Live on
Warrington vs Castleford
Super League
7:45pm Thursday September
Halliwell Jones Stadium
We take a peek at some important issues and also have all of the team news ahead of Thursday’s Super League elimination final between Warrington Wolves along with Castleford Tigers…
Warrington enter the play-offs about the rear of a dismal run of results at the league, although last month, the Challenge Cup might have been secured.
The Wolves have won only two of their past eight fixtures in the competition, which has seen them slide from being in contention to the League Leaders’ Shield to finishing fourth.
Friday’s defeat to Leeds Rhinos watched Salford Red Devils leapfrog them to third at the final round of the season, leaving the side of Steve Price confronting an elimination game at home to Castleford first up.
However, the win over St Helens, the dominant group in Super League this season, in the Challenge Cup final at Wembley revealed the Wolves will match the very best the division offers on their day.
That poor run of results is not currently playing using winger Josh Charnley placing it right down to the sort of blip teams often go through during a year.
«It is just at the wrong end of the year,» Charnley told Sky Sports. «Some groups also have it halfway or in the beginning, but ours has come at the wrong moment.
«We are fully focussed on performing the project, taking each week as it comes, and hopefully in four months we’ll return at Old Trafford.»
To obtain an concept of the impact Liam Watts had made in 2019, you appear at his haul from the club end-of-season awards .
The prop chose up Castleford’s player of the year, players’ player of the year and fans’ player of the year prizes visiting him voted as winner.
Watts was also awarded the Immortals Award, which this year was voted on by Castleford greats Arthur Atkinson, Alan Hardisty, Keith Hepworth, Mal Reilly and John Joyner.
The 29-year-old has caught the eye off from the Mend-A-Hose Jungle too, earning a place at the Super League Dream Team, being one of the contenders for the Man of Steel award when the voting was public and bringing a call-up into the England Performance Squad.
Watts has been direct the statistics of Castleford in terms of tackles and metres emphasising his value to the group from both defence and attack, together with making offloads than every other player in Super League this season.
Warrington’s forwards will undoubtedly be conscious although the forward is likely to play a role in whether the Tigers may realise hopes of becoming on a run in the play-offs and replicating their 2017 Grand Final appearance.
Head coach Daryl Powell is defined to have his own choices from the Castleford front weakened for this match and a play-off match after Jesse Sene-Lefao was banned for two games
Sene-Lefao was handed the suspension following his red card in last Friday defeat to Wigan Warriors for going in on the Oliver Partington of the house side together along with his knees.
Powell is currently mulling whether or not to appeal the ban in an effort to clean the Samoa global for Thursday’s trip but declared he will be a big miss to the Tigers.
«We will have a chat about what we’re going to do, but obviously it’s a bit of a blow for us whether he is going to miss the match,» Powell said. «Jesse has been playing pretty well for us»
Warrington are no one of their group members because of a ban also, with re Matty Smith being suspended for the removal closing after being found guilty of contact in the 26-4 reduction off to Leeds.
Thursday encounter marks the period Warrington and Castleford have met in 2019, with the hosts with the edge in the head to head.
Two first-half tries from Jake Mamo set the Wolves in the Halliwell Jones Stadium in March on their way to victory, together with Jack Hughes and Ben Murdoch-Masila crossing to secure a 24-10 win and condemn the Tigers.
The meeting in the Jungle at the start of May produced a similar result, with the people emerging 26-14 victors for Mike Cooper and Ben Currie.
But Castleford flipped the tables when the teams reconvened triumphing.
Warrington head coach Cost has made two changes last Friday, by the team which were beaten away to Leeds to his 19-man group.
Harvey Livett and Lama Tasi the two come back to the group, with the suspended Smith and Sitaleki Akaoula that the 2 players.
Sene-Lefao isn’t included in Castleford’s first group, if any appeal against his suspension is equally powerful, but might play a role.
Nathan Massey drops in the beat Wigan from Powell’s 19 together using forwards and hooker Jacques O’Neill Will Maher returning to the group in their own place.
Warrington Wolves 19-man squad: Blake Austin, Josh Charnley, Daryl Clark, Jason Clark, Mike Cooper, Ben Currie, Bryson Goodwin, Chris Hill, Jack Hughes, Toby King, Tom Lineham, Harvey Livett, Jake Mamo, Ben Murdoch-Masila, Declan Patton, Joe Philbin, Stefan Ratchford, Lama Tasi, Ben Westwood
Castleford Tigers 19-man group: Cheyse Blair, James Clare, Chris Clarkson, Matt Cook, Jamie Ellis, Oliver Holmes, Will Maher, Peter Mata’utia, Mike McMeeken, Paul McShane, Grant Millington, Adam Milner, Greg Minikin, Jacques O’Neill, Jordan Rankin, Daniel Smith, Jake Trueman, Calum Turner, Liam Watts
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