St Helens vs Warrington Wolves, Challenge Cup talking points

In order to keep striding down the road to London, they must overcome the significant hurdle of a trip to neighbours St Helens in tomorrow's quarter-final clash.

Can Sam Burgess' men book their semi-final spot? Or will it be more misery at the hands of their neighbours?

Our Wire reporter Matt Turner takes a look at some key pre-match talking points here...

A game packed with sub-plots

Any St Helens-Warrington game is a marquee occasion, but there are certainly plenty of things to give this particular clash some added spice.

A first meeting with the neighbours for Wire boss Sam Burgess, Daryl Clark’s first reunion with the club with whom he spent most of his career, the usual “bit of extra” a local derby brings…

There are tonnes more you could name but whatever narrative you choose, there are so many compelling storylines that make this game one of real intrigue for the neutral.

In truth, though, it is a game that needs no extra hype on either side.

For the winner, the Wembley arch draws closer while the loser will have bigger-than-usual wounds to lick.

The 2019 Challenge Cup Final win over St Helens will be at the forefront of Wire minds this week (Image: Mike Boden)

A miserable record to reverse

Warrington’s Challenge Cup record against their neighbours actually reads quite well in that they have not lost to Saints in this competition since 2008, even if that period only encompasses two meetings.

However, dealings with St Helens in the more recent past have been exclusively painful for Warrington.

Indeed, Daryl Powell came and went without a sniff of joy against the men in the Red Vee and in all, the past seven meetings have all gone Saints’ way.

Burgess’ boys have ticked plenty of boxes so far this season but if they can throw this particular millstone from around their necks, it will be the biggest sign yet that things really are changing.

Incoming head coach Sam Burgess will have watched the last Saints-Wire meeting from afar as the Red Vee won in last year's Super League play-offs (Image: SWPix.com)

Strengths and weaknesses clash

To borrow a boxing parlance, “styles make fights” and these two seem to mesh pretty well.

The perceived strengths and weaknesses of both sides will be in direct opposition – Wire are right up there among the best attacking sides in Super League to date while Saints’ defence has been as miserly as ever.

No team has been able to stop Warrington from scoring points – they have hit double figures in every game and passed 20 in all bar Round One – but St Helens are arguably the best equipped to do so.

By contrast, the St Helens attack has not yet fired – although there is too much talent within it for that not to happen eventually – while Wire have a tendency to leak points at times.

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? We’ll find out on Sunday…

Wire have been impressive in attack, averaging 32 points per game in all competitions so far in 2024 (Image: SWPix.com)

Apprentice versus master

There will no doubt be a lot of harks back to THAT glorious day in August 2019 from our side of this particular rivalry in the build-up to this game.

However, the man at the heart of that against-the-odds triumph over Saints at Wembley is now tasked with making sure it doesn’t happen again.

The sight of Daryl Clark in the Red Vee still sticks in the craw of Wire fans and on Sunday, he has his first reunion with the club he gave nine years of superb service to.

It’s a big afternoon for him but perhaps an even bigger one for Danny Walker – the man who has now stepped out of Clark’s shadow as Warrington’s new number nine.

Will there be extra motivation for Walker to outshine Clark and prove the club backed the right horse when keeping both became unviable? Only he will be able to tell you, but theirs is a battle many will be keeping an eye on.

Once teammates, now rivals - Daryl Clark and Danny Walker will be in direct opposition on Sunday (Image: SWPix.com)

Crowd watch

Were this a Super League game, a sold-out stadium would be a genuine possibility.

However, crowds at Challenge Cup fixtures have been on the wane for a while to the point where the ground being two-thirds full might be seen as something of a victory in some quarters.

The solution to this particular issue is a hot topic in the game at the moment. Should a Challenge Cup home game be included in season tickets? Should the competition be overhauled to make games more enticing?

Whatever your opinion, it is certainly a problem that needs solving in order to protect the future of rugby league’s oldest and most prestigious knockout competition.

Regardless of how the rest of the Totally Wicked Stadium looks, Wire will be hoping to do their part by getting the away end as close to full as possible and away ticket sales are said to be encouraging.

Warrington Wolves will be hoping their fans pack out the away end at the Totally Wicked Stadium (Image: NQ)