WARRINGTON Wolves’ top-two hopes may be out of their hands – but that does not mean they are giving up.

That is the message from winger Matty Ashton, who says they will continue to prioritise getting their own house in order and seeing where it takes them.

With leading pair Wigan Warriors and Hull KR facing each other on Friday, the door is theoretically still ajar for the third-placed Wolves to snatch one of the top two spots, thereby jumping straight into a home semi-final.

However, that also hinges on them beating St Helens at The Halliwell Jones Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Failure to do so would all but consign them to the eliminator round.

“It’s going to be tough for us, but we have to have the mentality of it being all about us for these last three games,” Ashton said.

“We’ll work on what we’ve worked on all year with the basics of the game, and it’s another exciting challenge that we’re looking forward to.

“We can’t control any result other than our own. We just have to focus on getting our two points each week now.

“We’ll be striving to do that and obviously hoping Wigan or Hull KR drop points, but we can’t control that.

“As long as we’re getting ourselves into form going into the play-offs, that’s the main thing.”

Warrington will be looking to record their third victory over St Helens this year – quite remarkable considering they came into 2024 having lost seven in a row against their neighbours.

Paul Wellens’ side remain ravaged by injuries and suspensions and will have a number of key men missing on Saturday including Jack Welsby, Daryl Clark, Tommy Makinson and Curtis Sironen among others.

Nevertheless, Ashton – a try-scorer in both of The Wire’s victories over Saints this year – is still expecting the toughest of tests.

“St Helens will always be a massive team no matter who they’ve got on the park,” he said.

“It’s hard to put a finger on what their squad is at the minutes because of what they’re going through, but we’ve got to take it as any other game.

“If we get the basics right, the rest should take care of itself.

“They’re a team full of exciting players wanting to take their chance and play for the badge, so we’ll expect a lot.

“Everyone is fighting for something – they want to cement that play-off spot and we’re not giving up hope of getting in the top two.”

As well as an important game for his side, there is something else Ashton may well have his eye on beforehand.

England head coach Shaun Wane is set to name a 30-man training squad for the national team’s end-of-year series against Samoa tomorrow, which will include his NRL contingent.

At the very least, it will give the speedster an indication as to where he sits in comparison to the other wingers in contention, with Sydney Roosters flyer Dom Young likely to take one spot if fit leaving a talented crop of Super League players to fight it out for the other.

Having scored three times in two games against Tonga last year and with 21 touchdowns to his name so far in 2024, Ashton hopes he’s done enough to put himself in Wane’s thoughts not just for this series but the exciting ones to come, with an Ashes series against Australia set for 2025 before the next Rugby League World Cup the following year.

“That’s going to be a big series against Samoa – we’ve seen how good their squad can be and how good ours could be, so it’s a good test for the nation,” said the 26-year-old, who was forced to sit out the mid-season Test against France through injury.

“They are the challenges we need going into the next few years.

“I’ll be putting my best foot forward in these next few weeks to try and put myself in Shaun Wane’s mind. It’s massively important that I’m doing everything right to put myself in his mind.

“It’s a really exciting time for England – you want to be performing against the best and that’s going Down Under to play Australia and playing in the World Cup.

“It’s a chance to make some history and I’d love to be a part of that.”