Warrington Wolves talking points before St Helens visit

And on Saturday, neighbours Warrington Wolves and St Helens will face off for the third time this year, with this being the first meeting of 2024 to take place at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

There's plenty on the line for both sides, with The Wire still holding out hope of a top-two spot while Saints are bidding to cling onto their play-off place.

Ahead of the game, our Wire reporter Matt Turner picks out five key pre-match talking points to discuss...

An unfamiliar feeling

Can anyone remember the last time Warrington went into a home game against St Helens as comfortable favourites for victory?

Nope, us neither, but that will most likely be the case on Saturday.

Of course, that counts for precious little once the action starts and the game will no doubt be as keenly contested as any Wire-Saints clash.

However, Sam Burgess’ side’s status as favourites reflects the complete reversal in both clubs’ fortunes this year – Wire have been largely inspired while Saints, beset by injuries, have stumbled.

Now, the time has come to make it count on the pitch.

Matty Ashton celebrates scoring against St Helens in July (Image: Martin Rickett/PA Wire)

Can Wire keep the pressure on?

As things stand, the likelihood is Warrington are going to finish in third place – a position pretty much everyone of a Wire persuasion would have gladly taken in February.

They need just one win from three games to make sure third is the lowest they can finish while the leading pair of Hull KR and Wigan Warriors are now four points ahead.

However, they face each other on Friday meaning that, barring the extremely unlikely event of a draw, one of them will drop points, meaning a Wire win will keep them firmly in contention for a top-two spot.

Ultimately, though, it will be up to them to keep the pressure on by taking care of their own business.

Saints pack still looks fearsome

Much of the narrative surrounding this game will focus on the calibre of player St Helens will be unable to call upon.

And when you look at it, it is quiet a list – Daryl Clark, Lewis Dodd, Mark Percival, Curtis Sironen, James Bell, all injured, Tommy Makinson suspended and while he has been named in the 21-man squad, Jack Welsby is still considered highly unlikely to play.

One area where they remain strong, however, is through the middle of the field where the vast majority of their first-choice options are in place.

And with Wire missing both of their starting front-rowers in James Harrison and Paul Vaughan, it is an area of the field where Saints may sense they can gain an advantage.

Sione Mata'utia has recently returned to fitness to boost Saints' forward pack (Image: SWPix.com)

An irritating change of date

This game was pencilled in for a Friday night, and would have brought the fizz and crackle a game under the lights between these two always contains.

Given where it sits in the season, however, it was always vulnerable to a change of date and unfortunately, that is what has happened.

The Saturday afternoon kick off means that anyone who plays the amateur game, those who follow football or any others who commit their weekends to other things are pretty much ruled out, but what will be more annoying to people is how late the decision was made.

The announcement that the game was being pushed back at the behest of Sky Sports was made on August 22 – just over a fortnight until the game itself.

Unfortunately, that appears to be the nature of the beast these days but one cannot help but sympathise with the view that these decisions are taken with little or no consideration for match-going fans.

If you’re looking for omens…

With two victories over St Helens under their belt already in 2024, Wire are looking to complete an impressive treble on Saturday.

And given they had lost seven games in a row against their neighbours coming into this year, that seems scarcely believable in itself.

Warrington beating St Helens three times in a calendar year has happened five times in history, with three of those coming before the First World War in 1987, 1900 and 1909.

You have to go all the way back to 1954 to find the last time it happened and that year, the all-conquering Wire team went on to be crowned champions.

Warrington are looking for their third victory over St Helens this year (Image: PA Wire)