Wakefield Trinity will look to effectively lock up a fourth-place finish and a home play-off game when they face Warrington Wolves on Saturday night, though Sam Burgess’ side are still clinging to hopes of a top-two finish.
Wire currently sit third, two points behind both Leeds and Wigan, who also play each other on Friday night. A very convincing win for Leeds would potentially put Warrington within touching distance of Wigan in terms of points difference, but even then the Wolves would likely still have to outscore the Warriors in round 27, or hope that Wigan lose.
As for Wakefield, they sit two points and a plus 85 points difference ahead of Leigh, who they face in round 27. A win over Wire would almost certainly secure fourth, whereas a loss would lead to a round 27 shootout to determine if they land a home play-off game.
It means that Saturday’s match, whilst perhaps not getting as much attention as Leeds versus Wigan, is a massive one, but both teams are without some key players through either injury or suspension so we’ve looked at the early team news.
RIP Sir Billy, under-the-radar challengers, Hull KR’s controversial call and more – Click here to watch this week’s episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show
Wakefield Trinity outs and doubts
Daryl Powell has a handful of players unavailable on account of injury, two of which are out with hamstrings and another two out with knee issues.
Oli Pratt and Matty Storton have been confirmed as done for the year, the former with a hamstring and the latter with a knee issue that thankfully does not need an operation.
Tray Lolesio (hamstring) is yet to be ruled out for the year officially but it’s unlikely that he will play again, whereas Powell put Josh Rourke (knee) at a timeline of ‘at least four weeks’ less than a fortnight ago, meaning he will also be out.
As for those who could return, both Tom Johnstone (knee) and Isaiah Vagana (shoulder) were named to the 21-man squad last week but did not make the matchday squad. With another week of recovery under their belt, they could be ready.
Emre Guler, the new signing who played within a matter of days of landing from Australia, missed out last week due to a ‘minor groin’ so he too could be close to returning.
Mason Lino and Jay Pitts both seemed to come through the round 25 win fine following their time off, in a major boost for Trinity.
Warrington Wolves outs and doubts
Sam Burgess has even more men on the doubtful list, though some of those could very quickly be added to the unavailable list if scans have uncovered damage from the weekend’s win over Hull FC.
Both Luke Thomas (knee) and Joe Philbin (lower limb) went off in consecutive sets with what looked to be really concerning injuries after awkward tackles. Sam Burgess will be hopeful that they’re just knocks given that Toff Sipley (fractured leg) is out for the season.
Another forward who is a doubt after not playing last week is Kelepi Tanginoa (knee), though Burgess has admitted previously that the ex-Hull KR man would be managed. Another player who would add punch to the pack but is still awaiting a return is Luke Yates, who has been out since May following surgery on his neck. Speaking in early August, Burgess put a timeline of ‘three or four weeks’ on the Australian’s return.
Cai Taylor-Wray (ankle) is another who has had a very long and frustrating lay-off, returning on August 1st but he’s not featured since, aside from appearances for the reserves. Fellow youngster Ewan Irwin (foot) is still nursing the injury that he sustained after Mikey Lewis’ kick charge-down attempt.
Meanwhile, Sam Powell (banned), Arron Lindop (HIA), and Zack Gardner (shoulder) are all out, with the latter not set to return until next season.
