Warriors Host Wildcats

After a three week break due to participation in the World Club Challenge, Wigan return to the Super League programme on Sunday by hosting Wakefield.

The games against Wakefield last season were two of the best I saw even though it wasn't plain sailing for Wigan, Wakefield were amazing in both games despite losing as in the DW meeting they became the highest scoring team to lose as they hit 24 points and even led 10-12 before losing 44-24. The reverse game saw Wakefield push Wigan again as they led 17-10 at halftime before going onto lose 23-36 so are a side that Wigan must not underestimate.

Both sides are looking for a first win of the season with Wigan losing their opening game to Huddersfield and Wakefield having a narrow loss to Salford before a 10-23 loss to Bradford last week.

Wigan rest Matty Bowen, Josh Charnley, Dan Sarginson and Darrell Goulding with a surprise name in the 19 being Connor Farrell while Manfredi and Hampshire are named after good performances in New Zealand.


Wigan - Bateman, Burgess, Burke, Clubb, C. Farrell, Crosby, L Farrell, Flower, Gelling, Green, Hampshire, Hughes, Manfredi, McIlorum, O'Loughlin, Smith, Taylor, Thornley, Tomkins.

Wakefield - Mathers, Fox, Lyne, Sykes, Godinet, McShane, Raleigh, Lauitiiti, Kirmond, Washbrook, Wildie, Ryan, Tautai, Trout, Sammut, Walshaw, Smith, Crowther, Briscoe.

Prediction - Wigan 32 Wakefield 18.

 

Super League Round Three Preview

It may seem strange but for the first time this season, all 14 teams will play in the same weekend as Wigan and Widnes return after the Vikings sat out the previous round while Wigan contested the World Club Challenge in Sydney.

The round begins with a biblical clash of sorts in 'Devils v Saints' as captioned by the pre-match advertising by the hosts and both go into the game with a perfect starts to the season with Saints claiming wins against Wire and Hull and Salford winning narrowly against Wakefield and hammering London.

Salford- Jake Mullaney, Danny Williams, Martin Gleeson, Junior Sa'u, Francis Meli, Tim Smith,Adrian Morley,Tommy Lee, Lama Tasi, Tony Puletua, Gareth Hock, Harrison Hansen, Theo Fages, Andy Dixon, Shannan McPherson, Matty Ashurst, Jay Walton, Greg Johnson, Stuart Howarth.

St Helens - Jonny Lomax, Tommy Makinson, Jordan Turner, Josh Jones, Adam Swift, Lance Hohaia, Luke Walsh, James Roby, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Sia Soliola, Jon Wilkin , Willie Manu, Anthony Laffranchi, Mark Flanagan, Kyle Amor, Paul Wellens, Alex Walmsley, Mark Percival, Gary Wheeler.

In a new feature, I will predict each match in the round so for this clash a close game could be on the cards and will say Salford 18 Saints 24.

Friday night sees a trio of games but the best place to start is with the first long trip of the season as Leeds visit Catalans in a game that Catalans need to win to give their season a boost after two successive losses but of course away in England. Catalans away disadvantage is countered when they are at home as the trip to the south of France is daunting enough but the atmosphere from the crowd can be intimidating and has seen the big four all topple in recent years. 

The meeting sees Brent Webb face his former side with whom he enjoyed rich success and another notable name to the Leeds players is Jeff Lima in defeating Leeds with Wigan in 2011 saw him claim the Lance Todd award.

Catalans - Brent Webb, Morgan Escaré, Leon Pryce, Michael Oldfield, Thomas Bosc, Ian Henderson, Jeff Lima, Zeb Taia, Greg Mounis, Antoni Maria, Eloi Pelissier, Elliott Whitehead, Daryl Millard, Mickael Simon, Jamal Fakir, Lopini Paea, Jason Baitieri, Jean-Philippe Baile, Frédéric Vaccari.

Leeds - Zak Hardaker, Ben Jones-Bishop, Kallum Watkins, Joel Moon, Ryan Hall, Danny McGuire,
Rob Burrow, Kylie Leuluai, Paul Aiton, Jamie Peacock, Carl Ablett, Kevin Sinfield,
Stevie Ward, Brett Delaney, Ryan Bailey, Chris Clarkson, Tom Briscoe, Liam Sutcliffe, Brad Singleton. 

Catalans to use the home advantage so Cats 30 Leeds 16.

Widnes host Huddersfield with a perfect record after a lightning win against London and a cancelled game last week so the rest may help to spring a surprise on Huddersfield who were stunned by a resilient Hull KR who came back from 24-6 down to draw 24 all in the final minute.

Both sides boast good packs and this could be a really interesting game or could be a one way stroll for the defending league leaders with the first score being important due to the 3G pitch that Widnes use which has tripped up sides in the past. 

Widnes - Allen, Cahill, Clough, Craven, Dean, Flynn, Galea, Gerrard, Hanbury, Isa, Johnson, Joseph, Leuluai, Lloyd, Marsh, Mellor, Owens, Tickle, White.

Huddersfield - Scott Grix, Jermaine McGillvary, Leroy Cudjoe, Joe Wardle, Aaron Murphy, Danny Brough, Luke Robinson, Eorl Crabtree, Craig Kopczak, Brett Ferres, Jason Chan, Chris Bailey, Michael Lawrence, David Faiumu, Ukuma Ta'ai, Kyle Wood, Jodie Broughton, Antonio Kaufusi, Josh Johnson.

I think it will be a Hudds win but by a single score so Widnes 22 Hudds 28.


