Warrington v Salford: Super League preview
Last Updated: 07/07/16 7:03pm
Salford will be on a revenge mission when they take on Warrington at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Thursday night, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7.30pm.
The Wolves have won their last eight meetings with the Red Devils but their most recent defeat went down to the wire.
Ian Watson's men led 30-12 after 49 minutes only to allow their opponents back into contention and Warrington scrum-half Chris Sandow landed a drop goal in the last action of the match to secure a 31-30 victory.
"We feel we owe them one," Watson said. "They pinched it in the last seconds the last time we met."
That was one of a series of close-fought defeats the Red Devils have experienced this season which, coupled with their points deduction, has left them struggling to reach the top eight.
However, they got on the end of a narrow win against Castleford last Friday, while Warrington were being held to a draw against Hull KR, and Wolves coach Tony Smith is expecting a difficult test as they seek to remain in touch with leaders Hull.
"They're a solid team who have been performing fairly consistently," Smith said.
"They're not quite in that top eight yet but they're fighting hard for it regardless of their points deduction.
"They're a formidable team. We had a good game against them earlier - probably one of the better games of the year - and there's every chance it will be hard fought again because they will be confident after their recent victory.
"We were a little bit off last week so it's a good opportunity for us to get back on track."
Warrington are boosted by the return of experienced prop Ashton Sims from a two-match ban but influential stand-off Kurt Gidley remains sidelined through injury so understudy Dec Patton will get another chance to impress.
"It's a little bit soon for Kurt," Smith said. "He had a little bit of tightness in his hamstring and the risk is too great to put him out there.
"Dec will have another crack at it. He's developing and that's all part of the process.
"He's our back-up half and he did some good things last week as well as learn some lessons. We're happy to develop him and, if we have further injuries down the track, he needs to be ready. The best way to do that is get him out there.
"Ash has been in pretty good form this year so we're pleased to get him back. He will certainly add some grunt up front."
Hooker Sean Kenny, who recently made the move from Warrington to Salford, is set to face his old club after making his debut in the 22-18 win over Castleford while the Wolves need no introduction to Gareth O'Brien, their former half-back who has been revelling in the full-back role for the Red Devils this year.
"I'm delighted for Gaz, he's a lovely young bloke." Smith said. "I'm not surprised that much, he needed an opportunity to play and he just wasn't able to get enough of that here. He's in good form and really added to their team.
"It's great for Gaz, we're always happy when one of our junior boys goes on and becomes a good, consistent player."
Warrington Wolves: Ryan Atkins, Ryan Bailey, Daryl Clark, Ben Currie, Brad Dwyer, Rhys Evans, Chris Hill, Jack Hughes, George King, Toby King, Tom Lineham, Declan Patton, Kevin Penny, Stefan Ratchford, Matty Russell, Chris Sandow, Ashton Sims, Joe Westerman, Ben Westwood.
Salford Red Devils: Mason Caton-Brown, Michael Dobson, Niall Evalds, Mark Flanagan, George Griffin, Josh Griffin, Weller Hauraki, Greg Johnson, Josh Jones, Sean Kenny, Craig Kopczak, Ryan Lannon, Rob Lui, Ben Murdoch-Masila, Gareth O'Brien, Junior Sau, Logan Tomkins, Adam Walne, Jordan Walne.
Watch Warrington v Salford in Super League live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7.30pm on Thursday.
