Warrington Wolves talking points before Hull KR showdown

In order to do that, they must beat Hull KR - the side directly behind them on points difference - at The Halliwell Jones Stadium in Round 20.

The previous two meetings between the clubs this year have both gone their way, so will three be the magic number?

Our Wire reporter Matt Turner takes a look at some key pre-match talking points here...

Can Wire complete an impressive hat-trick?

There is the chance for Warrington Wolves to do just that in a couple of respects.

Firstly, having already beaten Hull KR home and away this year, an opportunity to make it a full house of regular-season victories over the Robins presents itself to Sam Burgess’ men.

If they can, it will complete a clean sweep of victories in this mini-run of season-defining fixtures against the teams immediately around them.

This sequence has already seen them impressively win away at neighbours St Helens and Wigan Warriors, so can they mark their return home in style?

Two down, one to go…

Warrington have won away at Wigan and St Helens in the past fortnight (Image: Paul Currie/SWpix.com)

Stick or twist?

Burgess has quite the selection headache this week.

Warrington are not quite back at full-strength, with James Harrison still suspended and the likes of Leon Hayes, Stefan Ratchford and Connor Wrench all on the long-term injury list, but the 21-man squad he has been able to name certainly looks a lot healthier thanks to the addition of John Bateman and returns to contention for Joe Philbin, Lachlan Fitzgibbon and Toby King.

As tempting as it may be to restore the aforementioned trio to the 17, it is entirely plausible that Burgess opts to keep them in reserve for another week.

Such was the dominance of last week’s win at Wigan, nobody could really argue against those who turned out being undeserving of keeping their place, meaning Wire have the luxury of not having to rush injured players back.

At the very least, it’s a nice problem to have.

Toby King - seen here scoring against Hull KR in Round 11 - is among the players back in contention for this week (Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Where does Bateman fit in?

One thing we can be pretty certain of is that Bateman will feature somewhere in the 17 – this is the kind of game he has been signed to make an impact in.

However, the way in which Burgess opts to use him both on Friday and going forward will certainly be interesting.

This week, one suspects he may be utilised from the bench with his ability to play both in the middle and on the edges valuable in that respect.

His time at the club will be short, so Bateman will no doubt be itching to hit the ground running and make an immediate impact.

New signing John Bateman has had a week's worth of training with his new teammates (Image: Joe Richardson/Warrington Wolves)

Can Peters’ unwanted record be extended?

It is fair to say Willie Peters’ time as Hull KR head coach has been an overwhelming success to date.

A top-four finish and a Challenge Cup Final appearance in 2023 looks set to be followed up by another high placing in Super League this year, and the Robins have turned themselves into genuine contenders for honours.

However, Warrington Wolves remain the only Super League team he is yet to beat during his time at Craven Park.

All four meetings – two last year, two this – have all gone The Wire’s way and while they have picked up some highly impressive victories in 2024, most of them have come on home soil where they are formidable.

A statement away victory against one of their rivals is something they lack, and no doubt Peters will be hoping he can get two monkeys off his back in one fell swoop.

Wire have won all four meetings with Hull KR since Willie Peters took charge at Craven Park (Image: PA Wire)

Crowd watch

Most things at Warrington are heading in the right direction, but one thing that isn’t is the number of people heading through the turnstiles at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

As we reported last month, the average attendance at Wire home matches this season currently stands at 9,655 – a drop of just under 12 per cent from this stage last year despite a vast improvement in on-field fortunes.

Of course, there are various mitigating factors for this but the club have had a big push to try and get the place as full as possible for this crucial game, including briefly lowering adult ticket prices to £15 as part of a flash sale.

Hull KR are doing their bit, too, by offering coach travel for just £1 and that looks set to mean a large away following will cross the Pennines.

Warrington’s highest crowd of the season to date is 12,184 for the Round 13 loss to Wigan, and club figures will be desperately hoping Friday’s figures is north of that.

The club are hoping for a big crowd for Friday's top-of-the-table clash (Image: SWPix.com)