It's here! The Warrington Wolves begin their 2021 campaign on Sunday at Emerald Headingley Stadium, as Steve Price's men take on the Castleford Tigers, who they defeated twice in 2020.
In terms of the squad news, the only two men to miss out through injury for Wire are Greg Inglis, who said on Sky Sports last night that he expects to be available by Round Three or Round Four, and Matt Davis, who is still recovering from a hamstring injury. Mike Cooper and captain Jack Hughes missed Chris Hill's testimonial match last week but are both back in contention and expected to play, while Blake Austin, who departed the pre-season friendly in the first half, is also included for this one. Surprisingly, there is no place for Eribe Doro, who impressed in that friendly, but new signings Robbie Mulhern and Rob Butler are both included in the 21-man-squad. From a Castleford perspective, Sosaia Feki misses out but otherwise name a nearly full-strength squad, with numbers 1-13 all named apart from Feki.
Here is the team I would pick for Sunday's encounter...
Full Back - 1 Stefan Ratchford
As much as I eventually want to see Matty Ashton here eventually, it isn't going to happen just yet, so Ratchford it is, beginning his tenth season at the club.
Winger - 2 Tom Lineham
I wasn't sure what to expect from Lineham given that he hadn't played since September, but he was brilliant in the friendly last week, scoring a hat-trick and being a constant threat.
Centre - 4 Toby King
Last year's Dream Team selection King also had a great game last week, operating really well with Lineham and will be looking to build on his excellent 2020.
Centre - 18 Jake Mamo
There's probably only two spots in the starting thirteen available, and this is one of them. Inglis' unavailability means that it's probably a straight fight between Mamo and youngster Connor Wrench.
Winger - 5 Josh Charnley
A winger of Charnley's quality and reputation deserves much better service than what he got last year, but the early signs in 2021 were positive, the ex-Wigan man scoring a good try last week.
Stand-Off - 6 Blake Austin
After leaving the field early on, there was some concern for Austin, but he appears to be fine and ready for this one. What version of Austin will we see this week?
Scrum-Half - 7 Gareth Widdop
The best player on the pitch in the friendly last week, Widdop ran the show and constantly found gaps in the defence.
Prop - 8 Chris Hill
With no captaincy responsibilities this year, I'm hopeful that Hill can have a better year focusing purely on his own performances and helping lead the front row.
Hooker - 9 Daryl Clark
He didn't start last week but that means nothing - he's Wire's best player and will be involved from the off here against his former club.
Prop - 10 Mike Cooper
The king of the offloads is back after missing out last week and what a boost that is. Wire's best prop and the player of the season in 2020.
Second Row - 11 Ben Currie
Currie looked really bright last week and linked up superbly with King and Lineham on the left edge. More of that could make Wire tough to stop down that flank.
Second Row - 12 Jack Hughes
This will be the first time Hughes has led the team out as solo captain and he will be desperate to start his reign with a win.
Loose Forward - 13 Joe Philbin
One of only two positions really up for grabs, I expect Philbin to start at thirteen ahead of Jason Clark, as he did in the game last week.
Interchange - 14 Jason Clark
That means that Clark is on the bench for me, where he can come on and help Wire win the ruck with his ability to stay on his feet.
Interchange - 19 Robbie Mulhern
I would've liked to see Eribe Doro involved but he has not been named in the squad so instead I'll go for Mulhern to make his debut after transferring from Hull KR. Had some good moments last week.
Interchange - 16 Danny Walker
I was really impressed with Walker's stint in the friendly, he helped promote ruck speed and showed some good distribution. Having him on the bench means Daryl Clark can have stints of rest during games.
Interchange - 17 Matty Ashton
Someone who can come on and play at full-back or on the wing, Ashton has been given the 17 shirt for a reason - he is seen as an impact sub late in games.
Not selected: Rob Butler, Connor Wrench, Ellis Robson, Josh Thewlis.
Preferred Lineup: Ratchford; Lineham, King, Mamo, Charnley; Austin, Widdop; Hill, D. Clark, Cooper; Currie, Hughes; Philbin; J. Clark, Mulhern, Walker, Ashton.
Predicted Lineup: Ratchford; Lineham, King, Wrench, Charnley; Austin, Widdop; Hill, D. Clark, Cooper; Currie, Hughes; Philbin; J. Clark, Mulhern, Walker, Ashton.
This is a tricky start. For once, Castleford are able to name not far off a full-strength team and with the likes of Jake Trueman, Danny Richardson, Paul McShane, the debuting Niall Evalds and Wire old boy Gareth O'Brien, they have an incredibly dangerous and threatening spine, as well as big starting forwards in Liam Watts and Grant Millington. Wire were pretty impressive last week but it has to be tempered that the win was over a heavily-depleted Leigh Centurions side - this will be a much bigger test.
Last ten games vs Castleford:
10/9/2020 SL Round 12: Castleford 10-12 Warrington WIN
6/3/2020 SL Round 6: Warrington 9-8 Castleford WIN
19/9/2019 SL Playoffs: Warrington 12-14 Castleford LOSS
21/7/2019 SL Round 23: Castleford 27-18 Warrington LOSS
3/5/2019 SL Round 14: Castleford 14-26 Warrington WIN
7/3/2019 SL Round 5: Warrington 24-10 Castleford WIN
17/8/2018 SL Round 25: Castleford 28-18 Warrington LOSS
8/6/2018 SL Round 17: Warrington 30-34 Castleford LOSS
2/4/2018 SL Round 9: Castleford 6-18 Warrington WIN
11/6/2017 SL Round 18: Castleford 36-16 Warrington LOSS
@ALooseWire
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