Super League: Warrington Wolves vs Castleford Tigers talking points and team news
Round 2 of the 2022 Betfred Super League season gets underway with Warrington hosting Castleford. Watch the clash at the Halliwell Jones Stadium live on Sky Sports Main Event and Mix from 7.30pm on Thursday (8pm kick-off)
By Sky Sports Rugby League
Last Updated: 17/02/22 4:34pm
We look at what is being said and team news ahead of Thursday's Betfred Super League clash between Warrington Wolves and Castleford Tigers , live on Sky Sports.
Wolves wary of Westerman
Much of the focus in the build-up to this clash has been on Daryl Powell facing his former club so early in his Warrington reign, but the head coach knows it could well be an ex-Wolves man who plays a decisive role on Thursday night.
Joe Westerman is now in his second spell with the Tigers, having re-joined from local rivals Wakefield Trinity in the off-season, and made his first competitive appearance for them since 2010 in the season-opening 26-16 defeat at home to Salford Red Devils last Friday.
The loose forward racked up some impressive numbers despite the loss, making a team-highest 126 metres with an average gain of eight metres, and three tackle busts - not to mention 29 tackles in defence - with Powell recognising what the 32-year-old has added to Castleford's squad.
"He's got his own certain style of playing," Powell said of Westerman, who played for Warrington in 2016 and 2017. "He's a little bit similar to [ex-Castleford forward] Grant Millington in terms of the number of times he has his hands on the ball - he's like an extra pivot in the middle of the field the way he plays.
"They've remodelled their outside backs a little bit - I'm not sure if they'll make changes after last week - but the half-backs are the same, the full-back is the same, [England hooker] Paul McShane is still there, and that spine is all very dangerous players.
"From that perspective it's pretty much the same as the team I coached last year, but there are a number of differences - Westerman being one of the dangerous players in there."
Powell and his squad only have a five-day turnaround from their season-opening 22-20 win away to Leeds Rhinos last Saturday, which presents plenty of challenges as he prepares for his first home game in charge of the club.
Nevertheless, there are no complaints from the 56-year-old as he seeks to maximise the short time they have to address some points from a game where they had to come from behind against a team who played for over an hour with a man down due to James Bentley's early red card.
"We've got a bit to work on, but we haven't got the time," Powell said. "Five days are always really tough turnarounds, but every team has to deal with them.
"Straight off the bat, it is, what it is so we'll just crack on and prepare. We'll get as much work in as we can."
McShane prepared to expect the unexpected
Given he only departed at the end of last season, it might be reasonable to assume Castleford's squad might have a good idea of what to expect from a Powell-coached Warrington team.
But Tigers skipper Paul McShane believes that is not really the case, given how he expects the Wolves to adopt a different game-plan to the one from their opening-day win over Leeds.
Indeed, McShane, who was brought to the Mend-A-Hose Jungle by Powell and developed into one of the stars of Super League under him, is preparing to expect the unexpected.
"He's a smart coach and he's got a good coaching staff he's taken over with him, and I think they'll change each week depending on the opposition," McShane said.
"You can't read too much into what they're going to do. You can look at their individual players and what their key traits are, but structurally I think anything could happen."
Powell's successor at the Tigers, Lee Radford, is aiming to make it an unhappy reunion for the Warrington boss after beginning his reign with a loss at home to Salford last week.
Radford put that defeat down in part to his side looking nervous rather than excited, and is aiming to put that right for Thursday's clash.
"We need to loosen up our shoulders a bit and enjoy the playing side," Radford said. "I thought we looked very stiff in what we did.
"We need to make sure we're excited, not nervous and I thought we looked nervous. That's something I've learning about the individuals, the group and the team. There's a way of approaching the game between the ears and I think we got that wrong on Friday."
Team news
Toby King and Jack Hughes are both in contention to make their first appearances of the season for Warrington after missing the win over Leeds due to knee and ankle injuries respectively.
Off-season signing Billy Magoulias remains sidelined though, while ex-Castleford hooker Daryl Clark is undergoing return-to-play head injury protocols. Oliver Holmes misses out on playing his former club too after an appeal against a suspension for a Grade B high tackle failed.
The Tigers go into the match without half-back Danny Richardson after he suffered a neck injury in the defeat to Salford, although how long he will be out for is still to be determined. This game comes too soon for Nathan Massey (hip) and Adam Milner (back) to return.
Youngsters Sam Hall and Cain Robb have both been called into Radford's 21-man squad, though.
Named squads
Warrington Wolves: Matty Ashton, Joe Bullock, Josh Charnley, Jason Clark, Mike Cooper, Ben Currie, Matt Davis, Riley Dean, Jack Hughes, Toby King, Ellis Longstaff, Peter Mata'utia, Robbie Mulhern, Joe Philbin, Stefan Ratchford, Ellis Robson, Josh Thewlis, Danny Walker, Gareth Widdop, George Williams, Connor Wrench.
Castleford Tigers: Niall Evalds, Derrell Olpherts, Jordan Turner, Jake Mamo, Bureta Faraimo, Jake Trueman, Liam Watts, Paul McShane, George Lawler, Kenny Edwards, Joe Westerman, George Griffin, Mahe Fonua, Alex Sutcliffe, Daniel Smith, Greg Eden, Cheyse Blair, Suaia Matagi, Sam Hall, Gareth O'Brien, Cain Robb.