Hull KR host Castleford with the visitors currently at the league's summit after two comfortable wins over Bradford and Catalans and as such should be sight favourites for this meeting, Rovers had a tough start with a loss to Leeds but completed a superb comeback at Huddersfield going from 24-6 at half time to draw 24-24 and will use the performance as a base to bid for a first win of the season.

Hull KR -Travis Burns, Keal Carlile, Omari Caro, Ben Cockayne, Neville Costigan, Jordan Cox, Greg Eden, James Green, Craig Hall, Josh Hodgson, Graeme Horne, Kris Keating, Jamie Langley, Kevin Larroyer, Rhys Lovegrove, Liam Salter, Adam Walker, Jonny Walker, Kris Welham.

Castleford - Kirk Dixon, Michael Shenton, Justin Carney, Luke Dorn, Marc Sneyd, Andy Lynch Adam Milner, Craig Huby, Grant Millington, Weller Hauraki, Daryl Clark Oliver Holmes, Frankie Mariano, Scott Wheeldon, Jamie Ellis, Richard Owen, Michael Channing, Dan Fleming, Liam Finn.

A tight game and I think Hull KR will sneak it so Hull KR 23 Castleford 22. 


Sunday sees what could be classed as an early relegation clash as struggling Bradford host London with both sides having woeful starts to 2014, London have lost both games and conceded 100+ points already while Bradford have won one but sit on -4 in the table after a six points deduction this week after a being punished for entering administration. Both sides will just want to start March on a high and this could mean to how their season goes.

I think Bradford will shade the game but very narrowly so Bradford 18 London 14.

Warrington host Hull with the Wolves still looking for their first win of the season and with an axe to grind against the Black and Whites after they were beaten in last years Challenge Cup sem-final in what was a win against the odds with Wire the strong favourites. Hull have begun the season well with a comeback win against Catalans and a strong performance against St Helens despite a 34-22 loss.

Warrington need the win and on home soil, I think they will get it but it will not be a stroll and Hull will surprise many who doubt them so Warrington 30 Hull 22.

Six games done and thats is all right, well no as Wigan are back in Super League and are at home to Wakefield, due to the WCC trip it is doubtful that it will be a full-strength Wigan which will give Wakefield confidance given that in both meetings last year they really pushed Wigan as they led at home before a Wigan comeback and aside were the highest scoring side at the DW to come away with a loss so Wigan have to be wary.

Wigan will take confidence in the fact that their young lads can match Wakefield after a good performance against Saints in pre-season and the win over the NZ Warriors a fortnight ago.

A full preview of the Wigan game will come on on Friday with the squads for both sides but for now enjoy your rugby league.

Tigers At The Top As Broncos Stutter

The second round of games saw a couple of absentees as with Wigan down under in the WCC, their game against Widnes was called off so the Vikings had a nice week off. The other 12 sides didn't have that luxury and for some of them their performances showed that maybe they should have,

The first game of the week saw the Yorkshire derby between Wakefield and Bradford with the Bulls making up for their loss to Castleford with tries from Purtell and Kearney and a conversion from Foster putting them 10-4 up at the break with Fox in reply. George and O'Brien sealed the win with Foster converting both and Gale adding a drop goal with Wakefield's only second half points coming from Lauitiiti try and Sammut converting against his former side in a 10-23 loss.

Friday night saw two big games for different reasons as Leeds hosted Warrington and St Helens hosted Hull. Warrington faced another big rival after Saints last week and suffered a similar fate as they went down 18-12 despite leading through a converted Monagahan try but Leeds came back with a double from Hardaker and a third by Briscoe with Sinfield converting all three while Wire could only manage one further effort with Ratchford converting Westwood's try.

Langtree Park hosted a special match that saw a focus of memorial for Steve Prescott which began with the renaming of the Saints Way bridge in celebration of the former great and the sides contested the inaugural Steve Prescott Memorial Cup and it was a game worthy of the man as Saints triumphed 34-22. It was Hull who led at the break with tries from Paea and Whiting with a Crooks conversion while a Roby converted try put the score at 10-6. Saints turned it around with efforts from Soliola, Lomax, Makinson, Percival and a second from Roby and all converted by Walsh but Ellis Houghton with Crooks converting made sure it was a game to remember.

Saturday afternoon saw Salford travel to London and yet again the Broncos were on the wrong side of a score with a 18-44 loss despite taking the lead through Moore (Gigot conv) they were pulled back by Fages, Williams, Smith and a Hansen double for a 6-26 halftime score. London saw Griffin and McKeeken score converted tries but it wasn't enough as Fages got his second and Mullaney and Meli all went over with both adding to their five combined conversions.

Sunday saw two surprises as when Huddersfield hosted Hull KR and Catalans travelled to Castleford, Huddersfield led 24-6 at the break with Brough converting a try of his won and scores from Wood and a double from Robinson with Caro (Burns conv) in reply but Hull KR showed that they cant be written off as Cox and Hodgson reduced the gap with Burns converting but in the final seconds levelled the game as Caro got his second and Burns kicked successfully to seal the draw at 24 all.

Catalans loss to Hull last week as a shock as they were in front for a while but Carney and Dixon put the hosts in front with Escare (Dureau conv) making it 12-6 at the break but the Tigers repeated last weeks second half haul with 20 points with Carney completing a hat-trick and Tansey and Clark sealing the win to send them top of the league.

