Friday's Super League previews
Thursday 20 June 2019 11:31, UK
Team news and views for Huddersfield vs Wigan, Salford vs Castleford and Warrington vs Wakefield in Friday's Super League games.
Huddersfield Giants vs Wigan Warriors (7.45pm)
Adrian Lam believes Wigan are starting to produce more consistent performances as the reigning Super League champions go looking for their third win in a row away to Huddersfield on Friday night.
The Warriors made it back-to-back wins with a 23-14 triumph away to Leeds Rhinos last Friday and face a Giants side who have suffered two successive losses.
Head coach Lam was pleased with what he saw from Wigan in the victory at Headingley and is in no doubt things are starting to look up after an inconsistent first half of the season.
"I thought the first half (against Leeds) was our best half of rugby with the ball," Lam said. "Even without scoring many points, it was more of the shape which we've been looking for.
"We hung in there towards the end of the game and defended together. They had set after set on our line, so I was proud of our players being really tough."
"We are pretty happy to be moving in the right direction and playing more consistently. I've challenged the players this week to be even better."
Zak Hardaker returns to Lam's 19-man squad after missing the trip to Leeds with a hand injury, while Joe Greenwood is back too after not featuring since the defeat to Warrington Wolves at Magic Weekend.
But Dan Sarginson is out with a niggling shoulder injury and Ben Flower remains sidelined as well.
Huddersfield head coach Simon Woolford is without Joe Wardle due to a hand injury and Jermaine McGillvary is not expected to make a comeback until next week.
Dale Ferguson could make his first appearance of the season for the Giants though, while fellow second-rower Oliver Roberts and winger Louis Senior come in for Michael Lawrence and Jake Wardle.
"They are coming off the back of two losses but they are a good team," Lam said of the Giants. "If you're not up to your game, they will certainly upset your rhythm.
"We have a lot of respect for them because they are a big side with some senior players in there that carry the ball really strong. We know we are going to have our hands full."
Huddersfield Giants 19-man squad: Darnell McIntosh, Jordan Turner, Lee Gaskell, Matt Frawley, Paul Clough, Kruise Leeming, Suaia Matagi, Aaron Murphy, Alex Mellor, Adam O'Brien, Oliver Roberts, Dale Ferguson, Ukuma Ta'ai, Matty English, Oliver Russell, Sam Hewitt, Sebastine Ikahihifo, Louis Senior, Innes Senior
Wigan Warriors 19-man squad: Joe Bullock, Joe Burgess, Tony Clubb, Morgan Escare, Liam Farrell, Oliver Gildart, Joe Greenwood, Chris Hankinson, Zak Hardaker, Willie Isa, Tommy Leuluai, Liam Marshall, Romain Navarrete, Sean O'Loughlin, Oliver Partington, Sam Powell, Jarrod Sammut, Morgan Smithies, George Williams
Salford Red Devils vs Castleford Tigers (7.45pm)
Ian Watson knows Salford cannot afford to rest on their laurels when Castleford visit the AJ Bell Stadium on Friday evening.
The Red Devils overcame Wakefield Trinity 44-20 at home last Sunday, ending a four-game losing streak.
That result kept them four points clear of the three sides fighting it out at the bottom of the Super League table and head coach Watson is well-aware of the need to ensure that remains the case.
"It's really interesting at the moment," Watson said. "The season is livening up.
"We have not really been piecing games together for the full 80, but I thought the boys did really well.
"They have refocused as a group and it was a decent performance (against Wakefield) which they can be proud of."
Salford are just two points behind fifth-placed Castleford as well and have Ryan Lannon in contention after he rejoined the club in a loan-swap deal with Hull Kingston Rovers.
Greg Johnson is back in Watson's 19-man squad too, with Ben Nakubuwai and George Griffin missing out due to injuries picked up against Wakefield.
Castleford head coach Daryl Powell is able to name an unchanged 19-man squad for the first time this season, with the injury problems which have affected the Tigers starting to ease.
The visitors go into this match having suffered a 31-18 defeat away to Hull FC last Thursday and Powell is eager for his players to find some in-game consistency.
"We're hurting ourselves at the moment and we need to sort that out pretty quickly," Powell said.
"We worked hard (at Hull), but we're quite a frustrating team at the minute because we don't have enough players doing the job consistently well enough across 80 minutes."
Salford Red Devils 19-man squad: Niall Evalds, Kris Welham, Junior Sa'u, Jake Bibby, Robert Lui, Lee Mossop, Gil Dudson, Josh Jones, Mark Flanagan, Joey Lussick, Adam Walker, Greg Burke, Tyrone McCarthy, Logan Tomkins, Greg Johnson, Derrell Olpherts, Krisnan Inu, Ryan Lannon, Jackson Hastings
Castleford Tigers 19-man squad: Cory Aston, Cheyse Blair, James Clare, Chris Clarkson, Matt Cook, Greg Eden, Nathan Massey, Peter Mata'utia, Mike McMeeken, Paul McShane, Grant Millington, Adam Milner, Greg Minikin, Junior Moors, Jordan Rankin, Jesse Sene-Lefao, Daniel Smith, Jake Trueman, Liam Watts
Warrington Wolves vs Wakefield Trinity (7.45pm)
Chris Chester has issued a stark warning to his Wakefield side as they aim to turn around their ailing fortunes away to Warrington on Friday evening.
Trinity are without a win in Super League since edging out Huddersfield Giants 26-25 on May 3, suffering four straight defeats in the competition since then.
That has seen them drop to eighth and head coach Chester is now taking the approach his team are fighting to secure their place in Super League.
"We are in a relegation fight now, that's how we are looking at it," Chester said.
"There are teams below us playing a lot better than us. I'm fairly confident we'll be OK but we need to get that quality back out there.
"Our ball control's not good enough at the moment and we've got players low on confidence, which is having a big effect on the outcomes of games."
Trinity are boosted by the return of Man of Steel contender David Fifita for the trip to Warrington, with Mason Caton-Brown set for a return to action as well.
However, Danny Kirmond is out with a knee injury and Tyler Randell is sidelined with a head injury too.
The second-placed Wolves go into this match seeking to rebound from a 16-14 loss away to struggling Hull KR last Saturday.
Daryl Clark and Joe Philbin both return to Steve Price's 19-man squad after missing the defeat against Rovers, with the Warrington head coach looking for a response after seeing victory slip from his side's grasp late on.
"In the end we were not good enough," Price said. "We have got to be hard-nosed and create more opportunities.
"I think there was a bit of complacency, to be honest, and that needs to be addressed."
Warrington Wolves 19-man squad: Sitaleki Akauola, Ryan Atkins, Blake Austin, Josh Charnley, Daryl Clark, Jason Clark, Mike Cooper, Ben Currie, Matt Davis, Bryson Goodwin, Chris Hill, Jack Hughes, Jack Johnson, Toby King, Jake Mamo, Ben Murdoch-Masila, Declan Patton, Joe Philbin, Lama Tasi, Danny Walker
Wakefield Trinity 19-man squad: Conor Bailey, Danny Brough, Mason Caton-Brown, Jack Croft, Jordan Crowther, Anthony England, David Fifita, Titus Gwaze, Ryan Hampshire, Keegan Hirst, Ben Jones-Bishop, Lee Kershaw, George King, Craig Kopczak, Reece Lyne, Jacob Miller, Pauli Pauli, Kelepi Tanginoa, Kyle Wood
