Catalans Dragons v Warrington Wolves: Super League preview
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 12/03/16 8:10pm
Former Warrington favourite Richie Myler is warning his Catalans Dragons team-mates to expect their toughest test yet as they seek to put together a three-match winning run for the first time for 18 months at the expense of his old club.
The Perpignan club kick-started their Super League campaign with back-to-back wins over Leeds and Wakefield but on Saturday face a Warrington side who have won all four games so far in their best start to a season for seven years.
"We haven't hit our straps yet," said Myler, who joined the Dragons from Warrington at the end of last season. "We're not putting 80-minute performances in.
"I think we showed what we are capable of last week and we've got to build on that now but we know it will be tough against Warrington.
"They've started the season really well. They obviously recruited well in the off season and they've got a good set-up there, obviously I was part of it."
Myler, who made 131 Super League appearances for the Wolves after joining them from Salford in 2010, is relishing playing behind one of the biggest packs in the competition.
The arrival of 19st heavyweight Dave Taylor, the man nicknamed Coal Train, and 6ft 5in Willie Mason has increased the size of the Dragons pack this year and they have been boosted by the return of French Test front-rower Remi Casty from a knee reconstruction.
Australian stand-off Todd Carney is set to play five games in a row for the first time after an injury-hit first season in Super League and Myler is excited by his partnership with the 2010 international player of the year.
"He was hampered a lot by injury last year but he's fit now and a key member of this team," said Myler.
"He's a massive player and I think he showed that against Wakefield, where he had a hand in most of the tries.
"We have got a big pack and it gets bigger now we've got Mason and Remi is back. It's handy. That's what all half-backs want, a decent-sized pack to look after you. There's some great players in the team.
"It was a bit of a tough season for me last year but it's a nice fresh start and a new challenge and I'm really enjoying it."
Warrington coach Tony Smith is able to recall Kurt Gidley after he missed the win at Salford through concussion to renew his thriving partnership with fellow Australian Chris Sandow and he is looking forward to the battle of the half-backs.
"I thought Rich probably had his strongest game for a long time against Wakefield last week," said Smith. "Carney and he combined well together.
"We've got two experienced halves that are playing well together so it should be a good battle.
"It will come down to the forwards to see which team gets on the front foot so those half-backs can probably get the edge."
Although they have won all their games so far, Smith says his side will need to find some improvement if they are to keep the run going and says they will need to be at their best in front of a partisan French crowd.
"We haven't quite hit our straps yet, even though we've a lot of Ws next to our name," he said.
"Last week I thought defensively we weren't great but our attack was pretty good. We need to put the whole lot together in one day.
"And this time we've got to play the whistling crowd. Often you get a whistle from the crowd and then you get a whistle from the referee.
"That's the home advantage that they have. It means you've got to be squeaky clean on all your passes, you've got to be onside and you're not going to hold the opposition down for very long because the whistles keep coming.
"We've got to be good enough to overcome all those things."
Catalans Dragons: Louis Anderson, Jason Baitieri, Thomas Bosc, Julian Bousquet, Jodie Broughton, Todd Carney, Rémi Casty, Vincent Duport, Morgan Escaré, Tony Gigot, Justin Horo, Krisnan Inu, Willie Mason, Greg Mounis, Richie Myler, Eloi Pelissier, Pat Richards, Glenn Stewart, Dave Taylor.
Warrington Wolves: Ryan Atkins, Jordan Cox, Ben Currie, Mitchell Dodds, Brad Dwyer, Rhys Evans, Kurt Gidley, Chris Hill, Jack Hughes, Benjamin Jullien, George King, Tom Lineham, Kevin Penny, Joe Philbin, Stefan Ratchford, Matty Russell, Chris Sandow, Ashton Sims, Joe Westerman.
Watch Catalans v Warrington live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Saturday from 4.55pm. Catch the match for £6.99 on NOW TV. No contract.