Roosters Triumph In WCC

History beckoned for Wigan as they faced the Sydney Roosters as outsiders yesterday in the World Club Challenge looking for a fourth title in the first staging in Australia for 20 years.

The famous Wigan win over Brisbane in 1994 was the last in Australia and Wigan used that success to inspire them against the Roosters but the NRL side proved to be too much of a match for Wigan.

Wigan kicked off and Sydney began their attack and it only took until the second set to open the scoring as Jennings swished past Charnley and went over for the try after being picked out be Pearce and Maloney converted for a 6-0 lead.

Both sides made errors as Sydney knocked on with Wigan kicking dead soon after but Sydney soon extended their lead as Friend found Sam Moa who went over for the try and a second conversion from Maloney made it 12-0.

A couple of sets passed by and Wigan got a very lucky escape as a kick over the top was taken by Minichello after Bowen had failed to jump but luckily for the full back, the Roosters captain dropped the ball with the try line in sight.

Wigan's mistakes did cost them as an error in passing the ball allowed Sydney to gain possession and a grubber from Friend saw Bowen fail to ground the ball in goal and led to Jennings collecting his second try after a video referee review with Maloney converting for an 18-0 lead.

Wigan had a massive scare when Jennings raced clear but it was pulled back for a Wigan scrum but with no positive result and minutes later, Pettybourne was put on report after a big hit on Kenny-Dowall and the winger went in for a try after Williams had found him but on review the try was denied as an excellent tackle from Burgess forced the Kiwi into touch meaning a half time deficit of 18-0 rather than the possible 24-0.

Whatever Shaun Wane said to the Wigan side at half-time it certainly had a quick effect as after a brilliant run by O'Loughlin to within metres of the line, Sarginson swept wide a brilliant pass to Burgess who flew over for the try to the joy of the travelling Warriors fans but the joy didn't extend as Smith missed the conversion for an 18-4 score.

Just as Wigan had got back in the game, the deficit rose as a huge mistake in passing from Wigan allowed Jennings to intercept and secure the hat-trick with the easiest of his trio, Maloney kicked successfully for a 24-4 lead and Wigan needed a miracle.

Hope came quickly as Charnley scored his first try of 2014 after a high kick from Smith caught two bounces and was collected in the welcome arms of Charnley who went over for the try and thankfully Smith kicked the conversion to take the score to 24-10.

Wigan had a nice period of pressure that led to Charnley scoring his second as Farrell and Goulding combined and picked him out to reduced the deficit but only to ten as Smith missed the kick and the score stood at 24-14.

Wigan could have fallen further behind quickly but to their joy a Roosters attack saw Maloney pass into touch but the try did come minutes later as Friend found Waerea-Hargreaves who increased the lead as he split the Wigan defence and Maloney's conversion made it 30-14 and surely sealed the win for the hosts.

The sealer came barely four minutes later as Wigan were caught out again as Kenny-Dowall was found by Aubusson and went in for the try, Maloney made it six from six with the boot for a 36-14 lead.

Despite staring a loss in the face, Wigan continued the fight but to no avail as the Roosters celebrated the win and collected the famous World Club Challenge trophy but in the post-match speeches it was brilliant to see such praise for Wigan from Minichello and emotional to see O'Loughlin reflect on what was a bad game for Wigan but just how far we have come in the last year.

Wigan Strong For Roosters Test

From celebrating Matty Smith's drop goal at Old Trafford last October in the stunning comeback against Warrington, the prize that awaits the victorious Warriors is a stern test against the NRL champions Sydney Roosters.

A lot of people suggest that the NRL sides are a step above the Super League and that the tie will surely be a Roosters win but Wigan have been in this situation before and famously humbled all of those who had doubted them when they won the last WCC to be held in Australia as they defeated the Brisbane Broncos 20-14 to cement their position as the best RL side in the world.

However since that famous win, Wigan have only had one WCC meeting which I remember all too well from three years ago when St George Illawarra won 21-15 at the DW stadium despite being 14-15 behind at half time after a good first half from both sides was ended with a Sam Tomkins drop goal. Sadly the second half saw Wigan scoreless as the Dragons hit seven points to comeback and claim the win, a win more devastating on a personal level with my birthday the following day.

Confidence was not too high before that game despite two wins from three in the Super League as the issue of the NRL side being stronger was a clear factor, this time around the same issue arises but Wigan have defied the odds a lot in recent years and this time I have confidence they will do the same.

One significant factor for Wigan is that only four of those who tasted defeat in 2011 still remain in the shape of Liam Farrell, Darrell Goulding, captain Sean O'Loughlin and Michael McIlorum, with the latter two a big factor in the confidence for Wigan having comeback from injury.

Both sides have submitted string squads for the match with each having one notable absentee due to injury, Wigan have Sam Powell missing due to an ankle injury which is gutting for the half-back after a brilliant performance in the trial game against the Vodafone Warriors while the Roosters will miss

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck who starred in last autumn's World Cup with eight tries in six games and has failed to shake off an injury that he suffered in the final.

Sydney -Anthony Minichiello, Daniel Tupou, Michael Jennings, Mitchell Aubusson, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, James Maloney, Mitchell Pearce, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Jake Friend, Sam Moa, Boyd Cordner, Sonny Bill Williams, Frank-Paul Nuuausala, Daniel Mortimer, Aidan Guerra, Dylan Napa, Remi Casty, Kane Evans, Taane Milne, Kurt Kara.

