The Lowdown: Warrington Wolves (H)

All the facts you need to know ahead of Act II, Scene II of Super League 2020.

The Brief

After the restart Part 1 ending in a narrow loss to Leeds Rhinos, Huddersfield now face a Warrington Wolves side who seemed to have clicked into gear after their 40-10 win against Hull KR last time out. The Giants will be looking to get back to winning ways to bring their fifth victory of the season back to West Yorkshire. 

Supporters are reminded that the kick-off time has been amended from 1:30pm to 6:30pm, following a reshuffle after the cancellation of the Hull FC and Salford games this week. 

The Teams

Huddersfield:  Golding, McGillvary, Jake Wardle, Turner, McIntosh, Sezer, Gavet, O'Brien, Matagi, Edwards, Lawrence, English, Wilson, Ta'ai, Cudjoe, Holmes, Ruseel, L. Senior, Hewitt, Wood, Walne

Warrington: Akauola, Ashton, Austin, Burrell, Charnley, Clark, Clark, Cooper, Currie, Davis, Hill, Hughes, Kibula, King, Lineham, Mamo, Murdoch-Masila, Philbin, Ratchford, Walker, Widdop.

The Opposition

Warrington were all about the edges in their 40-10 win over Hull KR. Sure, the game had a kinda basketball feel about it with both teams seemingly running trick plays for the sheer joy of seeing them throw the ball around the turf. Warrington scored four of their tries through the middle of the pitch (Akauola's burst through the middle, Widdop's try from the break in the middle of the pitch and King & Lineham's combined effort late on), most of which came from Clean Breaks. 

Lineham is in! @WarringtonRLFC on the board and take the lead 🐺

Live on @SkySportsRL Arena now #SLWarHKR #SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/4Bju6EOPTD
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) August 8, 2020

They had 9 in the game against Hull KR, and confirmed a trend that has been evident in Super League this year, that with the lack of scrums and the 'six-again' rule, breaks are becoming more frequent as the game opens up more. Huddersfield managed to control most of the open breaks against Leeds, but were vulnerable on the flanks, which brings us to the Wire back five... 

Warrington rely on their incredibly talented back-line of Ratchford, Lineham, Gelling, King & Charnley - with Antony Gelling starring with a try and an assist last time out - which allow them to break quickly and finish ruthlessly. Lineham's first try for Warrington in the game against Hull KR came about via good support play between edge players, Currie making the initial break from a Widdop pass and finding Tom Lineham on the chalk ready to finish. 

Simon Says

Simon Woolford confirmed that Lee Gaskell will miss 'two or three games' due to a broken thumb sustained in the final minutes against Leeds and Aaron Murphy is unavailable due to a shoulder injury picked up in the Leeds loss. Joe Wardle, however, will miss this week but will be available for selection against Hull FC while Leroy Cudjoe is once again named in the 21-man squad and could get his first start since last year's trip to Wakefield Trinity. 

Woolford isn't too concerned, with Jermaine McGilvary and Ukuma Ta'ai returning to the squad: "While we've lost a couple we've gained a couple back as Ukuma is available and Jermaine is back"

Woolford also spoke about the recent outbreak of Covid-19 in the Hull FC camp, and asked for stricter protocol in the face of further outbreaks around Super League, telling the press in his weekly press preview. GiantsTV subscribers can see the full interview with BBC here. 

How to watch

The game is available on Sky Sports Arena, with coverage starting from 6:00pm. If you do not have access to Sky Sports but are a Season Card holder, you are eligible to claim your free code to watch the game on the OurLeague app. Find out more here.