Warrington Wolves v Hull KR team news as Sam Burgess without two key men

Warrington Wolves host league leaders Hull KR on Friday night just two weeks before they face each other at Wembley Stadium. The two clubs will compete in the Challenge Cup final on June 7 and that makes the clash at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and intriguing one, with the opportunity for both head coaches to play mind games.

With Warrington in desperate need of a response after their 40-10 loss to Wakefield Trinity last week, Burgess will be going all out to claim the psychological upper hand. Rovers will be placing an emphasis on the two points, too, as they look to stretch their lead at the top to four points for at least 24 hours.

Willie Peters has made one change to his squad for the clash, as Jared Waerea-Hargreaves serves the first game of the two-match ban he was handed this week by the Match Review Panel. The prop caught Huddersfield’s Matty English high on Saturday, with English needing stitches in his mouth, and he was slapped with a Grade D sanction on Monday afternoon.

It means that Waerea-Hargreaves will sit out of the clash with Warrington and next week’s game against St Helens at Craven Park before returning in time for the Challenge Cup final.

Bill Leyland picked up an ankle injury in that game against the Giants, but he did re-enter the field during the final few minutes of the contest and he is named in the squad to take on Warrington. Lee Kershaw is the man to come into the fold for the Robins.

Sam Burgess has made three changes to his squad with Paul Vaughan and Toby King missing out, while Zack Gardner also drops out.

Josh Thewlis returns for Warrington after missing the clash with Wakefield Trinity due to the head knock he picked up in the Challenge Cup semi-final. Tom Whitehead and Ben Harthill come in, too.

Warrington Wolves v Hull KR 21-man squads

Warrington Wolves: Jordy Crowther, Ben Currie, Matt Dufty, Lachlan Fitzgibbon, James Harrison, Ben Harthill, Adam Holroyd, Oli Leyland, Arron Lindop, Joe Philbin, Sam Powell, Stefan Ratchford, Dan Russell, Marc Sneyd, Rodrick Tai, Jake Thewlis, Josh Thewlis, Tom Whitehead, Max Wood, Connor Wrench, Luke Yates.

Hull KR: Tom Davies, Peta Hiku, Joe Burgess, Mikey Lewis, Tyrone May, Sauaso Sue, Jez Litten, Dean Hadley, James Batchelor, Elliot Minchella, Sam Luckley, Jai Whitbread, Jack Broadbent, Danny Richardson, Kelepi Tanginoa, Jack Brown, Lee Kershaw, Eribe Doro, Bill Leyland, Arthur Mourgue, Noah Booth.