Anthony Minichiello, Daniel Tupou, Michael Jennings, Mitchell Aubusson, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, James Maloney, Mitchell Pearce, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Jake Friend, Sam Moa, Boyd Cordner, Sonny Bill Williams, Frank-Paul Nuuausala
Read more at http://www.wiganwarriors.com/WContent.aspx?id=9072&type=1#kskc3yvz3tXkRiXI.99

Wigan - J Bateman, M Bowen, J Burgess, J Charnley, T Clubb, D Crosby, G Dudson, L Farrell, B Flower, A Gelling, D Goulding, B Green, J Hughes, M McIlorum, S O'Loughlin (capt), E Pettybourne, D Sarginson, M Smith, S Taylor.

For the first time in a long time of predicting Wigan games, I am torn as being a 'True Warrior', I go for a Wigan win but it will be a very close one so I will say Wigan 25 Sydney 24.

Sydney Roosters (1-13): Anthony Minichiello, Daniel Tupou, Michael Jennings, Mitchell Aubusson, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, James Maloney, Mitchell Pearce, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Jake Friend, Sam Moa, Boyd Cordner, Sonny Bill Williams, Frank-Paul Nuuausala
Bench: Daniel Mortimer, Aidan Guerra, Dylan Napa, Remi Casty, Kane Evans, Taane Milne, Kurt Kara.
A reminder of the Wigan Warriors 19 man squad which Shaun Wane confirmed yesterday
Wigan Warriors Squad (alphabetical order): 25 John Bateman, 1 Matty Bowen, 32 Joe Burgess, 2 Josh Charnley, 24 Tony Clubb, 17 Dom Crosby, 16 Gil Dudson, 12 Liam Farrell, 10 Ben Flower, 5 Anthony Gelling, 3 Darrell Goulding, 6 Blake Green, 14 Jack Hughes, 9 Michael McIlorum, 13 Sean O'Loughlin, 22 Eddy Pettybourne, 23 Dan Sarginson, 7 Matty Smith, 8 Scott Taylor

Read more at http://www.wiganwarriors.com/WContent.aspx?id=9072&type=1#GvBcqqdAOf6ddEBo.99

Sydney Roosters (1-13): Anthony Minichiello, Daniel Tupou, Michael Jennings, Mitchell Aubusson, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, James Maloney, Mitchell Pearce, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Jake Friend, Sam Moa, Boyd Cordner, Sonny Bill Williams, Frank-Paul Nuuausala
Bench: Daniel Mortimer, Aidan Guerra, Dylan Napa, Remi Casty, Kane Evans, Taane Milne, Kurt Kara.
A reminder of the Wigan Warriors 19 man squad which Shaun Wane confirmed yesterday
Wigan Warriors Squad (alphabetical order): 25 John Bateman, 1 Matty Bowen, 32 Joe Burgess, 2 Josh Charnley, 24 Tony Clubb, 17 Dom Crosby, 16 Gil Dudson, 12 Liam Farrell, 10 Ben Flower, 5 Anthony Gelling, 3 Darrell Goulding, 6 Blake Green, 14 Jack Hughes, 9 Michael McIlorum, 13 Sean O'Loughlin, 22 Eddy Pettybourne, 23 Dan Sarginson, 7 Matty Smith, 8 Scott Taylor

Read more at http://www.wiganwarriors.com/WContent.aspx?id=9072&type=1#GvBcqqdAOf6ddEBo.99

Super League Round Two Preview

The excitement of the opening round of games seems like only a few days ago but yet the next round has come around quickly though this time Wigan and Widnes will be absent as their game has been postponed due to the Warriors' participation in the upcoming World Club Challenge.

Thursday night sees a Yorkshire derby of sorts as Bradford travel to Wakefield with both looking to bounce back from opening losses and an interesting pre-match spice sees Jarrod Sammut face his former club only a week after leaving Odsal with Mullally looking to debut for the Bulls after joining on loan from Huddersfield.


Wakefield Wildcats: Mathers, Fox, Collis, Lyne, Sykes, Godinet, Anderson, McShane, Raleigh, Lauitiiti, Kirmond, Washbrook, Wildie, Ryan, Tautai, Sammut, Walshaw, Smith, Briscoe.
Bradford Bulls: Donaldson, Henry, Walker, Purtell, Gale, Kear, Gaskell, Sidlow, Bridge, Scruton, George, Mullally, Wood, Manuokafoa, Addy, Foster, Diskin, Kearney, O'Brien.

Friday night sees another clash of the top sides as Warrington's tough start to the season continues with a trip to face Leeds who will look to make it two wins from two while the Wolves will hope to avoid what would be a third consecutive defeat to one of their main rivals having lost to Wigan in the Grand Final and St Helens last week. The Rhinos have defeated the Wolves in their last two meetings so the visitors will look for revenge as well as their first win of the season.

Leeds Rhinos -  Zak Hardaker, Ben Jones-Bishop, Kallum Watkins, Joel Moon, Ryan Hall, Danny McGuire, Rob Burrow, Kylie Leuluai, Paul Aiton, Jamie Peacock, Carl Ablett, Kevin Sinfield (c),
Stevie Ward, Brett Delaney, Ryan Bailey, Chris Clarkson, Mitch Achurch, Tom Briscoe,
Brad Singleton.

Warrington Wolves -  Roy Asotasi, Ryan Atkins, Chris Bridge, Ben Currie, Brad Dwyer, Anthony England, Ben Evans, Simon Grix, Micky Higham,Chris Hill, James Laithwaite, Joel Monaghan, Michael Monaghan, Richie Myler, Gareth O’Brien, Gene Ormsby, Stefan Ratchford, Trent Waterhouse, Ben Westwood.

