THERE is a lot more than simply two league points at stake tomorrow afternoon when Saints travel to DW Stadium aiming to end a five-match Good Friday losing streak.

And there will be no shortage of passion from skipper Jon Wilkin and coach Keiron Cunningham,who are on the same page as the fans with regards to what this game means when it comes to local bragging rights.

In the past the club’s Australian former coaches Mick Potter and Nathan Brown tried to draw out some of the emotion from this most traditional derby by publicly classing it as worth the same as any other fixture, but that never played well with the supporters particularly when contrasted with Shaun Wane’s tub-thumping from the cherry and white corner.

Having starred in plenty of Good Friday fixtures for his home town team Cunningham knows fully well that this is a special clash – even if he probably goes about declaring that more quietly than his friend and opposite number.

Cunningham said: “I have played with great NRL players who have taken the field treating it like another game but come off at the end it with their minds blown by how competitive and noisy it is.

“Every time you play in a Saints v Wigan fixture it is like a Grand Final because it means so much to both teams.

“The rivalry is healthy and the fans don’t cross the line with aggression. I am friends with Waney and we speak quite a lot and I ask his advice.

“He is passionate and wants to win the game, as am I, but as soon as it is over we will shake hands and reflect on the game.

“You are brought up with that passion of playing against Wigan and vice versa. You see how passionate Waney is about beating Saints. I am just the same about my club.”

It will be a first time as Good Friday skipper for Wilkin who is relishing the chance to bounce back from Friday’s first defeat with a big performance at Wigan.

“I have been here long enough to know how important this is for the club and for the season going forward. We owe the fans a good performance against Wigan.

“It is a sharp re-focus of our attention and we can’t spend any time focusing on what has been done.

“The level of intensity will be two to three times that of what it was at the weekend,” Wilkin said.