Match preview: St Helens

[Warriors News]

Everything you need to know ahead of Wigan’s Betfred Super League Round 19 derby clash with St Helens.

Wigan Warriors face local rivals St Helens on Friday night in a mouthwatering battle of first verses second in the Betfred Super League (K.O. 7:45pm).

The Warriors will return to the Totally Wicked Stadium for the second Friday in a row, after beating Salford there last week.

A win over Saints would see the Cherry and Whites leapfrog their rivals into top spot of the Super League table.

The Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens.

Team News

Lam has made changes to the side selected for Salford last week, with Liam Byrne and Chris Hankinson replacing Joe Shorrocks and the injured Dom Manfredi. 

Updating on Manfredi earlier this week, the Head Coach said: “Dom has fluid on his knee at the moment. We are going to get that drained this week and see how it sits, but it could potentially be another week or two for Dom.”

Injury News 

Club Captain Sean O’Loughlin misses out again with a hamstring strain and is expect back within two weeks. 

Youngster Ethan Havard continues to recover from an ankle injury first sustained against Leeds Rhinos in Wigan’s Coral Challenge Cup Semi Final defeat.

Back-rower Jack Wells remains sidelined following a MCL tear and knee dislocation suffered against St Helens in Round 14.

Winger Liam Marshall continues his long-term recovery from an Anterior Cruciate Ligament knee injury sustained during the Round 10 tie with Castleford.

Take a look at the 21-man squad below:

The Opposition

Saints boss Kristian Woolf has recalled a number of his senior players following last week’s loss to Salford.

Lachlan Coote, Regan Grace, Jonny Lomax, James Roby, Zeb Taia, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and Matty Lees all return to the squad.

Josh Eaves, who played on Monday is included in place of Aaron Smith. Jake Wingfield who made his debut against Salford is also named. Alex Walmsley misses out due to a one-match ban. James Graham, who plans to retire at the end of the 2020 season, is included again.

The inclusions of the senior players means there is a total of seven changes to the St Helens squad as Alex Walmsley, Jack Ashworth, Aaron Smith, Matty Costello, Joe Batchelor, Matty Foster and Tom Nisbet all drop out.

𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐁𝐘 SQUAD NEWS

Kristian Woolf has recalled a number of his senior players for Friday's Betfred @SuperLeague derby clash with rivals @WiganWarriorsRL at the @twstadium (7:45pm)!

Read more https://t.co/gaaaCSE46Y

— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) October 28, 2020

Previous Meetings

Last ten meetings:

• Wigan 0, St Helens 42 (SLR14, 29/9/20 at AJ Bell Stadium, Salford)
• St Helens 40, Wigan 10 (SLQSF, 27/9/19)
• St Helens 32, Wigan 10 (SLR22, 12/7/19)
• Wigan 10, St Helens 36 (SLR11, 19/4/19)
• St Helens 22, Wigan 12 (SLR1, 31/1/19)
• St Helens 10, Wigan 30 (SLS8-R3, 31/8/18)
• Wigan 6, St Helens 14 (SLR22, 19/7/18)
• St Helens 21, Wigan 18 (SLR8, 30/3/18)
• St Helens 16, Wigan 26 (SLS8-R4, 1/9/17)
• St Helens 22, Wigan 19 (SLR15, 25/5/17)

Super League summary

• St Helens won 41 (includes wins in 2000 and 2014 Grand Finals & wins in 2000, 2002, 2009, 2011 and 2019 play-offs)
• Wigan won 37 (includes win in 2010 Grand Final & wins in 2001, 2003 and 2004 play-offs)
• 4 draws 

The Stats

Willie Isa needs one appearance to reach 250 for his career.

• 144 for Wigan Warriors (2016-2020)
• 87 for Widnes Vikings (2012-2015)
• 11 for Castleford Tigers (2011)
• 5 for Melbourne Storm (2009-2010)
• 1 for Penrith Panthers (2008)
• 1 for Samoa (2010)

Head to Head

Here’s how the two clubs match up statistically in 2020 so far.

Coach Quotes

Speaking in his weekly press conference via Zoom link, Lam discussed facing the 2019 Champions away from home.

“We’ve got the strongest side we’ve had for some time. Going there is a great challenge for us.

“It’s a challenge we are due. We want to play in the big games and it’s our arch-rivals. 

Adrian Lam speaking to the press via Zoom link.

On the chance to go top, he said: “We need to keep our season on track. We are in with a chance of going to the top of the league table after this win, so it’s important we do everything right.” 

Match Officials

The man in the middle on Friday night will be Chris Kendall. Ben Thaler will also officiate as the video referee. 

Chris Kendall.

How to Follow

Our free audio service Listen Live will be available from the home page at www.wiganwarriors.comfrom 15 minutes before kick off.

Joe Mills and Bilko (Andrew Rimmer) will bring fans live commentary of the full 80 minutes.

Bilko (left), Joe Mills (right).

Warriors season ticket holders can watch the game live via the RFL’s OurLeague streaming service. 

Season ticket holders should all have received their unique login codes to access the OurLeague streaming service for Wigan Warriors games. If you haven’t, please contact info@wiganwarriors.com and we will be able to help.

In addition, the game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports. This fixture will be shown on Sky Sports Arena. 

Furthermore, Wigan fans can follow every piece of the action via our social media channels and website.

• Twitter (@WiganWarriorsRL) – live game updates and reaction at the final hooter.
• Instagram (@wiganwarriorsrl) – live behind-the-scenes action, both before and after kick-off.
• Facebook (Wigan Warriors) – live matchday information.
• Website (www.wiganwarriors.com) – post-match reaction including match report, and Head Coach and players reaction.

Wigan TV

Matches will continue to be accessible – as usual – on Wigan TV, with highlights, extended highlights and full match replays available after the relevant holdback times. There will also be post-match interviews for fans to enjoy.

If you’re not already a subscriber to Wigan TV, click HERE today to join. Choose a monthly (£5.99), quarterly (£11.99) or annual (£38.99) subscription with no contract. Pay with PayPal or credit/debit card.

Other Fixtures

Following the cancellation of Huddersfield Giants vs Castleford Tigers and Warrington Wolves vs Salford Red Devils (both scheduled for Friday 30th), these are the remaining Round 18 fixtures in the Betfred Super League:

Thursday 29th October

• Leeds Rhinos 6-30 Wakefield Trinity
• Hull KR vs Hull FC (7:45pm)

Friday 30th October 

• Warrington Wolves vs Huddersfield Giants (5:30pm)
• St Helens vs Wigan Warriors (7:45pm)

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