The other Friday game will see St Helens host Hull in contesting the Steve Prescott Memorial Cup in honour of the legendary man that he was and the heroics he preformed for both sides in a memorable career in what I am sure will be a memorable and emotional night which will also see the Saints Way bridge that is adjacent to Langtree Park renamed in honour of the former Saints and Hull great.

St Helens - Jonny Lomax, Tommy Makinson, Jordan Turner, Josh Jones, Adam Swift, Lance Hohaia, Luke Walsh, James Roby,  Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook,  Sia Soliola, Jon Wilkin, Willie Manu,  Anthony Laffranchi,  Kyle Amor, Paul Wellens, Alex Walmsley, Mark Percival, Gary Wheeler, Greg Richards.

Hull FC- Ben Crooks, Kirk Yeaman, Tom Lineham, Richard Horne, Jacob Miller, Mickey Paea, Danny Houghton, Gareth Ellis, Joe Westerman, Richard Whiting, Joe Arundel, Jordan Thompson,  Jamie Shaul, Josh Bowden, Iafeta Palea'aesina, Jordan Rankin, Aaron Heremaia, Fetuli Talanoa, Garreth Carvell.

Saturday afternoon, sees what could be a massive mismatch as the London Broncos host the new-look Salford Red Devils, London will hope to improve on a woeful 64-10 loss at Widnes but a win would be a miracle surely against a Salford side that boasts a number of SL stars with years of experience who beat Wakefield last week narrowly but against a ill-experienced Broncos side could possibly repeat last week's demolition.

Sunday sees Huddersfield return after a two week gap since their opening win against Wigan by hosting Hull KR, the Rovers will look to improve on their performance against Leeds which saw them go from 6-6 at half time to lose 6-34. Huddersfield will be favourites with having a longer rest but that could also be a curse with their lack of a game last week making them a tad rusty in terms of playtime but they will be wary of the Rovers who defeated them 35-28 in the last meeting.

Castleford will look to make it two wins out of two when they host Catalans who will hope to improve on their away loss last week at Hull where they lost despite leading at the break. Castleford will take solace from the fact they came back against Bradford and secured a clear win to give them a brilliant start but Catalans will surely pose a sterner test.

 

Vikings Cruise In Round One

After Wigan and Huddersfield opened the season a week early, round one of Super League resumed on Thursday night with the mouth-watering clash between 2013 Grand Finalists Warrington and St Helens and all the pre-match predictions were of a close game between to closely matched rivals but what was to come was far from close as St Helens cruised to a 8-38 win with tries from Makinson, Roby, Amor, Laffranchi, Swift and new boy Luke Walsh who also hit seven goals. Monaghan scored twice for Warrington as they ended the night bottom of the table.

Friday night saw Catalans race into a lead only to pegged back by a resolute Hull side who claimed a 36-34 win. The Dragons led 16-12 at half time but failed to hold on. Cardaces hit hat-trick of tries with Taia bagging a brace for the Dragons with Whitehead and Escare also crossing the line. Hull scored through Whiting, Rankin, Lineham, Thompson, Horne and Crooks with Yeaman sealing a brace. A 70 point haul could have been higher had the kicking been more accurate with Westerman hitting 2/8 and Bosc 3/7.

Sunday saw the final four games of the round with the story of the day being Widnes thrashing London 64-10, Brown hit a hat-trick while Marsh and Dean both bagged braces with Owens, Mellor and Flynn also crossing while Tickle kicked 10/12 conversions. London look already like a team destined for relegation but can take a positive that the were not nilled as Forster and O'Callaghan went over with Gigot kicking a solitary goal.

Bradford have had their own troubles in pre-season and looked to be on for an opening win as they led 18-12 but resilient Castleford side levelled and ran riot late on to win 18-36 with tries from Addy, Foster and Purtell and three conversions from Foster putting the Bulls in front with Hauraki and Dixon  with the latter converting both in reply for the Tigers, but scores from Clark, Carney, Dorn and Millington were added to by Dixon converting four more times for the win.

New look Salford held on for an 18-14 win over Wakefield after a late scare but former Warriors Hock and Hansen scored early on with Dixon adding a third with all three successfully converted by fellow new boy Mullaney that put them 18-0 up at half time. Wakefield will be proud to have won the second half with scores from Ryan, Godinet and Lauititi but will rue the fact Sykes only kicked 1/3.

Leeds made a good start to the season with a 6-34 win over Hull KR at a newly upgraded Craven Park but the sides were level at the break with Moon's early try and Sinfield's conversion being cancelled out by Keating going over for the Rovers and Hall converting but a second half haul that saw new signing Briscoe notch a hat-trick and McGuire, Hardaker and Watkins go over sealed the win with Sinfield ending with a haul of 3/7.

Super League Round 1 Preview

After the excitement of Wigan and Huddersfisld last Friday, the rest of the league begin their season in the inaugural round of Super League XIX and it begins tonight with the clash between 2013 Grand Final runners-up Warrington Wolves and the revitalised St Helens with a new look Wolves side that should feature debuts for Asotasi and England while Saints give SL debuts to Walsh and Amor.

Warrington-2. Chris Riley, 3. Chris Bridge, 4. Ryan Atkins, 5. Joel Monaghan, 6. Stefan Ratchford, 7. Richie Myler, 8. Chris Hill, 9. Micky Higham, 10. Roy Asotasi, 11. Trent Waterhouse, 12. Ben Westwood, 14. Michael Monaghan, 17. Ben Currie, 19. Anthony England, 20. Gareth O'Brien, 21. Glenn Riley, 22. Brad Dwyer, 23. James Laithwaite, 25. Ben Evans.

