Bridge wings in again (From Warrington Guardian)

Bridge wings in again

WOLVES look set to operate with the same starting 13 against Salford City Reds that hammered Widnes Vikings 60-16 last time out.

That means Chris Bridge will keep his place on the left wing and Paul Wood will start at prop ahead of Mark Hilton when City Reds come to The Halliwell Jones Stadium on Sunday, kick-off 3pm.

The only expected change is the return of Paul Noone - in place of Andy Bracek - on the substitutes' bench after his recovery from a back strain.

Mike Wainwright and Dean Gaskell are likely to need one more week to shake off their respective foot and groin injuries.

Graham Appo misses out through injury and de-registration (see back page story).

Head coach Paul Cullen said that Bridge merits a starting place, even if it is away from his recognised half back position.

He added: "He is a talent that you've got to get on the field, whether that be left wing, left centre, left half back or even in the back row at some point.

"He needs to be on the field because he scores tries and he kicks goals, plus he has great presence and composure about him - as seen against Widnes in our last game.

"He showed great ability in getting the ball from a very good kick by Stephen Myler amid a very good chase by Widnes' right edge. He had the composure to pick up the ball six inches from the dead ball line and fire out a superb pass to Brent Grose, who went 107 metres for a try.

"That ability can't be used when sat in the stand and so the key is to get him on the field."

Wolves' players may see Sunday's game as a final opportunity to impress Cullen and earn a place in the team when Andrew Johns makes his debut against Leeds Rhinos on September 10.

Cullen revealed he would be impressed by those players who make a positive contribution, put in honest effort and work for their teammates in what is expected to be a tougher encounter than the home 48-14 home defeat of Salford in June.

Wolves want to build on the momentum generated by the victory over the Vikings a fortnight ago and Cullen said: "We'll be tested more this week than we were against Widnes, with all due respect.

"We proved categorically in our last performance against Salford that 'Good' Friday (42-10 defeat at The Willows) was a long time ago.

"But we cannot and will not underestimate the Salford side, who produced a very good performance in their previous game to thrash Wakefield 37-0."

The pressure is off Salford because they are safe from relegation and they are looking to secure more wins in order to finish above Wakefield in the table.

Cullen said: "They need some positives to finish their season and that's what we're wary of."

A victory against Salford will give Wolves 32 points for the season so far, which would be the club's highest total in any Super League campaign to date.

Expected Wolves team to play Salford: Brent Grose; Henry Fa'afili, Martin Gleeson, Toa Kohe-Love, Chris Bridge; Lee Briers, Nathan Wood; Chris Leikvoll, Mark Gleeson, Paul Wood, Logan Swann, Ben Westwood, Jon Clarke. Subs: Chris Riley, Mark Hilton, Paul Noone, Danny Lima.

* Wolves under 18s' match against Salford under 18s will act as a curtain-raiser on Sunday. The Junior Academy Divisin One clash kicks off at 12.30pm at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Statistical preview

Last meeting: Wolves 48 City Reds 14, June 19, 2005. Ben Westwood grabbed a hat-trick, while Logan Swann, Toa Kohe-Love and Martin Gleeson each scored twice. Chris Bridge kicked four goals and Lee Briers goaled twice. Home results versus City Reds in Super League (Wolves first): 1997, 23-8; 1998, 4-37; 1999, 28-14; 2000, 32-18 and 38-10; 2001, 14-39; 2002, 18-9 and 2-22; 2004, 46-20; 2005, 48-14. City Reds squad: Cliff Beverley, David Hodgson, Stuart Littler, Junior Langi, Anthony Stewart, Luke Robinson, Andy Coley, Malcolm Alker, Sean Rutgerson, Mark Shipway, Ian Sibbit, Chris Charles, Paul Highton, Karl Fitzpatrick, Nathan McAvoy, Gareth Haggerty, Stuart Dickens, Neil Baynes, Tim Jonkers, John Clough, Simon Baldwin, Andrew Brocklehurst, Andy Johnson, Tim Hartley, Darren Bamford, Mitch Stringer, Kevin McGuinness, Andy Smith. Links with City Reds: Ian Sibbit and assistant coach Alan Hunte used to play for Wolves and Andy Coley was born in Warrington, while Mike Wainwright had a spell at Salford. Danger man: Malcolm Alker has been in good form this year and Salford coach Karl Harrison thinks the hooker should be in the Great Britain squad. Form guide - City Reds' last five competitive away games: Bradford lost 58-12, Wigan lost 40-12, Leeds lost 54-14, Warrington lost 48-14, Wakefield lost 36-24.

Table to date

P W D L F A Pt

St Helens 25 21 1 3 894 489 43

Leeds 25 21 0 4 1080 422 42

Bradford 25 15 1 9 905 626 31

Hull 25 14 2 9 702 561 30

Warrington 25 15 0 10 697 648 30

London 25 11 2 12 698 670 24

Wigan 25 12 0 13 626 636 24

Huddersfield 25 12 0 13 674 687 24

Salford 25 9 0 16 481 668 18

Wakefield 25 9 0 16 614 927 18

Widnes 25 5 1 19 546 914 11

Leigh 25 2 1 22 407 1076 5

Story so far

Apps T G Dg Pts TM

1 Brent Grose 26 10 0 0 40 12

2 Henry Fa'afili 26 22 0 0 88 6

3 Martin Gleeson 25 15 0 0 60 7

4 Toa Kohe-Love 23 8 0 0 32 1

5 Dean Gaskell 15+1 1 0 0 4 0

6 Lee Briers 19 5 28 2 78 15

7 Nathan Wood 20 14 0 0 56 8

8 Chris Leikvoll 21+1 0 0 0 0 5

9 Jon Clarke 26 10 0 0 40 16

10 Mark Hilton 23+1 1 0 0 4 6

11 Logan Swann 21 7 0 0 28 8

12 Mike Wainwright 22 3 0 0 12 8

13 Paul Noone 6+10 2 2 0 12 0

14 Mark Gleeson 10+14 1 0 0 4 18

15 Ben Westwood 24+2 13 0 0 52 16

16 Paul Wood 4+17 2 0 0 8 4

17 Danny Lima 2+24 5 0 0 20 7

18 Graham Appo 9+9 5 8 0 36 2

20 Warren Stevens 0+7 0 0 0 0 0

22 Steve Pickersgill 0+6 0 0 0 0 0

23 Andrew Bracek 0+6 0 0 0 0 0

25 Chris Bridge 15+3 7 56 1 141 17

28 Chris Riley 1+1 1 0 0 4 0