Hull KR can halt Wigan charge, says confident Morgan

Their hosts have won their last seven fixtures and another success at DW Stadium will put them back level with Warrington and Huddersfield at the top of Super League still with a game in hand.

Wigan, who expect to have named an unchanged squad to the one which edged past Bradford in the Carnegie Challenge Cup have also prospered in the last six league meetings with their East Yorkshire opponents knocking them out of the play-offs in each of the previous two seasons.

However, confidence has grown in the Robins’ ranks of late courtesy of three successive wins and Morgan – whose side kept Salford City Reds scoreless last weekend to reach the Challenge Cup quarter-finals – remains optimistic they can upset the odds.

“Those three games were very defining for the season,” he said, ahead of the televised encounter.

“To get through to the quarter-finals of the cup and the league game against Bradford was a big one as well because we needed to keep pace with the top eight so those games in isolation were very important.

“But to go the champions’ home ground with some indifferent form wouldn’t have been the best mindset to be in.

“Now with three back-to-back wins it’s fair to say our mind is in the right place and our confidence is at the right level without being over confident.”

Rovers, whose last victory over the Warriors was a 20-12 triumph at Wigan in May 2009, are hoping to see chief playmaker Michael Dobson sign a new contract in the coming weeks and he will undoubtedly be key this evening.

But it is their ability to prevent scores which is paramount to Morgan who admitted: “We’ve being doing a lot of defence work over the last couple of months and I think we’re starting to reap the rewards of that.

“The players brought a great attitude with them last Friday. They really worked hard to win every little battle so it’ll be more of the same.

“You have to be very good defensively against Wigan. The plays they put on, they all run into the right spaces, the right holes and they all get to the right shoulders of the right players so you have to be very good defensively but I’m confident that we will be.”

Wigan have not lost since their 47-28 home defeat by Catalan Dragons on April 8, a result which encouraged a 28-16 triumph at Craven Park just five days later.

Morgan said: “Wigan are a quality side. I think players like Brett Finch are starting to find their feet a bit. They’re starting to get a bit of a settled squad together so they’re going to be difficult to beat.

“But we’re in a better shape now than we were when we played them at Craven Park not so long ago and if you look at that game there were two or three tries that we gave up very easily.

“I’m very confident we won’t give up those easy tries this time around so that naturally makes the competition between the two teams a lot closer.”