In one of the biggest games of any season, Wigan welcome Leeds to the DW Stadium on Wednesday night as they look to bounce back following their derby defeat at the hands of St Helens last week.
Both clubs are well in the hunt for places inside the top six, so it promises to be a hugely important contest and I’d wager that it could be a really intriguing battle between two sides missing key players.
The Rhinos haven’t won at the DW Stadium since a 20-6 victory over Wigan in 2013 – the last time they did the double over their biggest foes. If they want to stop Wigan from claiming yet another double over them as they did in 2019 and 2018, Leeds will have to avenge their Headingley loss earlier in the season.
Wigan have done their part to promote the game and get fans in attendance by lowering the prices down to just £10 for adults and £5 for children in what they’re referring to as Retro Round. Hopefully for the Warriors, the result will be better than in Rivals Round last week.
The game kicks off at 19:45 and will be live on Sky Sports Arena.
Wigan Warriors
Wigan were only able to name a 19-man squad for the game but things have gotten even worse for the Cherry and Whites with their squad now containing just 18 players. The Warriors initially named John Bateman in their squad but he’s since been handed a one-match ban following the St Helens game and will drop out but could be replaced by Sam Powell pending a medical assessment. Unsurprisingly, Willie Isa is also unavailable due to suspension but former Rhino Brad Singleton returns in time to face his former club. The Warriors are still without Thomas Leuluai and Bevan French.
18-man squad: 3 Zak Hardaker, 4 Oliver Gildart, 5 Liam Marshall, 6 Jai Field, 8 Brad Singleton, 10 Joe Bullock, 12 Liam Farrell, 14 Oliver Partington, 15 Morgan Smithies, 19 Liam Byrne, 20 Harry Smith, 21 Ethan Havard, 22 Jake Bibby, 23 Mitch Clark, 25 Joe Shorrocks, 27 Kai Pearce-Paul, 31 Jackson Hastings, 33 Amir Bourouh.
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds are boosted by the return of four players for this clash having lost the likes of Liam Sutcliffe, Konrad Hurrell, Luke Gale, Mikolaj Oledzki and Alex Mellor to long-term injuries in recent weeks. The Rhinos will welcome back young Jack Broadbent from injury, Rhyse Martin from suspension and skipper Matt Prior following self-isolation. They replace youngsters Levi Edwards and Corey Hall in the 21-man squad as well as Konrad Hurrell who was named in last week’s despite having a season-ending injury. Leeds will also be boosted by the return of Cameron Smith who missed the Huddersfield clash due to a Covid related issue. Ash Handley remains a doubt and will be assessed ahead of the game following a groin problem.
21-man squad: 2 Tom Briscoe, 3 Harry Newman, 5 Ash Handley, 6 Rob Lui, 9 Kruise Leeming, 10 Matt Prior, 12 Rhyse Martin, 13 Zane Tetevano, 14 Brad Dwyer, 16 Richie Myler, 17 Cameron Smith, 18 Tom Holroyd, 19 King Vuniyayawa, 20 Bodene Thompson, 22 Sam Walters, 23 Callum McLelland, 24 Luke Briscoe, 25 James Donaldson, 26 Jarrod O’Connor, 27 Jack Broadbent, 31 Morgan Gannon.
