Josh Charnley
Josh Charnley must be getting frustrated - with his finishing ability he should legitimately be one of the favourites for the top tryscorer award, but that is never going to happen when he sees so little ball in this Wire team. With Ratchford next to him, he'd certainly get more chances. It wouldn't surprise me if that's what Charnley himself is hoping for.
Stand-Off - 6 Blake Austin
The long-awaited first outing of Austin and Widdop together didn't go according to plan on Sunday, with neither having much of an effect on the game. Austin needs to be more confident with the ball in hand and take the line on a bit more, which he did so brilliantly at the start of last year. Where have the dummies gone? This match, against a poor defence, is a chance for him to rekindle some of that.
Scrum-Half - 7 Gareth Widdop
As mentioned above, Widdop's debut for Wire wasn't his best showing, though he did put a few nice kicks through and had a hand in the team's only try. Making his home debut against a porous defence should be a half-back's dream come true and I'm expecting this man to absolutely run the show on Friday night.
Prop - 15 Joe Philbin
One positive to take out of the Wakefield loss was the positive performance of Joe Philbin once again as a starting prop. This is the final game of Chris Hill's suspension and Philbin's last chance to show why he should keep his place when Hill returns.
Hooker - 9 Daryl Clark
This feels like a game for Daryl Clark. Toronto have looked so vulnerable at the back so far and Clark's choosing of when to run from acting half should cause all manner of problems for the Canadian outfit.
Prop - 10 Mike Cooper
Cooper was one of Wire's best players in defeat at Wakefield. He and Philbin were dominant in the battle of the forwards, though the standard coming off the bench to replace them was not of high enough quality. Let's hope he can be just as good in this one.
Second Row - 11 Ben Currie
It's been good to see how well Currie has played so far this season. He has looked really good in both attack and defence and there is no doubt over his place for this one. His form makes it unclear what happens when Hughes returns from injury.
Second Row - 13 Ben Murdoch-Masila
Murdoch-Masila has been brilliant so far for Warrington this campaign. At times he has been unstoppable with the ball in hand and I expect to see more of this on Friday night. If he plays as he has done so far, Toronto won't be able to cope with him.
Loose Forward - 14 Jason Clark
Clark brings a bit of organisation and structure to the defensive line, which is important when you have a coach with a primary aim of solid goal-line defence. Ideally in a game like this Wire won't have to do too much defending and we can see how Clark does with a bit more of the ball in hand.
Interchange - 18 Sitaleki Akauola
Akauola is usually the first man off the bench to replace one of the props and I expect that to continue here.
Interchange - 19 Matt Davis
I always enjoy the work of Matt Davis and he can provide cover for the second row, loose forward and even hooker.
Interchange - 22 Luis Johnson
I think it's about time Luis Johnson got a bit of gametime in the first team. Other than Akauola, there are no other prop forwards to bring on and I'd like to see him given a chance in a game like this which should be fairly risk-free.
Interchange - 17 Jake Mamo
Steve Price seems to like Mamo and surprisingly included him last week at Wakefield. He says that he has 'found a solution' in terms of his attacking options for this game and I suspect this may mean a role for Mamo off the bench, to bring pace and versatility in the backs.
This means there is no place in my team for Luther Burrell or Danny Walker, both of whom have played every match this season from the bench. I haven't included Burrell as I felt he really struggled on Sunday and in Davis, there is cover for the second row even without Burrell. Davis also provides cover for the hooker position, so I don't think Walker is entirely necessary for this game, though if Wire can rack up a heavy lead, it would be ideal to be able to rest Daryl Clark. Having Jake Mamo on the bench means we could do the same for Stefan Ratchford if the scoreline were to allow it.
So far for Toronto it's three games and three losses, to Castleford, Salford and Wigan. They have barely competed in these games and have looked desperately short of Super League quality. Their troubles regarding the size of their squad are well-documented and the odds have already been slashed on them to be relegated. This represents the perfect opportunity for Wire to fine-tune their attack and get some rhythm back to what has been a very clunky attacking unit so far this season. I do believe that Price is trying to get us playing a more expansive and exciting style of rugby but so far it isn't working and the points aren't flowing. I want to see plenty of attacking structure on Friday night. Offloads, cut-out passes, dummy runners - we need some excitement and the attackers need to click into gear. In our last 14 games we've averaged a pathetic 12.9 points per game, which is nowhere near good enough for a squad as capable as this. We need a big score on Friday to start putting that right.
Super League Round Four & World Club Challenge Predictions
Castleford to beat Wakefield by 6-11 points
Huddersfield to beat Hull KR by 1-5 points
Warrington to beat Toronto by 24-29 points
Leeds to beat Salford by 6-11 points
Sydney to beat St Helens by 12-17 points
Hull FC to beat Wigan by 1-5 points
Daniel (@aloosewire)
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