Warrington Wolves v St Helens combined XIII with seven Saints and six Wire

Warrington Wolves face St Helens in this afternoon’s final Challenge Cup quarter-final fixture. 

The two sides only met in Super League a fortnight ago, with the Wolves taking a 14-12 victory on 21st March.

With the two sides meeting up again this week and again in the league in three weeks’ time, we’ve selected a combined seventeen of their top performers in 2025 so far.

Warrington Wolves v St Helens combined XVII

Fullback – Jack Welsby

Matt Dufty has definitely had some starring moments in 2025 but Jack Welsby has been the more consistent. He’s top of the stat pack for metres (998) and carries (147) as well as fourteen try involvements, with eleven assists and three tries. Most of St Helens’ attack goes through his hands and whilst it might not be his best season ever, he’s still contributing every week.

Wingers – Josh Thewlis and Jon Bennison

Both sides have had injuries to their wingers so far in 2025, with St Helens’ Kyle Feldt requiring surgery and Lewis Murphy having hamstring issues. Both started the season off well but with the duo being out, Jon Bennison has played the last five Super League games. He’s been overlooked for a number of years and has been slowly finding his feet.

Warrington’s Josh Thewlis has played all but one Super League game and was on goal-kicking duties before Marc Sneyd’s arrival. Neither wingers are scoring as many tries as they might be expected to though so both could do to get on the end of some passes out wide.

Centres – Mark Percival and Harry Robertson

St Helens’ Harry Robertson has arguably been one of their best performers in 2025, scoring five tries in his first three appearances. He’s played every game for the Saints in 2025 too and has shown promise in an under-firing side at times.

Mark Percival has been one of the most consistent performers for St Helens since his debut back in 2013. Now at 30, he’s still one of the best metre makers in the league and is currently Super League’s top goal kicker with 26. One more try and he’ll have reached 100 in Super League too.

Halfbacks – George Willams and Marc Sneyd

Marc Sneyd might have only played two games for the Wolves but he’s been outstanding in both. His kicking game is allowing George Williams to run the ball more, which is only a positive for the team. Fans thought he might take a few weeks to settle into the side but he’s taken to Warrington Wolves like a duck to water. Williams is second on the offload charts and with eight try assists, he’s the mainstay of the Wolves attack.

Props – James Harrison and Matty Lees

Another tough category as several props have had strong seasons for both teams. Neither Warrington’s James Harrison nor St Helens’ Matty Lees do the flashy stuff but each is solid going forward, making plenty of metres. Harrison and Lees aren’t afraid to put their hand up in defence either, with both props doing their fair share of tackling.

Hooker – Danny Walker

This is a tough call between Danny Walker and Saints’ Daryl Clark but Walker just pips it. He’s gaining on average ten metres per carry and seems to be specialising in runs from dummy half this season. He adds an extra bow to Warrington’s attack through some neat kicks but is always one of the league’s top tacklers.

Second-rowers – Ben Currie and Matt Whitley

Ben Currie is one of Warrington’s top performers and has been for a number of years. Again, he does a lot of the unseen work, such as tackling and carrying the ball forward, but it’s an important cog in the Warrington side.

Matt Whitley has been another standout for Saints. When you look at the number, it doesn’t seem like it but he has featured off the bench moreso than he’s started a game, meaning fewer minutes. He’s been gaining around 7.5 metres per carry, making him a solid forward.

Loose forward – Morgan Knowles

Despite his leaving for the NRL next year putting a dampener on the season for Saints fans, Knowles has continued to step up in the forward pack. Again, most of his work in 2025 has been in defence but he can step up in attack if needs be. He’s got three tries in five Super League appearances so far.

Interchanges: Agnatius Paasi, Joe Philbin, Alex Walmsley, Joe Batchelor

It’s a forward-heavy bench but all four deserve a spot. Agnatius Paasi had been a great impact sub for St Helens and Alex Walmsley and Joe Batchelor are always two of Saints’ most consistent forwards. Whilst this trio might not be playing their very best in 2025, there’s still plenty of time to make that up. Joe Philbin at Warrington also hasn’t been as impactful as previous seasons but again, he’s been steadily improving in the Warrington Wolves pack.

See you tomorrow, Wire fans. Pt 2 of the Saints trilogy with a CC semi final spot on the line 🍿

Preview & Ticket info: https://t.co/vrZUXIRj0b

[Next Up: Wire v Saints | Sun 6 Apr | 2.30pm] pic.twitter.com/FzB2xmHwML

— Warrington Wolves (@WarringtonRLFC) April 5, 2025