Warrington Wolves vs Castleford Tigers Predictions: Wire to show further improvement

On Friday night (20:00), Warrington Wolves bid for back-to-back home wins against a Castleford Tigers side still looking to get off the mark at the start of the new Betfred Super League season.

Sam Burgess’s Wolves were too good for Hull FC last weekend in a game overshadowed by the furore surrounding Nu Brown’s controversial red card for the Black and Whites.

While Castleford produced a gutsy fightback late on at the Salford Red Devils to deny backers the 13+ points Red Devils win predicted in this column, as Paul Rowley’s side instead edged home 26-22.

Team News

Burgess this week confirmed his hope to name an unchanged Warrington matchday 17 against a Tigers side further depleted by the loss of one of their integral stars.

The Warrington boss this week sanctioned the loan departures of hooker Brad Dwyer, winger Matty Russell and forward Joe Bullock as he sends his peripheral players out for game-time with his first-choice squad settled.

England captain George Williams is again missing with an ankle issue however, while Jordy Crowther misses out despite being free to play following suspension. Youngsters Tom Whitehead, and Arron Lindop – a try scorer at the Catalans Dragons in week one – come in.

Castleford boss Craig Lingard has mounting personnel problems after consecutive defeats. Playmaker Danny Richardson left the field with a head injury at Salford on Sunday and misses out through concussion protocols. Winger Jason Qareqare misses out too, while the suspended Liam Watts, injured captain Paul McShane and Papua New Guinea international prop Sylvester Namo are already out.

Winning Margin 1-5 - Warrington 16-20 points @ 9/2

While Warrington are very much in the early throws of the Sam Burgess era, last week’s win over Hull FC will have been a big morale-booster. Admittedly it was tough going until the bizarre sending off of Nu Brown for an accidental head contact, but the Wolves were able to manage the game from that moment on, scoring five second-half tries for a comfortable win.

Burgess is demanding “gradual improvement” from his team as he gets to grips with being a head coach, and he will be confident of seeing that against a troubled Tigers team.

Castleford boss Lingard and his assistant - the legendary Danny McGuire - were buoyed by the way their side fought back at Salford, but they ultimately have too many key men missing at the moment and I can’t see beyond another Wolves win here.

The margin of victory is often tough to call – as was shown by the red card that changed the game last week - but if the Wolves can get on a roll before half-time I can see them seeing this one out without too much bother, and so have gone for a three-score victory margin of 16-20 points at 9/2.

Anytime Tryscorer - Toby King @ 6/5

Warrington’s eight tries so far this season have come from eight different sources, but having been at the Salford game on Sunday I feel it is down Toby King’s side that the Wolves can have some joy against this Castleford team.

Back row Sam Stone and centre Nene Macdonald both went through the Tigers right defensive edge and after scoring his first of the season last week King can expect decent chances to add to his tally here.

Find more Super League Tips here at Betfred Insights