Why should I watch?
Is the prospect of seeing Josh Charnley in primrose and blue enough of a reason?
The prolific winger, who broke so many Wire hearts down the years during his spell with Wigan, is back in rugby league after the deal to bring him to Warrington from union side Sale Sharks was confirmed on Monday.
Charnley says he is ready to get going straight away and he has been included in The Wire’s 19-man squad. It is now up to head coach Steve Price as to whether he throws his new man straight into the action.
Whether Charnley features or not, The Wire’s confidence will be high after a morale-boosting result and performance against Catalans last week.
However, a Wakefield side who have lost just one of their five games so far should be a far greater test of where Price’s men are.
Will we see Josh Charnley make his Wire debut tonight? Picture by Mike Boden
What they’ve said:
“We haven’t done anything yet. We want to be a top-four footy team and it’s important that we start putting in consistent performances back-to-back.”
“Catalans was one of our better performances, to be honest.
“We understand that we still need to get better, but it was a positive display and hopefully we can continue to build on that.”
Steve Price, Warrington Wolves head coach
“I’ve got some tough decisions to make. I’ve picked a side that I’m hopeful will get the job done.
“We’ve got a tough schedule coming up and it’s a massive month.
“Defensively, Warrington are a tough team to break down and they have some really quality. It’s going to be a tough night for us.”
Chris Chester, Wakefield Trinity head coach.
Numbers game.
The Wire have won their past three home games against Wakefield, with Trinity’s last win at The Halliwell Jones Stadium coming back in 2014.
The Belle Vue side are also a favoured opponent for Wire skipper Chris Hill, who has scored tries in his past three appearances against Chris Chester’s men.
Chris Hill scoring against Wakefield - a sight that has become familiar of late. Picture by Mike Boden
Warrington team news.
Apart from Charnley’s potential debut, there should be one more addition to the Wire side.
Ryan Atkins is back in contention after missing the Catalans trip with an abductor muscle strain.
Dom Crosby and Morgan Smith drop out of the 19-man squad to make way for Charnley and Atkins, with the former missing out with a knee injury.
Squad: Sitaleki Akauola, Ryan Atkins, Kevin Brown, Mitch Brown, Josh Charnley, Daryl Clark, Mike Cooper, Bryson Goodwin, Chris Hill, Jack Hughes, George King, Toby King, Tom Lineham, Harvey Livett, Ben Murdoch-Masila, Joe Philbin, Stefan Ratchford, Tyrone Roberts, Ben Westwood.
Ryan Atkins looks set to return against his former club. Picture by Mike Boden
Wakefield team news.
Having seen their game against Widnes abandoned due to the wintry weather after just 27 minutes on Saturday, Trinity arrive at The Halliwell Jones Stadium relatively fresh.
Chris Chester has made two changes to his squad, with Tinirau Arona and Kyle Wood replaced by James Batchelor and Keegan Hirst.
Squad: Matty Ashurst, James Batchelor, Mason Caton-Brown, Anthony England, David Fifita, Liam Finn, Scott Grix, Ryan Hampshire, Keegan Hirst, Justin Horo, Craig Huby, Tom Johnstone, Ben Jones-Bishop, Danny Kirmond, Reece Lyne, Jacob Miller, Pauli Pauli, Tyler Randell, Bill Tupou.
One to watch.
Liam Finn.
While Tom Johnstone and Ben Jones-Bishop provide the strike out wide, everything goes through Ireland international Finn.
Chris Chester knows he can rely on the former Castleford man to execute Trinity’s impressive attacking structures.
When one of those structures results in a Wakefield try, Finn’s impressive goalkicking ratio means four points turns into six more often than not.
Liam Finn, here trying to tackle ex-Wire man Andre Savelio last year. Picture by Mike Boden
Match odds (via Betfred):
Warrington 1/2
Wakefield 7/4
Draw 20/1
Essential info:
When: Friday, March 23, 2018.
Kick off: 7.45pm.
Where: The Halliwell Jones Stadium, Mike Gregory Way, Warrington WA2 7NE.
Officials:
Referee: James Child.
Touch judges: C Smith, M Griffiths.
James Child will referee tonight's game. Picture by Mike Boden
Matchday ticket prices:
North Stand: £32.50 adults, £23 concessions (aged 65+) and young adults (aged 17-21), £14 juniors (aged 5-16), infants (aged 5 and under) free, £90 family ticket (2 adults and 2 juniors).
East Stand: £27 adults, £19 concessions and young adults, £13 juniors, infants free, £77 family ticket.
South Stand: £23 adults, £17 concessions and young adults, £12 juniors, infants free.
West Stand (visiting supporters): £23 adults, £17 concessions and young adults, £12 juniors, infants free.
How can I follow the game?
The Warrington Guardian will, as always be providing extensive coverage of tonight’s game.
‘Matchday Live’ will be up and running at around 6pm. Sports reporter Matt Turner will be in position at The Halliwell Jones Stadium to bring you all the build-up, match action as it happens and post-match reaction.
You will be able to join in the discussion with us via our social media channels, ‘Warrington Wolves – Warrington Guardian’ on Facebook and @WG_Sport on Twitter.
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