Finch – Warrington are the benchmark

Wigan half-back Brett Finch says that Warrington have set the benchmark in Super League for the past 18 months.

The Wolves were league leaders last season, having narrowly missed out on pipping Wigan to top spot in 2010.

They travel to the DW Stadium on Friday night, and Finch knows that Wigan will have to improve their defence if they are to leapfrog the Wolves in the table.

He told the club’s official website: “Our defence earlier in the season against Leeds and Catalans was excellent so to concede 30 points back to back is not good enough.

“If we leak 30 points against Warrington it is as good as the game over, they are a quality side and they have been the benchmark in the competition for the last 18 months or so. They might not be happy with what they did last week, this is a real challenge for us and it will be a guide to see where we are at on Friday night.

“Warrington like to throw the ball around as do we so it should be a great game for the fans to enjoy. They are a good team but they also have a lot of good individuals who can turn the game with a single play. We need to nulify their forwards and if we can do that we can control their key players,saying it and doing are is a different thing and it will be a tough job for us on Friday night.”

Warrington won both league games against Wigan last season, including September’s pivotal match at the Halliwell Jones Stadium which ultimately decided who finished in first place.

The Warriors did, however, defeat Warrington in the Challenge Cup final on their way to winning the trophy, that the Wolves had themselves won for the previous two years.

Despite winning 42 of 54 league games over the past two seasons, a Grand Final appearance still eludes Warrington, while Wigan were of course Super League champions in 2010, losing their crown to Leeds last season, who beat Warrington in the qualifying semi-final.