RYAN Atkins tells us what Warrington Wolves should expect from Wigan Warriors tonight.

The sides meet in a Super League Super 8s round three ‘derby’ clash at The Halliwell Jones Stadium for an 8pm kick off.

“It’s going to be a tough physical match,” said the Wolves centre. “They’ve got a massive, physical, dominant pack. They’ve got internationals in the forward and backs.

“The back three really get them going forward. One of the main things these days is your kick and the chase.

“They’ve got three of the best in the game in (Matt) Bowen, whether they play him, (Dom) Manfredi, (Josh) Charnley or (Joe) Burgess.

“You’ve got to make that full chase to pin them down in their area or they can go the full length. So it’s about stopping them.

“Once you’ve stopped them you’ve got the big forwards to deal with. Hopefully that won’t be my job – I’ll leave it to Hilly!”

The 29-year-old admits it is one thing knowing what Wigan will throw at Wolves, but another to stop it.

“You do know what to expect but you’ve still got to defend it,” he explained. “Even though you know there’ll be that big shift with the tight leads, you still don’t know which ball they’re going to pass."

As an example of what defenders have to cope with, he made reference to the threat when Cook Islands international Anthony Gelling is in the side at centre, though Gelling is not in the 19-man squad for tonight's game with Atkins likely to face John Bateman instead.

“On one shift or set they might have a nice structured set and the next they pass to (Anthony) Gelling and he does what he wants.

“There’s no structure when he’s got the ball! He’s either the game breaker or causes errors, but he’s had a great season.

“But you want to test yourself against the best and that’s what you do when you play Wigan.”