Warrington v St Helens preview
Warrington coach Tony Smith believes his players are remaining grounded as they seek to extend their lead at the top of the table.
The Wolves can pull four points clear of Wigan with victory over St Helens in Friday's derby at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, live on Sky Sports 2 HD, but Smith insists his team are not looking at the table.
"We don't talk about it," he said. "We're aware of where we're sitting but we want to improve on each performance.
"The next few weeks after Easter is always the challenging bit for everybody. It's where you can really start to put some form on the board and be consistent. We've been okay so far without being satisfied."
Saints are aiming for a sixth successive win at the Halliwell Jones Stadium but they have lost three of their last four matches and the loss of Dominique Peyroux adds to their injury woes.
Even Smith has some sympathy for his opponents, saying: "I've loved watching their outside backs. I think they've developed some really good and exciting ones and I think it's a shame when you see some of those young stars on the sidelines.
"That aside, it's a Saints-Warrington game and they grow a leg against us. They had a hoodoo over us for some years, thankfully we got over that and we've been able to show that we can more than hold our own at times.
"We're expecting another tough game. There's talk of them not being in their best form but they're sitting on 10 points and they've been winning enough games. "They've got some terrific players and we won't underestimate them at all."
It is a local derby and we always get some form of fireworks. We have to be ready on the night and I'm sure we will be.
St Helens coach Kieron Cunningham, who has called up two more youngsters, Jack Ashworth and Jake Spedding, alongside Ricky Bailey and Morgan Knowles, is confident his side can bounce back from consecutive home defeats.
"Warrington are the form side in the comp and sat on top of the table," he said. "We certainly enjoy playing against them. "It is a local derby and we always get some form of fireworks. We have to be ready on the night and I'm sure we will be."
The Wolves have also suffered a major injury blow with the loss of Australian scrum-half Chris Sandow, who has been Super League's player of the month for both February and March, but Smith has England utility back Stefan Ratchford to fill in and full-back Matty Russell is confident they have resources to cope without him.
"He's been on fire so we're going to miss him but we've got people to step in," said Russell, who is anticipating a close-fought derby.
"Saints are struggling a bit this year but I don't see why they won't perform their best against us," he said.
"Saints and Warrington is a big derby and I'm sure it will be a close game."
Warrington Wolves: Ryan Atkins, Daryl Clark, Jordan Cox, Ben Currie, Rhys Evans, Kurt Gidley, Chris Hill, Jack Hughes, Benjamin Jullien, George King, Tom Lineham, Declan Patton, Kevin Penny, Joe Philbin, Stefan Ratchford, Matty Russell, Ashton Sims, Joe Westerman, Ben Westwood.
St Helens: Kyle Amor, Jack Ashworth, Ricky Bailey, Travis Burns, Matty Dawson, Theo Fages, Morgan Knowles, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Shannon McDonnell, Jack Owens, Greg Richards, James Roby, Andre Savelio, Jake Spedding, Luke Thompson, Jordan Turner, Alex Walmsley, Luke Walsh, Jon Wilkin.