St Helens-1. Jonny Lomax, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Jordan Turner, 4. Josh Jones, 5. Adam Swift, 6. Lance Hohaia, 7. Luke Walsh, 9. James Roby, 10. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 11. Sia Soliola, 12. Jon Wilkin, 13. Willie Manu, 14. Anthony Laffranchi, 16. Kyle Amor, 17. Paul Wellens, 18. Alex Walmsley, 22. Mark Percival, 24. Gary Wheeler, 27. Greg Richards.

Friday night sees only a single game as Hull host Catalans with the hosts going into the game having won the last two meetings between the sides and will hope to begin better than in 2013 when they lost 36-6 to Leeds while Catalans will look to complete a strange double having beaten Hull KR away in the 2013 opener. 

Hull FC: Arundel, Bowden, Carvell, Crooks, Ellis, Heremaia, Horne, Houghton, Lineham, Miller, Paea, Paleaaesina, Rankin, Shaul, Talanoa, Thompson, Westerman, Whiting, Yeaman.
Catalan Dragons: Escare, Pryce, Pomeroy, Oldfield, Bosc, Dureau, Elima, Henderson, Lima, Taia, Mounis, Pelissier, Whitehead, Millard, Simon, Fakir, Paea, Baitieri, Cardace.

Sunday rugby returns with four games but no squads have been posted as of yet with Bradford hoping to leave their current troubles and end the weekend with a win at home to Castleford who will look to improve on last year's finish of 12th

Hull KR host Leeds with both looking to get off to a good start after a mixed 2013 with Hull KR doing well to get in the top 8 while Leeds secured a top three place only to finish the season one step away from Old Trafford after defeat to eventual winners Wigan.

Widnes host London with the Vikings hopeful of another successful season after their 10th place finish in 2013 and have hopes of reaching the play-offs after the signing of Danny Tickle and Danny Galea as well as the loaning of Rhodri Lloyd from Wigan. London on the other hand will be looking to avoid a heavy opening defeat after ending 2013 with a mass exodus and bringing in six players on a years loan featuring three from Leeds and one from champions Wigan with two notable permanent signings in the shape of Denny Solomona and Scott Moore.

The standout tie sees the re-branded Salford Red Devils host Wakefield Trinity Wildcats with the latter looking to challenge for the play-offs in 2014 after a narrow miss in 11th in 2013 and have strengthened in signing Richard Moore and Paul McShane from Leeds with the overseas addition of Matt Ryan, Pita Godinet and Scott Anderson from the NRL.

 Salford boast a number of signings from across the league after a pre-season recruitment that included Harrison Hansen, Rangi Chase, Adrian Morley, Junior Sa'au and Francis Meli as they look avoid a repeat of finishing bottom in 2013 with some pundits saying they could go from bottom to top in a single season but maybe the play-offs is a more realistic target.

So an exciting three days of rugby await and begin in style later tonight at the HJ with Wire v Saints in what looks like a tasty match-up.

Wonderful Wigan Defeat Vodafone Warriors

A steamrollering second half performance from Wigan sealed a 46-22 win at Waikato Stadium in the 'Clash of the Warriors' against the Vodafone Warriors.

Despite having arrived in Auckland on Monday, Wigan shrugged off any thoughts of jet lag with the opening try in the 2nd minute as Sam Powell picked out Jack Hughes who went over for the try and saw his effort converted well by Matty Smith for a 6-0 lead.

Wigan hit a second try in the seventh minute as man of the moment Joe Burgess went over for the try after nice work from Matt Bowen and Smith hit the conversion for a 12-0 lead. An array of penalties allowed the hosts to gain good field position and go over for their first score of the game as a clever run from Rapira allowed Nathan Friend to find Chad Townsend who scored a debut try which he duly converted to make it 12-6.

The Warriors scored again following the restart as Feleti Mateo breached the Wigan line and found the supporting Townsend who shipped the ball to Jerome Ropati who exchanged with Townsend with the latter throwing a superb pass for Adam Tuimavave-Gerrard to go over in the corner and give Townsend the chance to level the score but his conversion went wide and Wigan led 12-10.


Wigan had a brilliant chance to increase their lead but a combination of Powell and Smith found Bowen but he was found via a forward pass and denied a first try in Cherry and White. The hosts took the lead after Steve Wateford loft a pass to Peteru who made an instant impact from the bench and scored a try, Townsend converted to complete a 16 point streak for the hosts at 12-16.

Again the penalties and errors crept in and Wigan capitalised as Goulding went in down the right but sadly Smith failed to convert and meant a level score of 16-16. Wigan fumbled and the Warriors took advantage with a nice switching play that resulted in Townsend kicking a grubber for Friend to collect and score the try and another successful conversion made it 16-22 at the break.

Any worries that Wigan were tired after their long trip from the UK were quickly dispelled as they scored two quick tries to level and regain the lead. The first came as Powell kicked and saw a quick recovery find Burgess in the corner for his second try but Hampshire failed to convert meaning the Warriors still led 20-22 but Hampshire made up for the miss with a superb assist as Burgess completed his hat-trick but another missed conversion gave them a slender lead at 24-22.

Two further tries made it four without reply as Bateman supplied Dudson who scored his second try of 2014 and a successful conversion from Powell made it 30-22 with the number 19 getting lucky from a richochet to score a try of his own after a kick and in converting his won try, Wigan were in control at 36-22.

