Warrington Wolves play their first game tonight since the sacking of Daryl Powell in what has been a difficult week to round off a difficult few months, and tonight welcoming top of the table Catalans Dragons then it could get even worse.
The Wire are currently being led by interim head coach Gary Chambers who was formerly the Head of Youth Development at the club but he’ll hope to inspire the current senior team to register their first win in seven matches.
It’s been a torrid run of form that has seen the Wolves lose to both of the bottom two in Castleford Tigers and of course Wakefield Trinity at the weekend, who hammered a hapless Daryl Powell side which eventually cost him his job.
The search for a replacement hasn’t been smooth with top choice Justin Holbrook turning the job down and opting to stay in Australia but for tonight it’s the on field issues that matter.
George Williams returned last week but with no real impact, however an extra week regaining fitness may mean he is sharper but one man who is now injured is winger Matty Ashton.
The young England international has registered the most tries for the club this season and with his absence they’ll miss plenty on the wing.
Chambers has now named his squad for tonight and it features Thomas Mikaele with the forward re-signing until the end of the season.
📋 𝙏𝙀𝘼𝙈 𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎
Tonight's line-up for R21 👊
W/ @CheshireMould pic.twitter.com/3wSUJYFaty
— Warrington Wolves (@WarringtonRLFC) August 4, 2023
Mikaele starts from the bench with Connor Wrench taking the opportunity left by Ashton’s absence on the wing. Joe Bullock drops out to be 18th man.
As for top of the table Catalans and they’ll be hoping to get the better of Warrington for the first time this season with Wire beating them in both league and cup so far.
The Dragons bounced back from defeat to Huddersfield by hammering Salford last weekend 42-0 with Sam Tomkins passing 1,500 career points in that game.
A win extends the lead at the top of the table for Catalans as they push for their second League Leaders Shield and Steve McNamara has named a very strong looking side.
Arthur Mourgue still misses out though injury but a spine of Tomkins, Tyrone May, Mitchell Pearce is a match for any side however Micky McIlorum missed out with Da Costa taking his place.
📋 Le 𝐗𝐈𝐈𝐈 𝐝𝐞 𝐝𝐞́𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 de Steve McNamara pour affronter @WarringtonRLFC.
📺 Match à suivre sur https://t.co/DvKJhhVhgr pic.twitter.com/ZGWQHesPfc
— Dragons Catalans (@DragonsOfficiel) August 4, 2023
