I'd imagine 1-16 will be identical fitness/disciplinary apart, only question is Halsall as cover again or four forwards, I'd probably plump for the extra forward as being competitive with Saints pack is going to be crucial

Halsall was only picked because they was gonna take Field off anyway, I think Partington might get the nod ahead of Isa and Shorrocks.

I think Thornley will get a ban for the late hit (rightly or wrongly).

I was in favour of switching Bevan to fullback mid game before Friday but I think his lack of pre season really showed against Wire - he looked exhausted.

Field
French
Isa
Bibby
Marshall
Cust
Smith
Singleton
O'Neill
Ellis
Farrell
Bateman
Smithies

Mago
Byrne
Havard
Shorrocks

The thought of Isa playing is scary enough. The thought of him playing at centre Vs Saints us terrifying. Halsall is the better option on all fronts.

Well said spot on.

I’ve not seen the Thornley incident on replay but presuming he would be ok, I think the first 16 picks itself and it’s just a decision for the last bench spot. I think the sensible decision would be to put Shorrocks on there. It’ll be an intense game and Brad O’Neill might need a spell.

Losing Thornley would be a blow. He showed what he can do on Friday. He’s a big body and close to the line anybody is going to find him a handful. When the alternative is a youngster or putting a second rower there, it really impacts on the balance.

Would it be worth putting Thornley at left centre to cope with Hurrell? Bibby is still having nightmares about him.

Saints fans seem more worried about you their own squad. Don’t seem to cope that well with a couple of injuries. I make Wigan favourites for this one!

I can see the logic, but not for me. If we're seeing Bibby as a potentially long term option, we can't be taking him out of the firing line in big games in my view. He should be looking at the semi-final as the opportunity to right a few wrongs from the last time we played them.

I wouldn't go that far, but missing Lomax (along with Dodd) definitely puts a different complexion on things.

I'd still make them favourites. We'll be missing our first choice 7 and 9 too, so it's not as though they're the only team which won't be near full strength.

I think the Lomax injury and potential Percival ban has massively changed the landscape.

I’m nowhere near as confident as I was and feel that Wigan could edge a close one this time. I know that they are missing 3 starters too but you could argue that Smith has improved them in attack and his goal kicking is worth it’s weight in gold.

Defensively he is weaker of course. We still have the pack to win but no halves changes the way we will play no doubt and I can imagine we’ll play a simple game plan, look to complete well and let the forwards win the game.

We won’t have a FB if Welsby plays 6 so that may mean Makinson playing there. It’s a lot of disruption at a crucial stage of the season so we may well get found out on Saturday.

I think Powell is the bigger loss. I've liked the look of O'Neill in the minutes that he's played, but there have been one or two occasions where his defence has been exposed in such a key position and the game on Saturday is only going to be more intense.

The loss of the two halves for Saints (and possibly Percival) is obviously massive for them and evens out the contest a bit, but if anything it incentivises them even more to make the most of their pack to overpower us down the middle, and really testing how well the likes of O'Neill and others can stand up to that sort of challenge.

If Saints complete their sets well I still think we might struggle to deal with the physicality of their pack, but I'd give us a decent chance with their issues at half back.