WOLVES’ players are “bouncing” as they prepare for their first Middle 8s game at neighbours Widnes Vikings tomorrow, kick off 8pm.

After falling short of reaching the Challenge Cup semi finals, The Wire had no game at the weekend and the players were allowed some time off ahead of the campaign’s next phase.

Ben Currie’s knee injury aside, Wolves have reported no new fitness concerns as they prepare to face the same opposition they beat 22-6 in their final Super League regular round fixture on July 20.

Skipper Chris Hill missed that game with a hamstring injury but returns to the fold for the trip to the Halton Stadium, as does fellow prop Dom Crosby.

Assistant first team coach Lee Briers says the Wolves players are ready to meet the challenge of fighting for their Super League place “head on.”

However, Briers admits the squad would have gladly swapped their week off for a spot in the last-four of the Challenge Cup.

“The break we’ve had means the lads have come back really refreshed, not just physically but mentally. That mental aspect is really important at this stage of the season,” he said.

“The physio staff and Jon Clarke have given them the opportunity to have that little break and they’ve come back bouncing.

“We can tell they are ready to hit this challenge head on.

“Last year we were in both finals so we didn’t have a week’s break.

“Would we have swapped all that to have a week off? No, absolutely not.

“We’re massively disappointed we weren’t in the Challenge Cup semi finals, but we have to take the positive from that.”

In facing Denis Betts’ side, The Wire will tackle the rare challenge of back-to-back games against the same opposition.

The Vikings are set to be much-changed from the previous encounter, with the likes of Rangi Chase, Rhys Hanbury and Chris Houston all returning to the fold.

However, Briers believes Wolves have a game plan in place to “worry” their hosts.

“It’s a derby, it doesn’t need much from the coaching staff to get the players up for it,” he said.

“It’s going to be a great game, but we can’t be too worried about other teams.

“We need to focus on ourselves and make sure our processes are right.

“We’ve been putting some decent performances together but we have to keep improving on that.

“It’s difficult sometimes to go back-to-back against teams. We’ve reviewed the last game and have been over it with a fine tooth comb.

“We’ve looked at areas in which we need to be better, areas in which Widnes exposed us and vice versa.

“We believe we’ve got a game plan to worry them. If we execute it to the quality we want, hopefully the result will be the same as last time.

“They have some players coming back, but we’ve got players coming into form and that’s important.”