THE elusive first Super League win of 2018 will have a chance of materialising against Widnes Vikings if Warrington Wolves execute their game plan correctly, says head coach Steve Price.

The new man at the helm has already experienced one ‘derby’ day loss to Vikings in the festive friendly but the intensity will step up numerous notches at the Halton Stadium tomorrow, Friday, kick-off 7.35pm.

In what he has described as a ‘very important game’ after two opening losses, Price will be looking for calm heads to steer The Wire to what would be a 10th straight win against the enemy in league and cup encounters.

“The derbies are always quite brutal,” said Price, who recalled the head injury suffered on debut by Bryson Goodwin in the December 29 clash.

“You could see the intent they carried out in that friendly, especially early on in the game with Bryson.

“We’re looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s about control, and the things that we can control – our field position, our attacking structures and sticking to the plan from a defensive point of view, and being able to complete high.

“We’ve got to go out there and execute the game plan now.

“It’s important that we build into a game and sustain pressure. At present, we keep flicking that switch off and not staying there.”

Vikings took Catalans Dragons to the cleaners in their opening home game and were only edged out by a point at Castleford Tigers on Sunday.

“Widnes are going really well,” said Price.

“Against Castleford, their goal-line defence was quite sound, especially in the first half when Luke Gale was kicking with all the field position and they kept forcing drop outs.

“I think Widnes are hanging tough and playing as a good team.”

Wolves have the advantage of an extra three days turnaround between matches and also welcome back into the mix an extra front rower in the shape of Dom Crosby, although they will be without marquee scrum-half Tyrone Roberts for the second week running.

“Dom comes into consideration this week,” said Price.

“He had shoulder surgery in the pre-season. It’s been a rehab process and he’s a little ahead of schedule, which is credit to our high performance staff, medical team and Dom himself in being able to work extremely hard.

“Tyrone’s got a niggle with his knee. It’s been an ongoing issue since arriving here. We feel we’re getting on top of it.

“It’s important we get it right. Our main priority is to get it right, strengthen the muscles around it, and get it switching on. He’ll be ready to go after that.”

Powerhouse forward Sitaleki Akauola will again not feature this week.

“He is one to two weeks away,” said Price.

“He had off-season shoulder surgery back in Australia and he’s very close now.”

Harvey Livett replaces Roberts in the 19-man squad, while Mitch Brown drops out.

Wolves 19: Ryan Atkins, Kevin Brown, Daryl Clark, Mike Cooper, Dom Crosby, Ben Currie, Bryson Goodwin, Chris Hill, Jack Hughes, George King, Tom Lineham, Harvey Livett, Ben Murdoch-Masila, Declan Patton, Joe Philbin, Stefan Ratchford, Matty Russell, Morgan Smith, Ben Westwood.