Team Talk: Wakefield Trinity

It's a return home for Warrington Wolves this weekend as Steve Price's men take on a beleaguered Wakefield Trinity side at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Wire are without both Ben Murdoch-Masila and Anthony Gelling, both of whom are banned for this match. Surprisingly, Sitaleki Akauola also hasn't made the 21-man squad, while Luther Burrell is also unavailable. Samy Kibula and Leilani Latu are both in line for their Wire debuts this weekend after making the squad, and there is room for Josh Thewlis too. 

Full-Back - 1 Stefan Ratchford
Ratchford will stay at full-back, where he has been so reliable this campaign.

Winger - 2 Tom Lineham
It has gone under the radar that Lineham is in the chase for the golden boot this season and against a depleted defence will be looking to further his cause.

Centre - 4 Toby King
King has been one of Super League's stand-out centres this season and is becoming one of the most reliable players in the team.

Centre - 17 Jake Mamo
After a solid performance against Huddersfield, Mamo is likely to keep his spot at centre. 

Winger - 5 Josh Charnley
Charnley put in a terrific defensive shift last time out, though will be hoping to see more of the ball near the opposition line.

Stand-Off - 6 Blake Austin
Blake Austin is proving to be something of an enigma this season - struggling to influence games but then coming up with match-winning plays. Can he produce a more complete performance here?

Scrum-Half - 7 Gareth Widdop
Widdop has really come to the fore recently with some very strong performances, showing his organisational skills and vision to score five tries.

Prop - 8 Chris Hill
Wire's forwards have done well in recent weeks and I don't envisage any changes - Chris Hill will make his 261st appearance for the club.

Hooker - 9 Daryl Clark
2019's player of the year hasn't been quite at the level of last season so far, but is still a key component to the team.

Prop - 10 Mike Cooper
Cooper has been one of Wire's best players this season. He has led the forward pack superbly all campaign.

Second Row - 11 Ben Currie
Another one having a starry season is Ben Currie, who is returning to something like his 2016 form.

Second Row - 12 Jack Hughes
Steve Price confirmed this week that Jack Hughes would drop back into the second row after a stint at loose forward last weekend, to replace Murdoch-Masila.

Loose Forward - 14 Jason Clark
Hughes vacating the loose forward spot almost certainly means a return to the starting fold for the industrious Jason Clark.

Interchange - 15 Joe Philbin
Philbin is one of the best impact subs around and brings plenty of go-forward from the bench.

Interchange - 19 Matt Davis
Davis has been a bit of a forgotten man this season, barely featuring, but with Wire missing a couple of forwards this weekend, the door may be open for him on the bench.

Interchange - 20 Danny Walker
Walker didn't have his best outing against Huddersfield, but I do expect him to be on the bench again, offering Daryl Clark some respite.

Interchange - 26 Matty Ashton
The last interchange spot is up for grabs but I think it will be taken by Ashton, who was on the bench for the Hull KR clash two matches ago. He can provide pace and offensive threat in the latter stages of the match.

Wakefield are in terrible form at the minute and are suffering with a number of injuries too. This is definitely a good time for Warrington to play Wakefield and they will be looking to make it five wins in a row. Trinity beat Wire earlier in the season in a terrible game in which Steve Price's team struggled to create anything concrete in attack. This should, in theory, be the exact opposite - Wakefield are conceding tries for fun and are down on bodies, while Wire are in good form and are showing signs that the attack is starting to click. This is an excellent opportunity for Wire to not only get a win but also notch up a large haul of points. There needs to be plenty of attacking intent and exciting play in front of the line - the win against Huddersfield was gritty but can we now see an attractive performance?

Predictions
Wigan to beat Castleford by 6-11
Leeds to beat Salford by 1-5
St Helens to beat Hull KR by 36-41
Hull FC to beat Huddersfield by 1-5
Warrington to beat Wakefield by 18-23

A Loose Wire