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King: needs to bare his teeth

He is a massive unit and he should be crashing through tackles, he may have lost some confidence and Paul Cullen needs to point the finger and tell him to get it sorted.

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WIGAN V WARRINGTON

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Friday, 7pm, Sky Sports 2

This is going to be a big test for Warrington, especially with the two long-term injuries. It is going to be very difficult for them, but I did see enough guts, determination and skill factor to think that they could give Wigan a run for their money.

I don't think this whole Mickey Higham saga would have done Wigan any favours either. He would have read all week that their chairman has gone to Australia and purchased Mark Riddell.

In the last off-season it was public knowledge that Brian Noble wanted to get rid of Mickey Higham and bring back Terry Newton. It must be quite clear to that young lad that they don't want him.

Having said that, the lad has done exceptional well to accept this adversity and get on with playing his game, but it must unsettle the club itself.

It amazes me why they can't keep anything under wraps and why they feel they have to undermine the players they have playing their hearts out for them by announcing new signings before the season has finished.

What sort of mental state are Wigan in? They got absolutely hammered at the Millennium Stadium by St Helens.

Even Noble said it was embarrassing and a disgrace. They may have scored over 100 points against Whitehaven in the Challenge Cup, but they could not have taken any satisfaction from that.

Adversity

Warrington coach Paul Cullen has said that through the adversity the team has become stronger.

When you look at the talent like Lee Briers and Michael Monaghan they certainly have the ability to turn over any side. When Briers turns on the magic, anything can happen.

They have the firepower up front with Morley and Westwood to test Wigan and I think this could be a close encounter. I expect Warrington to roll their sleeves up and get stuck in.

Some of the Wolves players do seem to have a bit of a confidence problem though. Matt King is one of them. We know he is a top quality player and has the ability, but he seems to have lost his confident.

For such a big strapping bloke, he seems to be put to ground a bit too easily. He is a massive unit and he should be crashing through tackles, he may have lost some confidence and Paul Cullen needs to point the finger and tell him to get it sorted. They are going to need it against Wigan.

Saying that, I also think that Wigan's Trent Barret is in the same boat as King. He seems to have lost the confidence to take on the defence.

As I said earlier, scoring 100 points against Whitehaven was not exactly good training practice was it? Warrington are not going to hang back and I think Noble would have preferred a more defensive-orientated game to get them physically and mentally prepared.

Stevo says.

This is going to be a huge test of character, and is more about just two points. It is going to be about proving something to themselves as well. Both will be looking for big performances and that is going to be something special for the spectators.

Stevo's star man

Well I am going to go for the half-back pairing of Briers and Monaghan. Warrington have the forward power and I expect these two to work on that.