Ellis works under head coach John Dixon at the Crusaders

Celtic Crusaders assistant coach Kevin Ellis hopes they can see off his ex-club Warrington on Saturday.

Ellis made the move from Bridgend amateur to league professional in 1990 and has been relishing the Brewery Field clash since the season's start.

He said: "Personally it's a fantastic fixture. It's one I've been looking forward to all season, really.

"My old club Warrington and my home club, Celtic Crusaders and Bridgend, brings back lots of memories."

John Dixon's assistant added: "I had five fantastic years up there with myself, Allan Bateman and Rowland Phillips and for Warrington Wolves to be coming down to Bridgend is great news.

606: DEBATE Give your thoughts on Crusaders v Wolves

"It's unbelievable. It's a dream come true, really for Super League to come to Wales and to come to my home town is a real boost for the whole nation.

"For with the likes of Wigan, Bradford, and Hull - household names - to come to the Brewery Field is a massive achievement."

At the start of the season many pundits predicted Warrington would be scrapping with the Crusaders to avoid being at the bottom of Super League.

But after a poor start the Wolves have enjoyed a turnaround in fortunes, although Ellis believes they remain vulnerable to a team that has won only twice since kicking off their inaugural top-flight season.

Ellis said: "It'll be a tough game. We've only had the two wins, but we should have had four or five.

We should have beaten them up there. We were the better team Kevin Ellis

"The boys are playing for 80 minutes. The effort, every game, is there right to the end. We've been unlucky with injuries, but it's all on the day… and hopefully we'll beat Warrington Wolves on Saturday.

"They've had a bad start, changed coaches and Tony Smith has come in and made a massive difference. They've won seven games out of nine now."

Crusaders will he spurred on by the memory of losing at Warrington in March after leading for much of the game.

Ellis said: "We should have beaten them up there. We were the better team - I think Lee Briers, maybe, was the difference at the end of the game - so we've just got to keep positive and concentrate on our own performance and hopefully we'll get a third win.

"At the beginning of the season we would have targeted beating Warrington. The thing with Warrington is they are hot and cold."

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