Team Talk: Castleford Tigers

Warrington’s bid to make it seven wins in a row sees them take on Daryl Powell’s Castleford Tigers at the Totally Wicked Stadium on Thursday night.

In terms of the squad news, it is still a depleted side, with Gareth Widdop, Chris Hill, Jack Hughes, Jason Clark, Joe Philbin, Matt Davis and Samy Kibula unavailable. Sitaleki Akauola is also not included in the 21-man-squad as his paternity leave continues. There is, however, a return for Ben Murdoch-Masila after his two-match suspension. Other than that, and the inclusion of young forward Eribe Doro, it is the same 21 as last week. Here's my team...

Full-Back - 26 Matty Ashton
Ashton performed admirably at full-back against Hull FC and will surely keep his place there for this one.

Winger - 2 Tom Lineham
The two wingers have been ever-present this season and there is no doubt that Lineham will be selected on Thursday.

Centre - 17 Jake Mamo
Despite rumours about his future, Mamo is in very good form and will continue at centre in Toby King's place, who will remain in the second row.

Centre - 3 Anthony Gelling
Gelling improved as the game went on against Hull FC and is likely to be picked again here.

Winger - 5 Josh Charnley
Charnley is closing in on 40 tries for Warrington and with a brace would hit that milestone on Thursday.

Stand-Off - 6 Blake Austin
The stand-off has been sensational in the last couple of fixtures and Wire will look to him for creativity and inspiration once again.

Scrum-Half - 1 Stefan Ratchford
With Ben Murdoch-Masila back in the team, Ratchford will no longer need to fill the loose forward role. I expect him to move into the halves, where he started the first two matches of this season in Gareth Widdop's absence.

Prop - 16 Leilani Latu
After a respectable debut last week, I expect Latu to make his second Wire appearance on Thursday.

Hooker - 9 Daryl Clark
It has been a quieter than usual season so far for Daryl Clark, though was influential last week. Let's hope he has another good game this time around.

Prop - 10 Mike Cooper
The star of the show against Hull FC was prop Mike Cooper. If he performs half as well then Wire have a chance on Thursday.

Second Row - 4 Toby King
I am fairly sure that King will continue at second row before moving back to centre when Jack Hughes is available again.

Second Row - 11 Ben Currie
One of Wire's most impressive players this season, it will be between Currie and Murdoch-Masila to start at loose forward, but I think Price will stick with Currie in the second row. 

Loose Forward - 13 Ben Murdoch-Masila
The returning Murdoch-Masila is likely to start at loose forward I think, where some consider him to be at his strongest.

Interchange - 21 Danny Walker
Walker will be used to give Daryl Clark some rest during the game and will make his 21st appearance.

Interchange - 22 Luis Johnson
Johnson was impressive last week and carried the ball well. He will keep his place.

Interchange - 27 Ellis Robson
I expect Price to stick with the two youngsters who made their debuts last week. Both did well.

Interchange - 31 Ellis Longstaff
Longstaff was unlucky not to bag a try on his debut and looks an energetic player.

Castleford are in mixed form, although came back from behind to get an impressive win over Salford last time out. Earlier in the season, Wire defeated the Tigers in golden point with a Blake Austin drop-goal, which was the start of the excellent run the team are now on. A win in this one, leading into the break with the Challenge Cup fixture coming up, Wire would be in a terrific position in the table. Cas are always a tough opponent and have excellent attacking structure which can be tough to play against, so continuing Wire's superb defensive record of late will be essential. 

Super League Predictions
Hull FC to beat Wakefield by 12-17 points
Warrington to beat Castleford by 6-11 points
St Helens to beat Hull KR by 24-29 points 
Leeds to beat Huddersfield by 12-17 points
Catalans to beat Wigan by 1-5 points

@ALooseWire