Peter Thomas takes a look at Warrington’s match with Wigan.
Warrington are on quite a run. Indeed they may even be classed as the form team of Super League (I perhaps should add form not best at this juncture…)
Come Saturday though you can forget the stats – 10 wins on the bounce – and you’ll have to focus on the realities. Form counts for nothing, the game will count for everything. Nobody is at home as the Super League Express finds a home in Newcastle – with a couple of tagalongs too this year.
It is a replay of the 2016 Grand Final which of course Wigan won. It is also a prelude to the Challenge Cup quarter-final match between the two teams. You’d be forgiven for thinking that there is more than two points at stake – the reality is that there isn’t. It’s just another game of rugby league in a long season – of course it is!
Wigan are set to lose Tomkins at the end of the season, so he’ll want to do well before leaving, and Magic is a pretty big stage in terms of the regular season. They are however set to gain Hardaker though so the Cherry and White fans may not even notice. For the Wire, the player with perhaps the most “personal” interest is probably Charnley who’ll face his old team for the first time. I wonder what the Wigan fans will be thinking. Hopefully they’ll be pleased he’s doing well, but will hope he has a quiet day. The form he’s in though would suggest anything but.
Elsewhere the Wire look to roll on with their ever improving team dynamic, strong forward game and inventive back play. They have improved immensely under Price, and I feel there’s more to come.
However I’m predicting that the winning streak ends Saturday at Magic. Fear not though, I’m not predicting a loss, rather a full on heavy hitting high score draw. Wigan remember are second in the league ahead of the Wire and behind only Saints. The battle therefore will be nothing short of immense. A draw might not satisfy the fans but it is only another game though right…
Score Prediction: Wigan 26-26 Warrington
