Warrington Wolves take on Wigan Warriors at Super League Magic Weekend and Sam Burgess faces a major selection call in the halves.
Burgess’ side will face Wigan at 3:15 pm on Sunday afternoon as Warrington are set to take on Matt Peet’s side for the second time this season, with the Wolves hoping they fare a lot better than they did before.
Round Three saw Super League head stateside and it was quite the celebration for Wigan but less so for Warrington with Sam Burgess’ side suffering a 48-24 defeat, which could have been worse had Wigan not taken their foot off the gas at 42-0 up.
Warrington scored all 24 of their points in the final 15 minutes as they made the score look respectable but they were completely blown out on the big stage and they’ll be hoping that’s not the case this Magic Weekend.
The problem for Burgess is that he’s without captain George Williams, star signing Marc Sneyd, and there are concerns over Danny Walker as well, rendering their spine a mess on top of the injuries to the likes of Matty Ashton and Toby King.
For Matt Peet, he’ll have less stressful decisions to make and we’ve predicted how each coach could line their side up at St James Park.
How Wigan Warriors could line up to face Warrington
Matt Peet made just one change to his 21-man squad and it’s highly likely that he makes just one change to his matchday squad with the returning Tyler Dupree in line to return to the 17.
Dupree missed Round Nine after failing a HIA against St Helens the week prior but he has replaced Jacob Douglas in the initial squad, and we predict that he’ll replace Zach Eckerlsey on the bench this week.
Eckerlsey had been starting at centre whilst Adam Keighran was injured but was bumped to the bench upon the Australian’s return against Hull FC. The young outside back could be bumped to 18th man against Warrington if Dupree is launched back into the action.
Luke Thompson returned last week but started from the bench but he could be fit enough to go from the off this week meaning Liam Byrne drops to the bench with Sam Walters keeping his spot after a brilliant run of form.
Predicted Wigan Warriors XIII: Jai Field; Abbas Miski, Adam Keighran, Jake Wardle, Liam Marshall; Bevan French, Harry Smith; Luke Thompson, Brad O’Neill, Sam Walters; Junior Nsemba, Liam Farrell, Kaide Ellis
Predicted interchanges: Kruise Leeming, Liam Byrne, Tyler Dupree, Harvie Hill
📋 𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀
Matt Peet has named his squad for Sunday’s @SuperLeague Magic Weekend clash against Warrington Wolves!
Full squad news 👉 https://t.co/J4RIg6fAjn#WWRL #MagicWKND pic.twitter.com/jLGKtjel1O
— Wigan Warriors 🍒⚪️ (@WiganWarriorsRL) May 2, 2025
How Warrington Wolves could line up to face Wigan
Sam Burgess faces some key calls but plenty revolves around whether Danny Walker is fit and with a Challenge Cup semi-final on the horizon, it makes sense to leave him out if there is even a hint of doubt.
That locks Sam Powell in at nine and the former Wigan man has shown he can play 80 minutes there whilst Matt Dufty’s role at full-back is also locked in, leaving six and seven as the major calls.
Ben Currie played in the halves last week but square pegs in round holes rings a bell. Stefan Ratchford is among the most experienced players in Super League and should be backed with one of the young halves alongside him.
We’ve opted with Oli Leyland but Ewan Irwin is certainly in contention. Irwin could maybe start but handing him a starting debut in such circumstances feels harsh so he may be used as 18th man again to offer him the experience of a huge occasion such as Magic.
Predicted Warrington Wolves XIII: Matt Dufty; Josh Thewlis, Rodrick Tai, Arron Lindop, Jake Thewlis; Stefan Ratchford, Oli Leyland; Luke Yates, Sam Powell, Paul Vaughan; Dan Russell, Lachlan Fitzgibbon, Ben Currie
Predicted interchanges: James Harrison, Joe Philbin, Zane Musgrove, Jordy Crowther
🧙♂️ Our Magic Weekend squad for Sunday’s clash against Wigan up in Newcastle pic.twitter.com/iPa5CmqbOp
— Warrington Wolves (@WarringtonRLFC) May 2, 2025
