It has been a fine start to life in Cheshire for Daryl Powell who has three wins from three and is seeing gradual improvement from his side as the week’s progress and the players get used to his methods.
If the opening round win at Leeds was a bit scratchy, then the last two weeks have been satisfying with comfortable wins over Castleford and Toulouse, though it’s clear there is a lot more to come from this Wolves outfit.
Catalans have had a mixed start to the campaign and though they were comprehensively beaten on the opening night by St Helens, they have dug in to produce narrow back-to-back wins over Wakefield and Leeds respectively.
Team News
It is good news on the injury front for Powell with Ben Currie, Mike Cooper and Gareth Widdop all available for selection again. Oliver Holmes also returns after missing the last two games through suspension following a high tackle in the opening round win against Leeds.
The Dragons are doing it tough at the moment and the injury absence of reigning Steve Prescott Man of Steel Sam Tomkins only adds to their problems. Young stars Florian Vailhen, Cesar Rouge and Corentin Le Cam are all likely to feature here with Julian Bousquet and Arthur Mourgue still injured, while Dylan Napa and Gil Dudson remain suspended.
Match Preview – Key battles:
Gareth Widdop vs Mitchell Pearce: The battle of the two no.6’s should be a real interesting watch. They have faced each other many times in the NRL and the two 32-year-old’s have a great ability to organise their teams and control a game. Widdop is likely to hold the edge here given Catalans injury problems, but the fact the Dragons have Mitchell Pearce means they have a chance to win any game no matter who else is on the pitch.
Rob Mulhern vs Mike McMeeken: Now the obvious thing here would have been to identify the battle of the hookers – Daryl Clark vs Michael McIlorum, but there is another clash at prop that will be interesting to watch. Rob Mulhern has started the season very well for the Wire and will be hopeful of pushing himself towards that World Cup squad. On the opposite side will be Mike McMeeken who is filling in at prop given the French outfit’s injury issues, and boy is he doing a good job. Against Leeds last week McMeeken looked unstoppable at times and he could be key to any success Catalans have this season.
Where the game will be won and lost:
It was a bit hard to read Warrington last week against Toulouse as they clearly took their foot off the gas for periods of the game. What we do know though is that in the previous week against Castleford they were workmanlike in getting the job done, and at this stage of the season that’s all you need. The same could be said of Catalans who have yet to replicate some of the spectacular rugby that saw them win the League Leader’s Shield and reach the Grand Final in 2021, but two wins from three is not a bad return for a side with injury problems. Those injury problems may catch up with them here though, especially the loss of Sam Tomkins, and with Warrington seeing some key names return to their line-up, this should be a home win.
Score prediction: Warrington Wolves 32-18 Catalans Dragons
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