Warrington Wolves talking points before third Catalans clash

Sam Burgess' side face Les Dracs again at the weekend looking to avenge the two defeats they suffered at the hands of the Frenchmen earlier in the year.

Having spent the entire week in France to prepare following Sunday's Challenge Cup semi-final victory, the Wire players will hope to be as refreshed as possible against a side who certainly will be following a two-week break.

Here, our Wire reporter Matt Turner picks out his usual five key pre-match talking points here...

Back to the bread and butter

Cloud Nine has been a sea of primrose and blue for the past few days.

But while fans and the town at large get themselves ready for a return to Wembley, Sam Burgess and his players have extricated themselves to focus on the return to the weekly Super League grind.

Taking the squad to France for the entire week in preparation for this game is one of those things that will be hailed as a masterstroke should they win and derided if they don’t, but you can certainly see the thinking behind it.

After an emotional afternoon on Sunday, it gives the players a chance to decompress while at the same time preparing for a crucial few weeks.

A difficult balance

The next fortnight will certainly test Sam Burgess as a head coach in terms of how he manages his resources.

While he will want to make sure his players get to Wembley unscathed, there are still two important games against sides alongside them at the top of Super League before then and he will want to make sure they are not playing catch-up once the Challenge Cup is done and dusted.

It is a difficult balance to strike, although the temptation to give certain players a breather might be stronger next week against Wigan, when Matt Peet will no doubt be thinking similar as any knocks, bans or failed head tests are likely to bring Wembley dreams crashing down.

Whatever he decides, however, Burgess will do so in the knowledge he has reliable options in pretty much every position waiting in the wings.

> Five Wire players who could benefit if Burgess decides to shuffle his pack

Not you again…

The Super League fixture list has thrown up some weird quirks this season, chief among them the regularity of early meetings with Saturday’s hosts.

Already, this will be the third time the sides have met in the opening 12 rounds of the competition, meaning a quarter of both teams’ games will have been against each other.

And given the form of both teams, a fourth meeting in the play-offs later of the year is a very realistic possibility at this stage.

Warrington have also met both Hull clubs twice, with a third clash with Hull FC to follow next month, while there are still three clubs – Wigan, St Helens and Huddersfield – they are yet to play in Super League.

At the very least, it gives the fixture list – and with it, the table – a bit of a skewed look.

Third time lucky?

There hasn’t been too much to frown about for Warrington this season, but Catalans Dragons have been the authors of most of their pain in 2024.

Of their three defeats this season, two have come against Les Dracs – a 16-10 loss in Perpignan to open the season before the Frenchmen won 32-24 at The Halliwell Jones Stadium over Easter.

There are plenty of elements of regret about both games – they failed to take advantage of Michael McIlorum’s sending-off in Round One while they found themselves 18-0 down inside the opening quarter of the home fixture and they never quite managed to reel that deficit in despite getting very close.

So can Wire make it third time lucky against Steve McNamara’s men?

Bringing the heat

As you’d expect at this time of year, Saturday’s game is expected to be played in very pleasant weather.

The forecast is for a sunny day and temperatures in the mid-20s – the kind of weather Warrington have played their last two games in.

Sunday’s Challenge Cup semi-final saw them put on a clinic of how to play in warm weather – they commanded the ball, turned it over on their terms and as Huddersfield tired, the points flowed.

Of course, warm-weather mode is one Catalans feel most at home in and on what is likely to be a dry, fast field at the Stade Gilbert Brutus, it could well be a red-hot encounter.