Leaders Wigan wary of influence of Noble as they aim for a double

However, coach Shaun Wane says he will not be under-estimating opponents who are now under the control of former Wigan chief Brian Noble.

The City Reds lifted themselves off the foot of the table with last week’s win over Castleford in Noble’s first game and they can also count on a contingent of ex-Wigan players for the bulk of their experience, including Martin Gleeson, Stephen Wilde and Wayne Godwin.

“They might be down near the bottom of the Super League but we know that, when teams come to the DW Stadium, their performances improve,” said Wane.

“I’ve seen them do some good things in the last few weeks. We’ll not be under-estimating them.”

St Helens have a trio of experienced players returning from injury and suspension as they look to get their season back on track against Widnes at Langtree Park.

Willie Manu, Josh Perry and Ade Gardner were among nine men missing from a patched-up team for last week’s 21-14 defeat at London Broncos, a fifth loss in their last six league and cup fixtures.

Main men James Roby and Jonny Lomax are still a fortnight away from making their return but coach Nathan Brown remains upbeat over his side’s prospects.

Sheffield Eagles coach Mark Aston is without Colton Roche (knee) for tonight’s Championship encounter with Dewsbury Rams (7.30pm).

Connor Scott has been drafted into Aston’s squad as Sheffield continue to chase Halifax and Featherstone Rovers at the top.

Aston, however, says: “We were rubbish in winning against Keighley and I don’t know why we keep playing like this. It gives me sleepless nights because we talk about playing to the plan but we’re not doing it.”

Rams coach Glenn Morrison has seven players likely to be unavailable, including Russ Spiers (ankle), Ben Jones (groin) and James Craven (shoulder).

Morrison said: “It’s pretty grim, but the spirit is there and everybody’s going to do their best. Nobody’s going to expect us to win this week, so we’ve got nothing to lose.”