Fri 20 Aug: SL: Wigan Warriors v St Helens KO 19:45 (TV)

[John Drake]

Discuss Wigan Warriors v St Helens here.

[DavidM]

Saints getting on top in a bit of a grind 

[Josef K]

Saints will miss Makinson carting the ball up from his own line. It’ll all be down to Coote, Naiqama, Grace(if play’s), Percival. I’d imagine Woolf will keep it simple, down the middle with the odd drop off pass back down the middle. 

[Futtocks]

Tommy Leuluai is out for the rest of the season. Quite apart from his playing qualities, that's a huge chunk of experience missing from the pitch.

[Davo5]

Saints forward game to grind Wigan’s young pack down,just hope the ref can sort out the play the ball early & we get an entertaining game.

[Chris22]

Knowles back for us is a big boost. One player from Amor, LMS, Batchelor, Thompson and Bentley will drop out to make room. Based on last week's performance, I think Bentley's indiscipline would cost him a place. Saying that, I expect Woolf will drop Amor instead.

Welsby will swap wings with Grace back but Makinson banned. Key for us will be discipline, if we allow ourselves to get frustrated if things don't go our way, we've got a tougher task. If we play with composure, I expect we will win. 

[Jim Prendle]

If Saints don't win this at a canter, then serious questions need to be asked.

[Father Ted]

With Lam in charge it's difficult to see a Wigan win. 

[Hela Wigmen]

We should win, really, but there’s always that sense of doubt in a derby, though I think that comes from watching us lose to Wigan sides with injuries under Wane, who could get a Wigan side up for any game and what should look like a Wigan defeat wouldn’t always be the case. Lam doesn’t seem to have that about him and he looks out of his depth. That said, discipline is key for us. Last week we were terrible in that regard and eventually got stung by Cas. 

[Scubby]

Wigan - Lam's to the slaughter? 

[Szymala]

Saints have won 8 of the last 10 derbies - and that trend will continue on Friday.

[Exiled Wiganer]

One clear disadvantage we face is that we have played a ridiculous number of games. And despite that, we are supposed to back up again on Wednesday. It is a complete farce. We lose players to injury through exhaustion and suspension because you can only be suspended while playing, while the likes of Warrington and HKR pick and choose when they play and put their feet up for weeks. We might actually be a talented side, with some superb young players ready to shake up the competition, but we will never know as long as we play every 48 hours against much fresher teams. It’s a joke. 

[JohnM]

Subjectively, it feels like the Warriors are heading for one of their periodic crises off and on the pitch. Can't see them winning this one.

[THE RED ROOSTER]

Saints to rebound after being beaten by the master coach last week.

[EagleEyePie]

In previous seasons it's seemed like there was a chance that if Wigan played well and Saints weren't at their best that we'd be capable of beating them. We did it last season and ran them close in the Grand Final but for whatever reason this year such a feat looks completely beyond this team. I also can't see Saints losing twice in a row.

Wigan's front row is a clear weak point and that will probably be highlighted once again by Sky in the pre-match because of how strong Saints are in that department but it's not like last year's front row was that much stronger. There's clearly more to it than that.

I don't think we have the defensive strength to hold Saints back and we have defensive frailties all over the park this season it would seem. Gildart has looked very vulnerable on our left since his return while Isa looked weak against Hull KR. 

Saints are strong down the middle which is where Singleton would have been useful but he keeps letting himself down. The return of Partington should be some help but like many of our middles he lacks size. All our other props have shown weakness down the middle this season, and our possible 13's in Bateman, Smithies and Shorrocks lack size so will struggle to make up for the deficiencies of others.

Then we have to contend with how Lam makes up for the loss of Powell. The obvious choice would be Shorrocks again as he's the strongest option defensively. Bourouh is a bigger attacking threat but weak in the tackle. Hastings could play 9 but it would mean Field in the halves and he looked very weak defensively in his return game. I just don't see anything that Wigan can do to stop Saints and our chances rest on Saints having an absolute mare.

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

Saints by 12.

[Exiled Wiganer]

Wigan have got the personnel to win, if we can work hard enough and play fast enough to overcome our midget forwards. Essentially reprise what worked at the end of last year. 

[Harry Stottle]

On 17/08/2021 at 20:44, Davo5 said:

Saints forward game to grind Wigan’s young pack down,just hope the ref can sort out the play the ball early & we get an entertaining game.

And no playacting - from both teams, but I doubt we will see that Dav it seems to be a strategic part of the coaches instructions and moreso this season as we witness it growing in popularity, not just this game but all of them. 

[my missus]

saints to win with 18, walmsely to get first set restart, coote to get someone sent off,shorrock to throw an interception pass, mcdermott to wet himself over lomax, o'connor to also wet himself multiple times over multiple saints players, clarke and carney to implode on the beauty of saints skills.

[dkw]

11 minutes ago, my missus said:

saints to win with 18, walmsely to get first set restart, coote to get someone sent off,shorrock to throw an interception pass, mcdermott to wet himself over lomax, o'connor to also wet himself multiple times over multiple saints players, clarke and carney to implode on the beauty of saints skills.

Yeah, the famous anti Wigan commentators Clarke, carney and McDermott.....

[Old Frightful]

I just hope it's a decent curtain raiser for the real derby tomorrow....

[GeordieSaint]

It’s a Derby. So don’t care if Wigan have been poor etc etc. Anything can happen as has done so in the past.

[Futtocks]

Jai Field ruled out with an injury. Again.

[JohnM]

3 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said:

Empty seats and stands for Wigan vs Saints... 

Have any players turned up yet, you know, to play the game?

[GeordieSaint]

Morgan Knowles has started like a house on fire; going to be some player. Good game so far. Bit of fire in it.