Super League: Artisan Noble crafts Wigan's play-off hopes

Not only can Wigan celebrate their deliverance from Super League relegation today, they could even, depending on events elsewhere, still be clinging to a hope of a late, late run into the play-offs. After all their travails this season, Wigan go into today's games just four points behind a woefully out-of-form Warrington.

If they win at Harlequins this afternoon and the Wolves are beaten by second-placed Hull, it will all go down to the last weekend of the season.

Wigan then play Hull while Warrington meet their regular nemesis, St Helens. True, there is a points discrepancy of 110 to make up, but that could happen over the course of these four matches. The very fact that it is possible shows what a massive improvement Wigan have made under Brian Noble. The club that used to dominate the British game have got a lot of things wrong over the last few years, but this is one they have got triumphantly right.

Noble's back-to-basics approach, with its unashamed concentration on first fixing the side's leaky defence, has brought nine wins in their last 10 games - Warrington are the only side to beat them. That has steered them to safety despite a two-point deduction for breaking last year's salary cap. In recent games they have even started to play some decent rugby and their first-half display against Bradford last week will have had some potential opponents hoping that they do not make the play-offs.

Stuart Fielden has transformed their pack. You could argue that, for a record £450,000, he should have done. Michael Dobson was exactly the right short-term signing at scrum-half and, alongside him, Danny Orr has rediscovered much of his missing confidence.

In many ways, Warrington's season has been the opposite of Wigan's. Full of early promise, they slowly subsided into a sense of anti-climax. Even if they cling on to their play-off place, few fans will expect much of them. Although their majority shareholder, Simon Moran, strongly defended Paul Cullen's coaching this week, many supporters on the same phone-in made it clear that they did not agree.

There are a number of reasons for their disappointment, including the overreliance on Lee Briers as a playmaker and a patchy contribution from several overseas recruits. One of them, Paul Rauhihi, is back from suspension today and a strong end to the season from him would make a big difference in the forwards.

Paul Wood, the most consistent performer in the Wolves pack this season, should be fit, but it will be a major surprise if they are good enough to beat a Hull team beaten only once under their coach, Peter Sharp.

Defeat will leave Warrington vulnerable to Wigan's late charge. It is a fair indicator of form that their potential opponents in the play-offs would rather play the Wolves than the Warriors.