Warrington Wolves v Hull Preview
Wolves hunt for victory in opening Super League game
Friday night's Super League game sees Warrington Wolves face Hull FC at the Halliwell-Jones Stadium in the first round of the 2008 league. Click to read the preview.
Despite Leeds entertaining Hull KR at a packed Headingley Stadium last Saturday, the actual opening game of Super League 2008 sees Hull FC travel to the Halliwell-Jones Stadium to face an extremely exciting Warrington Wolves outfit.
Wolves recruitment could cause damage
The home side have recruited considerably well over the off-season, bringing in stars mainly from Australian Premier competition, the NRL. The biggest signing for the Wolves was probably the coup of Matt King, an extremely talented centre who has played for Australia at senior level, and will form a dangerous combination in the backs if positioned aside Kevin Penny.
Penny broke onto the scene last season, where he scored virtually a try a game - a feat which earnt him praise from all quarters of the press. He has an high expectation on his shoulders for 2008, with many bookies tipping him to be topping the Super League try scoring charts come the end of September.
Warrington fan Amy Newens said: "He is a really talented player, who I think will excel to the best of his ability this season; he has the potential to be amongst the top try scorers this season.
"He showed fantastic skill and commitment last season, and hopefully he will perform equally as good this season."
In line for their debuts are King, Michael Monaghan, Chris Hicks and Louis Anderson, while the only absentees are Stuart Reardon and Paul Wood.
Coach Paul Cullen will be expecting his side to link together quickly, and build up momentum before facing clashes against the likes of St Helens and Leeds, the current Challenge Cup and Grand Final winners respectively.
Hull's injury crisis could prove to be downfall
Warrington's opponents on the other hand, have a large predicament on their hands, caused by an injury crisis which is taking its toll on the squad, causing coach Peter Sharp to already consider bringing in inexperienced youth players and reinforcements from other rival clubs.
One of those is Danny Williams, a young winger who has joined on loan from Leeds Rhinos. Williams spent the last half of the 2007 season on loan at newly-promoted Castleford for their National League One campaign, where he scored eleven tries.
He will join Peter Cusack, Shaun Berrigan and Todd Byrne for their Super League bows. The 'Airlie Birds however, are without many of their top stars. British stars Richard Horne, Gareth Raynor and Kirk Yeaman are all out, while Lee Radford, Richard Whiting, Matt Sing and Adam Dykes are also sidelined.
This means an opportunity for youngster Tom Briscoe also has the chance to show if he can make the step-up from the academy to the senior side.
Potential Outcome?
Hull's injury crisis has meant that they have had to switch positions for some of their star players. Having such a weakened squad means that they will struggle to match the more dominant side on paper, Warrington, who have quality from player number 1 to 17. Therefore, the bookies have their money on an home win, and rightly so.
