Hull FC v Wigan Warriors: Key battles in Super League clash

After a gruelling Bank Holiday double-header, the Betfred Super League teams are back in action this weekend.

On Saturday there is a clash between two sides who endured a difficult two games - Hull FC and Wigan. They were both beaten in rounds 15 and 16 and have dropped out of the top four.

Who will make the difference? Here are three key head to heads:

Jamie Shaul v Lewis Tierney

Jamie Shaul is a man with a point to prove. He's been dropped from Wayne Bennett's elite training squad, after breaking into the international setup at the start of the season.

But having watched Stefan Ratchford wear the No 1 shirt in the win over Samoa, Shaul must be giving the coach food for thought. He's up to 10 tries for the season, four behind his 2016 total and his running stats are seriously impressive.

Shaul has made 1684 metres at an average of 9.05m a run. He's also got 12 clean breaks and 55 tackle busts, proving what a danger Shaul is in attack. But will he change Bennett's opinion in time for the World Cup?

There's a real opportunity for Lewis Tierney to make his mark at full-back for Wigan.

With Morgan Escare expected to miss the rest of the season due to injury and Sam Tomkins still absent with his broken foot, Tierney will have to fill the hole for Shaun Wane.

A natural full-back, he made his breakthrough there last season before switching to the wing and starting in that position in the Grand Final win over Warrington. But Tierney has now started the last five games at full-back after missing a chunk of the season through injury.

Tierney has scored four Super League tries, just three behind his total for 2016. He is still raw though, and Mark Percival picked his pocket for that derby winner last Thursday.

Despite that, Tierney will be hoping for a long stint in the No 1 position.

Albert Kelly v George Williams

The signing of the Super League season? Kelly switched the red and white of Hull KR for the black and white of Hull FC in the off-season and he simply hasn't looked back.

His 14 tries is the best for Lee Radford's side and a figure good enough for third in the whole competition. Kelly also has seven try assists to his name, showing his ability to create for team-mates against Leigh last Friday, breaking clear to set up Jamie Shaul.

Kelly has made the most clean breaks (13) and third-most tackle busts (49) in the FC side, proving just how dangerous he is with ball-in-hand.

With half-back partner Marc Sneyd injured, will Kelly step up and continue to dazzle for his team?

You only have to look at round 16 to see just how influential Williams is for the Warriors. Instrumental in all but one of their tries, he provided two stunning assists.

One long pass out wide set up Liam Marshall in the corner and then he stepped through the Wakefield defence to put half back partner Thomas Leuluai over.

That's now 20 try assists for the season; the best in Super League and 13 more than any other Wigan team-mate. Williams now has more assists than his total from last season's Grand Final-winning effort and is just one behind his 21 assists registered in 2015.

With Wigan's injury-hit season affecting their form badly, Shaun Wane is indebted to his stand-off for providing consistent moments of magic.

Mark Minichiello v Willie Isa

What a campaigner Minichiello is. At 35 years young he is still going strong; the second rower is providing the glue in Hull FC's pack and is yet to miss a game in the 2017 Super League season.

His presence is vital for Lee Radford, who has lost several key players to injury this season at various points, including Gareth Ellis, Danny Houghton, Scott Taylor and now Marc Sneyd. But FC's Australian/Italian is still producing an astonishing amount of work.

Minichiello is second in the tackle count, inevitably behind Houghton, but still notching up 466 hits. He has also made the second-most carries with 203, turning in the third-most metres from those runs with 1360m.

And we're not finished there. Minichiello is also joint top of the offload charts for the Black and Whites with 18 and is second for tackle busts with 50. What an effort.

Shaun Wane will be hoping to have Isa back in the pack this weekend. The second rower was used as a makeshift centre in the defeat to Wakefield, his fourth appearance there this season. That's not ideal for the Warriors, especially given Joel Tomkins has been absent recently.

Isa is another player who is no stranger to getting his hands dirty. He has registered 434 tackles so far this season, the second-best of any Wigan player and just behind Sam Powell.

Isa is also third on the carries list with 185, making 1254 metres from those runs at an average gain of 6.78m a drive.

He is a key cog in Wane's side, proving his worth ever since joining from Widnes ahead of last season.