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James Roby will take over as captain of St Helens for the Lancashire derby after Paul Wellens failed to overturn a one-match ban.
Last Updated: 05/04/12 3:56pm
James Roby will take over as captain of St Helens for the Lancashire derby after Paul Wellens failed to overturn a one-match ban.
Wellens' absence means Tommy Makinson is poised to start at full-back while Josh Jones will make his home debut after his first appearance at Warrington.
Prop forward Tony Puletua is back from injury but Gary Wheeler has been left out as he continues to recover from a knock picked up against Leeds.
Wigan are expected to call upon prop Gil Dudson for his debut and threequarter Anthony Gelling for his second start with Lee Mossop, Ben Flower and Liam Farrell (hip) ruled out.
Epalahame Lauaki misses the short trip as he serves the second of his two game suspension.
Brett Finch is set to captain the side after Sean O'Loughlin failed a fitness test on a knee injury that kept him out of last week's win against Salford.
Massive
"I played in a Leeds-Bradford derby but there is nothing compared to this," said coach Shaun Wane.
"I played in some great ones at Knowsley Road and Central Park in front of massive crowds.
"It's been bred in me since I was a kid. Wigan people say we can lose against anybody apart from this game. I don't want to go there and get beat by that team.
"There are a lot of local lads in the St Helens team and a lot of locals in my team. It has the makings of a great game.
"You don't need to get your players up for this. There is a lot of healthy dislike for St Helens.
"We need to make sure we defend tough and take that enthusiasm away. The team that wants it more will win the game."
St Helens squad: Wellens, Gardner, Shenton, Soliola, Meli, Hohaia, Lomax, Perry, Roby, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Puletua, Wilkin, Flannery, Flanagan, Clough, Magennis, Dixon, Makinson, J. Jones.
Wigan squad: S. Tomkins, Charnley, Goulding, Carmont, Richards, Finch, Leuluai, Prescott, McIlorum, Hansen, Hock, Lima, Tuson, Dudson, Gelling, Mellor, Hughes, Spencer, L. Tomkins.