Hull FC v Warrington Wolves: Tony Smith challenges side to underline progress on big stage

The Black and Whites lost a tight battle with Salford Red Devils last time out but have improved markedly since suffering a 34-6 defeat at Warrington in early April.

Daryl Powell's side had the game won by half-time that day after cruising into a 28-0 lead.

"I don't advise that's the best way to handle a Warrington team – to let them off to a great start and then go chasing them," said Smith.

"It's on a different stage which is exciting. A different venue can be a leveller sometimes."

The Wolves have lost three times since the last meeting between the sides but remain top of Super League after an encouraging first half of the season.

Smith has braced his team for a reaction following Warrington's heavy loss at Leigh Leopards last week.

"They're probably not in the same form they've been in at different points of the season," he added.

"Whether it's a good thing to be on the rebound from an outing they weren't so happy about, we'll find out.

"It'll be up to us how we handle all that."

Hull were left to rue one that got away after seeing their four-match winning run ended by Salford in a 29-22 defeat.

Smith believes the Black and Whites are a different team to the one that lost seven straight games earlier in the season but has warned they cannot continue to switch off against good sides.

"We're making progress," he said.

"If you look at last weekend, we're disappointed to concede some soft tries off kicks with a lack of concentration on our part.

"They're a good team. They looked the part earlier in the season when they ripped us apart.

"We've made progress for that not to happen again. We're more on the same page with each other and more competitive.

"I think it's progress from where we were but am disappointed to have some slip-ups that probably didn't need to happen.

"Once we get those concentrations closer to 80 minutes, we'll come up with some wins against some of those good teams.

"We're not too far off but not satisfied either."

Smith views Super League as a battle of fine margins this season with every side in the top 10 capable of beating their rivals on their day.

After downing the high-flying Wigan Warriors last month, Smith is hopeful of adding another scalp in Warrington on Sunday.

"We need to create opportunities and then taking them is the crucial bit," said the former Wire head coach.

"We've got some plans to put into place and some things that we have identified as possible weaknesses or vulnerabilities of our opponents.

"It's making those things happen and creating those opportunities to exploit them. Sometimes you do them well and sometimes you don't.

"The same prep will go to them. They're trying to exploit some of the things we're trying to fix.

"It's a good contest and hard to predict. They'll be favourites and we'll be underdogs. We'll go chasing them and see what happens."