Team Talk: Huddersfield Giants

Warrington's second game after the restart is a trip to St Helens, to take on... Huddersfield Giants. This is technically down as an away game and Wire are looking to make it four wins in a row.

The squad news this week is that Ben Murdoch-Masila is back in the 21-man-squad for Saturday after missing last week's win over Hull KR. Anthony Gelling is unavailable though, he is suspended for the next two matches for his tackle at the weekend. There is still no place for Leilani Latu, Luis Johnson or Declan Patton though.

Here is my team for the Huddersfield clash...

Full-Back - 1 Stefan Ratchford
Ratchford picked up three Man of Steel points for his performance last weekend and there is no doubt that he will keep his place in the team, although some are wondering whether he could move to centre to replace Gelling.

Winger - 2 Tom Lineham
With six tries in 2020, only two places are ahead of Lineham in the golden boot race and he will be looking to add another couple to his tally here.

Centre - 4 Toby King
King was another who put in an impressive showing against Hull KR and he will be a shoo-in for the team this week.

Centre - 26 Matty Ashton
Replacing Gelling for me is Matty Ashton, who found himself on the interchange bench last time out. I know many want Ratchford to be at centre, but I feel Ratchford won't see enough of the ball there, whereas Ashton's pace would be useful next to Josh Charnley.

Winger - 5 Josh Charnley
It was nice to see Charnley get a try against Hull KR after a quiet season so far. With Ashton next to him, there could be some rapid link-up down that flank.

Stand-Off - 6 Blake Austin
The Austin-Widdop axis is still developing but there were some positive signs against Hull KR. Surprisingly, we didn't score a single try from a kick at the weekend, so that's something to look for.

Scrum-Half - 7 Gareth Widdop
Widdop comes in for too much stick in my opinion - we scored seven tries against KR and he had a hand in four of them. He's also scored four tries in the last six matches.

Prop - 8 Chris Hill
The co-captain put in an excellent performance against KR and will make his 260th Warrington appearance on Saturday.

Hooker - 9 Daryl Clark
Clark hasn't quite been at his best this season, but is still an influential player and when he hits his level, will be unstoppable.

Prop - 10 Mike Cooper
Many people's choice for man of the match against KR was Mike Cooper. The prop was tremendous and will be looking to help Wire win the battle of the forwards again.

Second Row - 11 Ben Currie
Another man who impressed on Saturday was Ben Currie, setting up Wire's first try. He will keep his place in the second row.

Second Row - 13 Ben Murdoch-Masila
Big decisions need to be made in the second row and at loose forward, with Murdoch-Masila back. I would like him to start in the second row, where he has excelled so far in 2020.

Loose Forward - 12 Jack Hughes
This is such a difficult call. Jason Clark has had a good season, but as co-captain, Jack Hughes is a must in this team. I think he has the ball-handling skills to play at 13, as he showed in the Challenge Cup Final last year. 

Interchange - 14 Jason Clark
It's a tough decision to drop Clark to the bench, but the Australian has served as an interchange before and can bring organisation to the pitch.

Interchange - 15 Joe Philbin
Philbin's go-forward was sensational last weekend and is one of the best impact subs in Super League.

Interchange - 18 Sitaleki Akauola
Akauola wasn't on the pitch for long last time out but got himself a try and will keep his place for Huddersfield.

Interchange - 20 Danny Walker
Walker's nimble and quick nature makes him an ideal player for the six-again rule and I expect him to continue on the bench this weekend.

This is the first time that Ben Currie, Ben Murdoch-Masila, Jack Hughes and Jason Clark have all been available this year. I think it is between Clark and Murdoch-Masila to drop to the bench, although I have long thought that Murdoch-Masila performs better from the start as an edge player. It's a tricky decision as all four have done their bit to show they deserve to start, but one is going to miss out.

The only possibility of all four of them playing is if Steve Price moves Hughes to the centre in place of Gelling, therefore allowing Jason Clark to start, and moving Ashton back to the bench. However, I feel it's more likely to be between Ashton and Ratchford to start at centre, with the other at full-back.

Huddersfield started the season very well, with new signing Aidan Sezer guiding them around the field, although were beaten in their most recent match by Leeds Rhinos, despite leading comfortably for most of the game. If Wire can pick up the two points here it will be four wins in a row and with St Helens and Wigan both having tricky matches this weekend, it is a chance to potentially go top of Super League. There are only four fixtures this weekend due to Salford and Hull FC's availability, but Wire's fixture remains unchanged, albeit with a later kick-off time.

Super League Round Nine Predictions:
Catalans to beat Wakefield by 1-5 points
Warrington to beat Huddersfield by 6-11 points 
St Helens to beat Castleford by 12-17 points
Wigan to beat Leeds by 12-17 points

Daniel