Super League Power Rankings (Wednesday, March 9): Wolves on the prowl and looking team to beat

It was a tense way to do it, that dramatic 31-30 success against Salford Red Devils, but the sort of result that suggests this might just be the year for Tony Smith’s side in their search of a maiden Grand Final victory.

Castleford Tigers drop three places, from first to fourth, as they not only lost but became the latest side to be mired by injuries, while Leeds Rhinos are the biggest movers in the other direction, going up three spots, highlighting just how imperative that first win of the season against Huddersfield Giants was.

1) Warrington Wolves (+1) - Chris Sandow has had a rough start to life at the Cheshire club but the Australian half-back continued his recent renaissance with Warrington with that stunning late drop goal to break Salford hearts. Wolves are joint-top with Widnes Vikings and Wigan but have a game in hand over Widnes. This weekend’s fixture in Perpignan will be an examination of whether they are cut out to be serious contenders - but all the signs point to them being the team to beat in 2016.

2) Widnes Vikings (+2) - Another win for Denis Betts’s side. It may only have been crisis-torn Hull KR but you can only beat who is front of you and Widnes are collecting points aplenty. They will fancy turning over Hull FC, too, on home territory this Thursday in a significant contest for both sides.

3) St Helens (+2) - Has Keiron Cunningham’s side turned a corner?

Followed up a scratchy win at Hull KR with a far more polished display to bring previously unbeaten Castleford Tigers to their knees. With coachless Wakefield arriving on Friday, they will be confident of building on their recent progress.

4) Castleford Tigers (-3) - When will they ever win at Saints? Their last victory there remains 1992 after Friday’s disappointing 28-22 reverse. Matters were made worse, though, due to injuries to three key players: in-form stand-off Benny Roberts, robust second-row Junior Moors - who has been a real scourge of defences - and the influential Grant Millington.

Wigan loanee Ryan Hampshire will get his shot at half-back when debuting against Salford this week and he needs to quickly find his feet.

5) Wigan Warriors (+1) – Another week and yet another scrappy win for Wigan. But a win, nonetheless. They were handed victory by hapless Hull FC but would only have had themselves to blame if they had lost having squandered a 20-6 lead just before the hour mark to go behind. Still not functioning anywhere their best but still four from four so who’s to argue? They will be confident of putting Leeds to the sword on Friday, too.

6) Catalan (+1) – Showed their potential dynamism when scoring 26 points in as many minutes to win at Wakefield, picking up their first away win of the campaign.

Will Catalan build on this? Who knows given their frustrating inconsistencies? But it would set a real marker if they could do a job on Warrington this Saturday and with captain Remi Casty back and only Paul Aiton missing they are well placed to do so.

7) Hull FC (-4) – The side who suffers the biggest slide in this week’s rankings, the drop of four places illustrates the true impact of how Hull FC must have felt after messing up that game against Wigan.

So much to like in Lee Radford’s side, not least Jamie Shaul’s impressive development at full-back, but to blow a winning position two weeks running against high-quality sides like Castleford and Wigan must be demoralising.

Desperately need a win at Widnes to avoid three successive defeats and will be hoping Frank ‘The Tank’ Pritchard is back fit and firing.

8) Salford (no move) – Lost by four points to Wigan and then by just a solitary point to Warrington, a lot of Salford’s quality work is being undone and they need a lift to keep the feel-good factor going after an otherwise impressive start.

Justin Carney’s return to Castleford on Sunday should provide fireworks but it is simply a win his temporary employers need at Wheldon Road, no matter how spectacular or otherwise.

9) Leeds Rhinos (+3) – A win at last for the champions. It was far from silky against Huddersfield but the only true requisite was victory and they got it to escape from the bottom of the table.

It doesn’t get much easier, though; Wigan away on Friday.

Brian McDermott will hope to have some more bodies back this week, with Mitch Garbutt definitely returning after his two-game ban, but he also saw Ash Handley and Joel Moon limp off against Giants so it could be another tough night.

10) Huddersfield Giants (-1) – Four games and still no win for Paul Anderson’s depleted side.

Sunday’s home game against fellow strugglers Hull KR - a bottom-two battle for the second week running after Friday’s narrow defeat at Leeds - is, bizarrely, probably one of the most important matches of his tenure.

Huddersfield have Catalans Dragons at home, too, the following week before a trip to Wakefield and they will target these fixtures as a way of kick-starting their season but you sense they must begin by defeating Rovers or it could slide away.

11) Hull KR (-1) – Plenty of endeavour in their defeat at Widnes, how will Rovers respond under a third coach already this season in James Webster?

He knows the club through and through and has been eager to get another shot at Super League following his difficult spell in charge of Wakefield last year.

Only in the role for seven months or so before a fourth coach comes in in pre-season to prepare them for 2017, Webster will look to make an impression starting at Huddersfield on Sunday.

12) Wakefield Trinity Wildcats (-1) – the second club to see their coach depart this season and we are only five rounds in. Brian Smith’s resignation came as a shock to many but whoever takes over will have a sizeable job. Still looking for their first win, it is hard to see that arriving at St Helens on Friday and it is inevitable that Trinity are at the foot of rankings this week.