The hosts were in danger of falling away and in the rare time they did gain possession a mistake saw Manfredi collect inside the Wigan 10m line and run the length of the field unchallenged to score an easy try but despite a failed conversion attempt, Wigan now led 40-22 and on a run of 24 unanswered points.

Another flurry of penalties for the Warriors saw a resolute and strong goal-line defence from Wigan keep them scoreless after conceding three penalties in five minutes but it was Wigan who scored the final points as Bateman picked out Burgess who went over for his fourth try with Powell converting for 46-24 win and to seal a miserable second half for the Vodafone Warriors while giving Wigan a perfect ending in their preparation for the WCC against Sydney in ten days.

Clash Of The Warriors

Wigan continue their preparation for next week's World Club Challenge with a 'warm up' against the New Zealand Warriors for whom former Wigan hero Sam Tomkins not face his former club due to his selection for the Auckland Nines.

The inaugural meeting between the two sides comes after a partnership they have struck up in recent years with former Wigan players Tomkins and Leuluai both in the NZ squad for 2014 and current General Manager Dean Bell a former Wigan hero from 1986-1994 including winning seven Challenge Cups.

Wigan have taken 27 players on the trip to Auckland of which 23 are named in the matchday squad with Jordan James, Sean O'Loughlin, Blake Green and Iain Thornley missing out while Wane has confirmed that Josh Charnley has successful recovered from injury and will start on the wing.

New Zealand Warriors- Jerome Rapati, Malo Solomona, Adam Tuimavave-Gerrard, Agnatius Paasi, Jarrod Wilson, Chad Townsend, Steve Waetford, Jacob Lillyman, Nathan Friend, Sam Rapira (c), Ben Matulino, Feleti Mateo, John Palavi. Interchanges - Sam Lisone, Albert Vete, Jordan Baldwinson, Nathan Peteru, Paulos Latu, Jarrod Tua, Josh Tamasu-Russell, Mason Tonks, David Bhana, Patrick Sipley, Siliva Havili, Tevita Latu, Jono Carl, Michael Sio, Mason Lino.

Wigan Warriors - Matt Bowen, Joe Burgess, Darrell Goulding, Dan Sarginson, Josh Charnley, Sam Powell, Matt Smith, Scott Taylor, Michael McIlorum, Gil Dudson, Jack Hughes, Liam Farrell, Tony Clubb. Interchanges- Dom Manfredi, Anthony Gelling, George Williams, Greg Burke, Eddy Pettybourne, Logan Tomkins, Dom Crosby, John Bateman, Ben Flower, Ryan Hampshire

Hopefully a great game with no injuries ahead of next week and a close game, I'd go for a narrow Wigan win at 24-20.

Wigan Fall to Giants Defeat

Wigan and Huddersfield opened the Super League XVIV season on Friday, a week earlier that the rest of the league due to Wigan's participation in the World Club Challenge in Australia but will travel with a defeat on their mind.

Wigan gave Super League debuts to Matt Bowen and Eddy Pettybourne while Tony Clubb and Dan Sarginson made their competitive debuts for Wigan after their move from London but Wigan's preparation was dealt a late blow with captain Sean O'Loughlin withdrawing with a late injury meaning Pettybourne started with Dudson replacing him on the bench.

Huddersfield handed debuts to Chris Bailey and Antonion Kaufusi as they looked for a sixth win in seven at the DW a got some early luck as they went over for an opening try after four minutes after Murphy picked out Ferres with a well-worked grubber kick but the result saw Silverwood go to the screen and in a strange new feature for Sky Sports, the crowd were able to view the decision by video referee Ganson which was a successful try for the Giants but Brough missed the conversion meaning a slim lead at 0-4.

A flurry of penalties seemed to disrupt the flow of the game in a five minute period that saw Wigan close to levelling the score as Burgess got to the 5m line only to be denied by a strong Hudds defence which was costly for Wigan as minutes later, Huddersfield extended their lead as Lunt kicked through for McGillvary to score but again the decision was handed to the screen and Ganson awarded the try but surprisingly Brough missed again as the score stood at 0-8.

Another run of penalties resulted in Wigan being forced into a goal-line dropout which led to Cudjoe picking out McGillvary who went in for his second try and to the shock of the Giants fans, Brough missed for a third time meaning Wigan were only two converted tries from levelling at 0-12.

The game came to a halt with 53 seconds of the first half remaining as Patrick went down injured after falling awkwardly in a tackle and after a five minute delay he was stretchered off to a round of applause from the whole stadium and in the final seconds, Brough attempted a drop goal which mirrored all of his previous kicking attempts as it missed and he ended the half at 0/4.

Two minutes into the second half and Huddersfield had a glorious chance to put Wigan further behind after a stellar run from Wardle allowed him to pick out a pass to Brough but the reigning Man of Steel fumbled to continue what was becoming a bad night for him and the resulting turnover to Wigan saw them force Hudds into a goal-line dropout which after nice piece of play saw Thornley go over for a try in the corner but Smith's missed conversion meant they were still eight behind at 4-12.

They could have made an instant mistake when Farrell flapped at the ball from the restart but Wigan managed to collect it and attack the Hudds line but sadly with no positive result but within minutes had their work rewarded as Bowen performed a superb dummy before passing out wide to Burgess who went in for a nicely worked try but a missed conversion from Smith meant a fifth successive miss on the night and put the score at 8-12.

