WARRINGTON Wolves hit the road for one last time in the Super League regular season on Saturday.
That trip takes them across the Pennines to Huddersfield Giants as they look to complete a 100 per cent record of league victories in Yorkshire this season having already won away at Leeds Rhinos, Castleford Tigers and both Hull clubs as well as beating Leeds at Elland Road at Magic Weekend.
If they can do that, they will take the race to secure a top two finish into the final round of matches.
Here, our Wire reporter Matt Turner picks out five key pre-match talking points ahead of the Round 26 clash at the John Smith’s Stadium…
Will the picture be any clearer come 8.30pm?
As things stand, there are still plenty of scenarios that are live entering the penultimate round of regular-season fixtures.
For Warrington, it will either be third or second – it could technically still be top, but that is unfortunately not a realistic prospect – and the difference between the two is stark.
Third, and it would likely mean a Friday-night trip to Hull KR in the semi-finals should they get through an eliminator round that has been their undoing in their past four play-off campaigns.
Second, and it’s a week off and a home semi-final – it’s pretty clear what would be preferable.
Wire have the advantage of knowing how Hull KR will have done at Leigh Leopards before taking to the field, so both before and after Saturday’s game, how the rest of their year is likely to look should be much clearer.
> How the Super League top-two race looks heading into Round 26
Matt Dufty – will he or won’t he?
Pretty much everyone had written Matt Dufty off until the play-offs – and they seemed pretty happy for their star full-back to be kept in reserve until then.
However, Sam Burgess sprang a surprise this week by hinting that, just three weeks after undergoing knee surgery, Dufty was in contention to play on Saturday and then went a step further by naming the Australian in his 21-man squad.
Could be genuinely play, or is it just kidology on the part of the Wire boss? We’ll only know for sure when the team news drops, but Burgess did say he would like to get Dufty some minutes before the knockout rugby starts.
There is a balance to be struck with that – while sending him into a do-or-die game undercooked would not be ideal, there is naturally a risk involved in bringing him back earlier than he is perhaps needed, given Wire cannot finish any lower than third and their chances of going higher are out of their hands.
Cai Taylor-Wray has been more than holding his own in Dufty’s absence and at this stage, it looks like him keeping his place for this week at least remains the most likely option.
Nicholson’s change of edge
Suspension or not, Lachlan Fitzgibbon was likely to miss this game as the options to treat his troublesome shoulder are mapped out.
Thankfully, Warrington’s depth in the back row is such that even though the Australian will be a big miss, they have a proven player ready to slot straight back in.
With no Adam Holroyd in the squad, Matty Nicholson is set to start and it is likely to be on the opposite side of the field to where he has been so effective this year.
For most of 2024, Nicholson has been stationed on the right edge to great effect, but John Bateman is now over there and with Burgess talking up his partnership with George Williams on that side, he appears unlikely to shift.
That means a likely switch to the left, where he played when Fitzgibbon was withdrawn from Saturday’s win over St Helens at half time.
New relationships will need to be built, but Nicholson is the kind of player to just get on with it with minimal fuss.
The dangers of chasing points
In many quarters, this game and next week’s hosting of London Broncos have been seen as a chance for Warrington to overhaul the 58-point gap between themselves and Hull KR in terms of points difference.
That would certainly be important because as well as needing the Robins to slip up in one of their games, Warrington are likely to need to win at least one of their two games by a handsome margin.
However, as well as being somewhat disrespectful to their opponents, going into a game with that kind of mindset is extremely dangerous.
Both Sam Burgess and Luke Yates have mentioned in the media this week that sticking to their usual process is paramount and if they do, they have to have faith that points will follow.
Recklessly chasing points tends to lead to errors and putting yourself under unnecessary pressure, so it is an approach Wire will have to guard against.
Beware the side with nothing to lose
Having assembled an exciting-looking roster of players, it has once again been a season of disappointment for Huddersfield.
Their play-off chances are long gone, they cannot finish any higher than their current position of ninth and could still be dragged down to 10th by Castleford Tigers.
As Luke Yates mentioned in his pre-match interview, however, with that comes a freedom to express yourself and take risks you ordinarily would not.
It is something Warrington have to be wary of as no rugby league side should be expected to simply roll over.
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