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Round 11 - Sunday games

Warrington V Hull

Warrington Wolves hope to make it three League wins in a row for the first time for two years when they entertain Hull, who have managed to retain third place in the table despite being below their best in recent weeks.

The Wolves lost 32-10 at the KC Stadium in February but, with the bulk of their injured players back in action, they have started to show their true form.

?Warrington have come through a bad patch by sticking together and are now reaping the rewards,? admitted Hull coach John Kear.

?In their last two games with Bradford and Wakefield they have been excellent. We have gone into our last two games (with Widnes and Leigh) trying to avoid complacency.

?We go into this one looking to front up and provide a big performance. We want to meet the standards we set in practice.?

Hull welcome back prop Paul King for his first appearance of the season and Warrington?s Ben Westwood, who has made the transition from the three-quarters to the pack, has no doubt where the match will be decided.

?Richard Horne is playing well for Hull but I think the game will be won in the middle of the park,? he said. ?If our pack can get on top of theirs we will take the two points on offer.?

Prop-forward Garreth Carvell will be missing for Hull after falling ill overnight.

Warrington Wolves v Hull FC, Halliwell Jones Stadium, Sunday 24 2005

Warrington 18-man squad: Grose, Faa?fili, Martin Gleeson, Kohe-Love, Briers, N. Wood, Leikvoll, Clarke, Hilton, Swann, Wainwright, Mark Gleeson, Westwood, P. Wood, Lima, Appo, Bridge, Bracek.

Hull 18-man squad: Blacklock, Briscoe, Brough, Cooke, Dowes, Eagar, Higgins, G. Horne, R. Horne, Kearney, King, McMenemy, McNicholas, Saxton, Thackray, Tony, Whiting, Yeaman.

Referee: A Klein ____________________ Huddersfield V St Helens

Huddersfield coach Jon Sharp is playing down talk of a grudge match on the eve of Sunday?s engage Super League clash with his former club St Helens.

The Giants take on Saints at the Galpharm Stadium just three weeks after losing 26-22 to the same opponents at the same venue in the fourth round of the Powergen Challenge Cup.

Both Sharp and his old boss boss Ian Millward found themselves in hot water for their behaviour that day but the Giants coach says revenge will not be his focus.

?I?m not going to get drawn into any revenge missions or grudge game type talk but will concentrate on getting my players in the best possible condition to play the game,? he said.

?They have got game breakers all over the field so if we are to bounce back from last week?s defeat we will need to be at the very top of our game.?

While St Helens have continued to collect victories at a merry rate in spite of the absence of key players, Huddersfield?s three-match winning run came to an abrupt halt with last week?s 54-10 rout at Bradford.

?We were disappointing last week in terms of the standards we set ourselves so we?ve a great opportunity on our very own turf to return to form,? said Sharp.

?Of course I realise that the fans of both teams will be fired up for this one given our last encounter and it?ll help create a cracking atmosphere.

?The Saints will travel in their thousands and we need the public of Huddersfield behind us in larger numbers than ever before if they are to out-shout the Saints.

?Much was made before and after the Saints game in respect of the match-ups across the two teams and on that occasion St Helens pipped us to the post.?

Millward, who welcomes back centre Jamie Lyon, is expecting another close tussle.

?We realise that we had a close game with the Giants in the Challenge Cup and that they have been playing very well up to last week,? he said.

?They are hard to beat at home so we will have to do our best to win. We are expecting a tough clash and I don?t think there will be a lot of points in it.?

Huddersfield Giants v St Helens, Galpharm Stadium, Sunday April 24 2005

Huddersfield 18-man squad: Reilly, De Vere, Thorman, March, Slicker, Drew, Gannon, Nero, Roarty, Gene, Jones, Morrison, Smith, Crabtree, White, Jackson, St Hilaire, Clayton.

St Helens 18-man squad: Wellens, Talau, Lyon, Albert, Hooper, Higham, Fozzard, Cunningham, P. Anderson, Gilmour, V. Anderson, Wilkin, Fa'asavalu, Mason, Edmondson, Bennett, Hardman, Long.

Referee: K Kirkpatrick ___________________________ Wakefield V London

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats will be out to avenge their club record 72-8 engage Super League defeat at Griffin Park when London Broncos visit the Atlantic Solutions Stadium.

The Wildcats conceded 12 tries that day but coach Shane McNally insists it has not been part of his preparations for the return encounter.

?We were very poor that day but I?ve done plenty of analysis,? he said. ?We haven?t highlighted it too much. It doesn?t give anyone any start. The scoreboard is nil-nil when we kick off.?

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats v London Broncos, Atlantic Solutions Stadium, Sunday April 24 2005

Wakefield 18-man squad: Wainwright, Demetriou, Tadulala, Rooney, Jeffries, Griffin, March, Obst , Wrench, Snitch, King, M. Field, Applegarth, Campbell, Houles, Kirk, Robinson, O'Neill.

London 18-man squad: Bradley-Qalilawa, Dorn, Greenwood, Haumono, Hopkins, Kirkpatrick, Lolohea, Lucky Luisi, McLinden, Mbu, O'Halloran, Purdham, Stephenson, Sykes, Tookey, Trindall, Wells, Williams.

Referee: R Silverwood

Thanks to: http://www.superleague.co.uk for another excellent article.