IF they consistently show their best form, Warrington Wolves should win all seven games in the Middle 8s.

While that may sound like overconfidence, it cannot be denied that this is no less than what the Wire fans expect.

Having avoided an energy-sapping trip to France, I’m not sure the fixtures could have fallen much better for Wolves, Saturday-evening trek to London Broncos aside.

That, plus the increased confidence and potency the team have shown in the past few weeks, is surely a recipe for comfortably securing their Super League status and making the garden rosy again.

However, Warrington should be aware of being the ‘prize scalp’ of the next phase, particularly in games away from The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

While The Wire will be heavy favourites when they visit Featherstone Rovers and London Broncos, their players will see it as a chance to shine.

For any up-and-coming player that finds himself facing up to Chris Hill, Daryl Clark and co, a victory over them could propel them into the shop window.

The coaches of the Championship sides will be drilling into their players that a game against a team so stacked with international talent could well be a “once in a lifetime” event for them and that they should treat it as such.

They will be approaching the game as a cup final and, as the old adage goes, anything can happen in a one-off game.

In addition to this, ‘derby’ games against Leigh and Widnes are occasions in which form can go out of the window.

Depending on how results pan out, they could well be desperate for points to avoid the lottery of the Million Pound Game.

As we have seen plenty of times in rugby league, desperation can bring out the best in players. It can turn good players into great ones.

From a Wire perspective, you would hope Tony Smith will be using the two-week break from fixtures to drum this kind of message into his squad.

They will already be known as the first ever Warrington squad to play league fixtures outside of rugby league’s top flight. They will not want a further black mark against their name.

Despite their upturn in form, their rivals will sense there are weaknesses to be exploited in this Wire side.

All season long, there has been a feeling around The Halliwell Jones Stadium that a crisis has never seemed too far away.

The Wolves must remain the hunters. An unexpected slip-up could easily see them becoming the hunted.