TEAM FORM GUIDE
Warrington Wolves
Warrington have had a mixed start to the season with three wins and four defeats from their first seven matches. They bounced back from back-to-back defeats against Hull FC and St Helens with an impressive win in Perpignan last weekend, as Catalans were nilled at home for the first ever time in Super League.
Wakefield Trinity
Wakefield’s start to the season was remarkable, with four consecutive wins putting them joint top. Defeat at Wigan brought them back down to earth somewhat, before last Saturday’s clash with Widnes at Belle Vue had to be abandoned after just 26 minutes as the ‘mini Beast from the East’ wreaked havoc.
SQUAD NEWS
Warrington Wolves
New signing Josh Charnley goes straight into the 19-man squad after his move back into rugby league from Sale. Ryan Atkins returns, with Dom Crosby and Morgan Smith the two to drop out.
Warrington squad: Ratchford, Lineham, Goodwin, Atkins, K Brown, Roberts, Hill, Clark, Cooper, Hughes, Murdoch-Masila, Akauola, Philbin, T King, G King, Livett, M Brown, Charnley, Westwood.
Wakefield Trinity
Wakefield make two changes from last week’s squad with James Batchelor and Keegan Hirst coming in for Tinirau Arona and Kyle Wood.
Wakefield squad: Grix, Johnstone, Tupou, Lyne, Jones-Bishop, Miller, Finn, Fifita, England, Ashurst, Kirmond, Randall, Horo, Pauli, Huby, Batchelor, Hirst, Caton-Brown, Hampshire.
PREVIEW
The big news in Super League this week has been the Wolves’ capture of winger Josh Charnley, who returns to the 13-man code after a year and a half with union side Sale. His capture looks a smart one for Steve Price, bringing huge quality in a position that isn’t their strongest. It also provides a big lift to the side after an inconsistent start to the season, although last weekend’s win at Catalans was impressive. Some of the winter signings are beginning to make their mark in the team, such as Ben Murdoch-Masila who got his first tries for the club in France.
Wakefield’s start has been quite the opposite, and they lie two points above Warrington despite playing two games fewer. Last week’s abandonment should mean Trinity are the fresher of the two sides, and after defeat at Wigan a fortnight ago they will be desperate to bounce back and prove that their blistering start was no fluke. At 34, Liam Finn has been more influential than ever so far this season, and if he can dictate the game and create opportunities alongside halfback partner Jacob Miller, Wakefield will be difficult to stop.
KEY STATS
Both sides beat the other on their home patch last season, with Warrington narrowly winning 22-20 at the Halliwell Jones Stadium before Wakefield took the reverse 26-12.
Wakefield’s last win at Warrington came back in 2014 with a 40-26 victory, when on-loan winger Chris Wiley scored a hat-trick against his parent club.
Box-to-box journalist 