Warrington Wolves talking points for Catalans Dragons visit

This time last week, they had a glorious opportunity to go top of the table but a heavy defeat to Leeds Rhinos left their unbeaten home record in tatters and confidence – at least among some – dented.

Tonight, they will step out into the searing summer heat to face a Catalans Dragons side that is on the up, so will they get themselves back on track?

Check out our key Game Day talking points below…

The biggest game of the season?

If you ask anyone within the camp, they would probably agree with the above statement to describe tonight’s game, if for no other reason than it’s the next one.

However, there is a deeper argument to say this game is more important than any that have gone before.

Warrington have not lost back-to-back fixtures all year, but they stand on the brink of that happening and while that in itself won’t be a major catastrophe, it will only serve to deepen any feeling that they have hit a wall.

And there is painfully recent evidence of how quickly a rot can set in if things start to go against them and there is now a four-strong logjam of rivals who will be smelling blood just two points behind them.

It was no great surprise that The Wire lost to a full-strength and in-form Leeds Rhinos side last time out, but it was the way in which it happened that has got people concerned and they need to allay those fears.

A win tonight won’t go all the way to doing that, but it will reassure people that in spite of its youthfulness at present, this group is not easily knocked off its stride.

A sign of the times

This is the third of a seven-game run of matches that many see as defining, certainly in terms of cementing the position they currently find themselves in.

While there will be plenty of opportunity to make a run once it finishes, it is fair to say Wire’s realistic aims will become clear by the end of July – will they be fighting for the League Leader’s Shield, a top-four spot or just finishing on the right side of the dotted line?

Tonight’s game was seen on paper as the most presentable of those fixtures – but there are already some pretty gaping holes in that argument, which we’ll unpack in more detail in the next two points.

Catalans have struggled on the road – they have lost four of the six games they have played in England this year – but they are in form with three victories out of four since John Cartwright arrived at the club as Joel Tomkins’ replacement.

But the fact this game is being seen by some as the easiest of Warrington’s “summer slog” tells you just how difficult a run it is.

Wrongs to put right

The most obvious thing that flies in the face of this being a “home banker” is the fact that Catalans are one of only three teams – Leeds and Hull KR being the others – to own a victory of any kind over Warrington this season.

And you won’t find too many disagreeing with the statement that the 38-22 loss in Perpignan was Wire’s Class of 2026 at its worst to date.

You can find a little more mitigation in the loss to the Rhinos last week but back in Round Eight, they were way off and when you’re like that against a Catalans side on a good day on their own patch, that usually spells trouble.

Plenty of water has flown beneath the bridge since then even in such a short space of time, but there will no doubt be a drive to put that result right among those that played that day.

They’ve already given up one home-and-away double, and they will be desperate to avoid another.

‘Home away from home’ for Catalans

Anyone who has dared to open their front door at all this week will tell you that it has been pretty hot…

The UK is baking in record temperatures and while the mercury here in Warrington hasn’t risen quite as high as in other parts of the country, it’s still set to be well into the 30s today.

It will likely be cooler come kick-off time, but both teams can still expect to be playing in pretty intense heat and humidity.

That suits one team down to the ground – and it’s not the home team.

There will not have been many more occasions on which Catalans will be able to feel so at home on this side of the English Channel, with the weather set to bear closer resemblance to Perpignan than Warrington.

In France earlier this year, Wire found out to their cost that allowing the momentum to shift in these kinds of conditions can prove fatal so game management will be paramount.

No more Thursdays (for a bit)

When the fixtures came out in November, June always looked a little quirky.

And now we’re in it, it is probably fair to say that having three free weekends in succession mid-season has felt very strange indeed.

In terms of the initial release, Warrington got off pretty lightly when it came to Thursday-night games – all three of them in a row and two of them at home with the only away game being down the road at St Helens.

But after tonight, we can go back to a more normal schedule – for now.

Of course, we now know that this will not be the last of Wire’s Thursday commitments now York Knights’ trip to The Halliwell Jones Stadium in Round 23 has been brought forward in order to squeeze the postponed Round Two trip to Hull KR into the schedule.

But for a few weeks at least, we can wave goodbye to Thursdays!