Wigan Warriors will be significantly depleted this week, as they travel to Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium to meet St Helens at Magic Weekend.
The Warriors would have preferred to have go into the derby match at full-strength, but four injury blows following their win over Hull FC last time out mean that they will have to do it tough against their fierce rivals.
Noah Hodkinson has fractured his skull and is set to miss around a month of action, whilst star man Bevan French will be out for roughly the same timeframe with a hamstring injury.
Skipper Liam Farrell has a shoulder issue, whilst prop Luke Thompson has a foot injury that saw him leave the field in last week’s win. He is expected to miss six weeks
As well as the quartet, injuries to Ethan Havard (broken jaw) and Liam Marshall (hamstring), as well as the suspended Sam Walters, mean that Matt Peet’s men will be far from first choice at Everton on Sunday.
With those blows in mind, we have taken a look at how Wigan could line up against Saints, in a game that now seems much more even than it perhaps could have been, given the recent form of both sides.
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Wigan Warriors Predicted XVII to face St Helens
Full-back: Jai Field
The electric number one has been on fire as of late, and has scored four tries in his last four matches.
Wingers: Zach Eckersley and Nathan Lowe
Here, we arrive at our first selection dilemma. Eckersley is one of the first names on the team sheet, but Hodkinson’s blow leaves the opposite wing spot open.
With Marshall and Dayon Sambou injured, Abbas Miski unavailable due to the salary cap and Josh Cartwright on loan at Batley for the week, all signs point to Nathan Lowe receiving his second game of the season.
Centres: Adam Keighran and Jake Wardle
Arguably the best centre pairing in the competition, Keighran had an off day with the boot against Hull FC, something he will be hoping to fix up ahead of what should be another tight game.
Wardle has 10 tries in 11 games this season, and scored in the 32-0 Challenge Cup semi-final win over Saints back in May.
Halves: Jack Farrimond and Harry Smith
As it has been in 10 games so far this season, French’s injury means that Farrimond earns another start, and will partner Smith, who you would expect to have a huge influence on the performance and the result on Sunday evening.
Props: Sam Eseh and Kaide Ellis
Another problem point in the team, Wigan, without their two starting props, will need to rely on Eseh and Ellis to bring the aggression early on to match the physicality and strength of what will likely be Alex Walmsley and David Klemmer starting for Saints.
Ellis has played 13 for large chunk of his Warriors career, but a recent switch to prop has seen him improve in performances, and allowed another pack man to excel in the loose forward role.
Hooker: Brad O’Neill
Middle unit injuries could mean that O’Neill needs to play 80 minutes – something he can do, but Matt Peet doesn’t always like to do due to his immense work rate sometimes leading to fatigue.
Back Row: Junior Nsemba and Lukas Mason
Nsemba is arguably in the form of his life over the past month or so, and this week he is expected to partner young Lukas Mason, who made his debut in the 62-4 defeat to Hull KR the week before the Challenge Cup Final.
Loose forward: Oliver Partington
As referenced earlier, Ellis’ move to prop has meant a starting role opened up for Partington, something he has excelled in. Both him and O’Neill form an aggresive and dominant duo that allows Wigan to get on the front foot early on.
Interchanges: Patrick Mago, Taylor Kerr, Kian McDermott, Shea O’Connor
Mago was an option to start, but he is far more effective from the bench. McDermott and O’Connor are young, but will add power, speed and enthusiasm from the subs bench, whilst Kerr can slot in at nine or 13, and he too will bring constant aggression.
