Watch Wigan Warriors and Salford Red Devils battle it out for a place in the Super League Grand Final on Friday, live on Sky Sports Arena and Main Event from 7pm.
Friday 4 October 2019 23:35, UK
Sky Sports' Brian Carney explains why he thinks Wigan Warriors prop Tony Clubb could be at the heart of Friday's play-off clash with Salford Red Devils...
What's not in question is that Tony Clubb rubs opposition players up the wrong way.
Speaking to fans of not just Salford, but St Helens and other clubs over the course of the season, a name which always comes up when speaking about Wigan's pack is Tony Clubb.
I'd say, from a Wigan perspective, the prop is doing his job - but he certainly gets under the skin of the opposition.
I would expect to see Salford target Clubb tonight. Why is that? Well, cast your mind back to the first play-off game between Salford and Wigan, where he and Jackson Hastings had a running battle during that match - including elbowing Hastings in the back of the head as the half-back scored a try.
He went out the following week against St Helens and left Lachlan Coote on the broad of his back with what was later deemed a legitimate challenge.
What opposition players and fans sometimes suggest to me is that they'd like to see Tony Clubb do the same to their big men.
Tony, as well as a few members of the Wigan pack, came a distant second against the St Helens pack last week and I didn't see them target Luke Thompson or Alex Walmsley.
I would expect a big game from Clubb and his pack-mates, but I expect that to be matched in ferocious terms tonight by Gil Dudson, Lee Mossop, Adam Walker and Josh Jones.
Tune into Sky Sports for this game because if sparks are going to fly at the DW Stadium, you can bet your bottom dollar Tony Clubb will be at the heart of it.
