MIKE Cooper says Warrington Wolves’ eagerly anticipated match-up with Australian outfit St George Illawarra Dragons will be a marriage of similar rugby league philosophies.

The England prop forward, who successfully debuted in the NRL with the Dragons this year after leaving hometown club Wolves, expects a feast of attacking football when the two clubs collide in the opening game of the new World Club Series at The Halliwell Jones Stadium in 2015.

He also says St George, who will be starting their first full season under head coach Paul McGregor and assistant Ian Millward and include international half backs Benji Marshall (New Zealand) and Gareth Widdop (England) in the squad, will be taking the contest seriously.

However, the 26-year-old’s availability to play against his former teammates will not be known until nearer the time.

“The Dragons are a bit different to most NRL sides because a lot play on completion rates, whereas we like to throw the ball around a lot more and that’s how Paul McGregor expects us to play,” said the former Latchford Albion junior and ex-Bridgewater High School pupil who figured in all but one of the Dragons’ matches during 2014.

“It probably helped me joining the club from Warrington, who are renowned for not really caring about errors and completion but offloading whenever they can.

“I imagine it will be a cracking game.”

Although the Dragons’ appearance on Friday, February 21, will be a fortnight before the NRL season starts, compared to Wolves being two weeks into their campaign, Cooper says his team will be hungry to succeed.

The match is part of a three-game series to determine the winning competition – Super League or the NRL.

Wigan Warriors will host Brisbane Broncos the following night and the two champions St Helens and South Sydney Rabbitohs clash on the Sunday for the right to be crowned world club champions.

Cooper said: “We certainly won’t be there just to make the numbers up, we’ll be there to win.

“I think the World Club Series is a really good idea and hopefully it will draw a huge crowd to The Halliwell Jones Stadium.”

Cooper’s participation in the game will be not known until nearer the time, due to he and girlfriend Katie expecting their first child a few weeks later.

“It’s something I’ll have to talk to the club about he said.

“The baby’s due at the end of March and the trip may be a bit too close for comfort.

“We’ll have to wait and see how Katie goes on with the pregnancy further down the line.

“There’s a huge part of me that really wants to play. It would be unbelievable to come back and play at the HJ against a lot of my mates and in front of all the Wire fans again.”

Australian international winger Brett Morris will definitely not feature for the 2010 premiers after signing a four-year deal with Canterbury Bulldogs at the end of last week.

But current Four Nations participants Jason Nightingale, Gerard Beale (both New Zealand), Leeson Ah Mau, Peter Matu’utia and Kyle Stanley (all Samoa) are in the Dragons squad, along with impressive New South Wales State of Origin stars Josh Dugan (full back) and Trent Merrin (forward).

Cooper said: “We’re a team full of young players but there’s a lot of experience with Benji Marshall – one of the biggest names in rugby league in the past 10 years – Gareth Widdop, Josh Dugan and Trent Merrin adding to the quality of the side.

“Benji Marshall alone will certainly be worthwhile people coming out to see and to be able to say they’ve watched him play.”