Why Hull is Wane's happy hunting ground

Wane has won all seven of his previous games at the KCOM Stadium.

He is happy with his excellent record - even if he can’t explain it, pointing to the quality in Lee Radford’s squad.

He said: “I do like it, but that run is a coincidence.

“The players he has are fantastic - they have that much talent, if you don’t turn up you will get butchered.”

“It’s always a good game, and we enjoy going there. They’re a great club. We have to aim up, because they’re very-well coached, and if you don’t turn up you get beaten.

“It’s an important game. We need to make it difficult, they have some good individuals and if you let them play they can beat any team. Our attitude needs to be bang on.”

Warriors are four points outside the top-four, with fifth-placed Hull FC one point and one position above them - putting greater emphasis on this televised round 17 clash (kick-off 5pm).

Having passed the halfway mark, Wane has seen enough to convince him the current competition is stronger than ever, something which is evident through the tightness of the league table.

He said: “I remember 2010, when I joined the first-team as assistant, there were dead-set games we knew we would win. And it was a bit boring, to be honest.

“This, the way it is now, we’re under pressure as coaches. Wakefield are a good team, we didn’t turn up physically to defend and we got burned. Salford are beating everyone.

“It’s exciting for the competition.

“This year we’ve done it tougher than last year, but when we get personnel back, we will win more matches.”

The competitiveness of the league is evident through the form of both Warriors and Hull, who are currently the leagues most out-of-form teams.

Both sides are without a win in three games. Wigan have one point from their last three matches - courtesy of a Magic Weekend draw with Warrington - while Hull FC have lost their league games since the Challenge Cup break.

During that time, all the other 10 top-flight clubs - including bottom sides Leigh Centurions and Widnes Vikings have managed to win more points.

In those three games, Warriors have worryingly let winning positions slip, including a 20-0 lead against Wakefield last Monday.

Asked if their drop when Sean O’Loughlin is spelled is a concern, Wane said: “I didn’t think there was a massive dip (when he was substituted) because they’d only had one attack set against us at 20-0, and we weren’t great with Lockers on (they scored two tries before his exit).

“Lockers does a lot of little things, but it’s not a major hangup for the players when he goes off. The bench players are massively under the pump to give us a lift and push on - we didn’t do that against Wakefield, and fatigue was one of the reasons.”

Shaun Wane’s record at Hull’s KCOM Stadium:

March 4, 2016 – won 26-25

September 9, 2016 – won 18-12

July 23, 2015 – won 48-12

May 9, 2014 – won 44-16

April 26, 2013 – won 28-20

April 22, 2012 – won 56-12

July 23, 2010 – won 46-0*

(*Wane took temporary charge when Michael Maguire went home to Australia because of his dad’s death).