Holbrook: Excited For Derby!

A win would hand Saints the League Leaders’ Shield for the sixth time in the modern era, whilst it is the third time the two sides have met this season.

“These games are exciting ones to be a part of,” he said. “We sit first, they are second and that all adds to it. There’s no doubt it will be a good game with a good atmosphere. That is what our game is all about.

“We also know if we win the game we win the Shield but Wigan won’t make it easy at all.

“This is one of the great rivalries in our game and the local derbies are fantastic. It’s good to come back from our week off and play Wigan – there’s a bit more hype around it this week and that is good for the players.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Shaun Wane as a coach, and Sam Tomkins in particular has been playing as good as anyone these last few weeks.

“They’re not a team I hate to play against, they’re the team we love to play.”

Saints come into the clash following an enforced weekend off but it’s a break Justin thinks will do his side good heading into the final part of the season.

“We would have rather played at the weekend, but we definitely needed a break after the Challenge Cup semi,” he added. “We’ve only got the one focus, and that’s on the Super League, so it’s a good time to freshen up for the back-end of the season.

“The Challenge Cup semi knocked us around; it wasn’t just the loss and us being out of the Cup, there was a lot more to it than that. We were always going to struggle five days later against Huddersfield too.

“I thought it was important we did get back on track against Wakefield and play the way we’ve been playing all season prior to those two weeks.

“It was really good and players really performed well. It was important for us to play well again, have a rest and be ready to go this week.”

Tickets for tonight’s game remain on sale from the Ticket Office at the Totally Wicked Stadium, by calling 01744 455 052 or online here.