TONY Smith will stand by a young left-side that impressed against Wakefield on Saturday, but insists they should not be judged on one performance.

Warrington Wolves visit Wigan Warriors tonight, Thursday, 8pm kick off, after ending a four-game losing run with an 80-0 thumping of the Wildcats in Round 10.

Smith says debutant Declan Patton and try-scorers, with two apiece, Toby King, Gene Ormsby and Ben Currie all earned their places.

“It’s a big test for them again,” said Wolves’ head of coaching and rugby. “But good boys – Currie was outstanding again; Toby, Declan and Gene had a dream start as well.

“It was fresh for them and they turned in a fantastic performance. They’ll be hoping to build on that.

“Wigan have got some terrific young players out there as well, so there will be some good match ups.

“I don’t think you’d like to gauge them on one or two performances, what I do know is they will go out and try their best.

“I’ve seen some seasoned players get dished up by a Wigan team on that left side and I’ve seen some inexperienced players play well.

“They’re real keen to do another good job and they’re confident young men. They’ve got some nice combinations together at the moment so hopefully they can build on that and have a good day.

“If it’s not so good, you can understand that as well because they’re up against some class players.”

King was a late replacement in the matchday squad for Ryan Atkins on Sunday, and the centre will miss two to three weeks with severe bruising to his sternum.

“Everybody who played last week deserves to retain their position based on their performance,” added Smith, who understands the hype surrounding Ben Flower’s return for Wigan after a six-month ban.

However, the former Great Britain coach believes England and Wigan captain Sean O’Loughlin's absence with injury will be a bigger factor.

“I’m a big fan of his in terms of the way he plays,” explained Smith. “He’s probably the most influential player of any one team in the game in this part of the world. When he doesn’t play it makes a huge difference to them. That’s the calibre of player he is Whether Ben plays or not I don’t think is as crucial. They’ve got a lot of players in that sort of calibre – we’ll be looking for Sean’s name more than Ben’s.”

And Smith hopes to see his side build on Saturday’s emphatic win.

“You certainly need to ask an opposition like Wigan some questions,” he added. “We’ve got to play our time with the ball on our terms, not on their terms.

“If you give them too much field position or attacking opportunities they’re going to hurt you. Their style of play is very effective and that’s going to test our defence.”