Wigan's joy was short lived as McGillvary completed his hat-trick after a pass from Ta'ai and this time Brough was successful from the conversion and put Huddersfield clear at 8-18 but the score could have been narrowed when Thornley found space down the left only to be then tackled into touch.

Their night got worse when Bowen was put on report by Silverwood after a late challenge on Grix to the slight dismay of some of the crowd who had chanted 'off,off, off' but he still may receive a ban in the coming week.

The final score of the night saw a game clinching try from Grix after a pacey run from Brough and his successful conversion made it an unassailable 8-24 as Huddersfield secured the first points of the season in front of a good crowd of just over 16,000 leaving Wigan with a lot to think about as they head out to Auckland to face the New Zealand Warriors on Wednesday.

The preview will hopefully be available before Tuesday pending squad selection for both sides.

Champions Collide At The DW

There is just under two days to go until the opening of Super League XIX and the excitement intensified at the first squad announcements of the year as Wigan and Huddersfield face off in what I like to call 'Collision of the Champions'.

The game is being played a week before the rest of Round 1 due to Wigan's involvement in the World Club Challenge against Sydney Roosters but the showpiece on the 22nd will be far from their minds as they begin the defence of their Super League crown against 2013 League Leaders Huddersfield who will have fond memories of Wigan in February having defeated them in the season opener two years ago.

Huddersfield will be looking to avenge their last meeting with Wigan which saw them lose 22-8 at the John Smith's Stadium back in September in the first round of the play offs but will take solace from the fact that they have won five of their last six visits to the DW (courtesy of @Wiganrlfans.)

Both sides go into the match on the back of a successful week with Wigan defeating St Helens 28-16 and Huddersfield victorious over Hull KR 20-18 and as a result are both able to name such strong squads with the exception being Josh Charnley for Wigan for whom this game is too soon in his recovery from hernia surgery.

25 John Bateman, 1 Matty Bowen, 32 Joe Burgess, 24 Tony Clubb, 17 Dom Crosby, 12 Liam Farrell, 10 Ben Flower, 5 Anthony Gelling, 3 Darrell Goulding, 6 Blake Green, 14 Jack Hughes, 9 Michael McIlorum, 13 Sean O'Loughlin, 22 Eddy Pettybourne, 19 Sam Powell, 23 Dan Sarginson, 7 Matty Smith, 8 Scott Taylor, 4 Iain Thornley.
Read more at http://www.wiganwarriors.com/WContent.aspx?id=9021&type=1#Litw4haLMTZJmGdD.99

Wigan - John Bateman, Matty Bowen, Joe Burgess, Tony Clubb,  Dom Crosby,  Liam Farrell, Ben Flower, Anthony Gelling, Darrell Goulding, Blake Green, Jack Hughes, Michael McIlorum, Sean O'Loughlin, Eddy Pettybourne, Sam Powell, Dan Sarginson, Matty Smith, Scott Taylor, Iain Thornley.

Huddersfield - Scott Grix, Jermaine McGillvary, Leroy Cudjoe, Joe Wardle, Aaron Murphy, Danny Brough, Luke Robinson, Eorl Crabtree,Shaun Lunt, Craig Kopczak, Brett Ferres, Chris Bailey, Michael Lawrence, Larne Patrick, Ukuma Ta’ai, Kyle Wood, Jodie Broughton, Antonio Kaufusi, Anthony Mullally.

25 John Bateman, 1 Matty Bowen, 32 Joe Burgess, 24 Tony Clubb, 17 Dom Crosby, 12 Liam Farrell, 10 Ben Flower, 5 Anthony Gelling, 3 Darrell Goulding, 6 Blake Green, 14 Jack Hughes, 9 Michael McIlorum, 13 Sean O'Loughlin, 22 Eddy Pettybourne, 19 Sam Powell, 23 Dan Sarginson, 7 Matty Smith, 8 Scott Taylor, 4 Iain Thornley.
Read more at http://www.wiganwarriors.com/WContent.aspx?id=9021&type=1#Litw4haLMTZJmGdD.99

25 John Bateman, 1 Matty Bowen, 32 Joe Burgess, 24 Tony Clubb, 17 Dom Crosby, 12 Liam Farrell, 10 Ben Flower, 5 Anthony Gelling, 3 Darrell Goulding, 6 Blake Green, 14 Jack Hughes, 9 Michael McIlorum, 13 Sean O'Loughlin, 22 Eddy Pettybourne, 19 Sam Powell, 23 Dan Sarginson, 7 Matty Smith, 8 Scott Taylor, 4 Iain Thornley.
Read more at http://www.wiganwarriors.com/WContent.aspx?id=9021&type=1#Litw4haLMTZJmGdD.99

25 John Bateman, 1 Matty Bowen, 32 Joe Burgess, 24 Tony Clubb, 17 Dom Crosby, 12 Liam Farrell, 10 Ben Flower, 5 Anthony Gelling, 3 Darrell Goulding, 6 Blake Green, 14 Jack Hughes, 9 Michael McIlorum, 13 Sean O'Loughlin, 22 Eddy Pettybourne, 19 Sam Powell, 23 Dan Sarginson, 7 Matty Smith, 8 Scott Taylor, 4 Iain Thornley.
Read more at http://www.wiganwarriors.com/WContent.aspx?id=9021&type=1#Litw4haLMTZJmGdD.99

25 John Bateman, 1 Matty Bowen, 32 Joe Burgess, 24 Tony Clubb, 17 Dom Crosby, 12 Liam Farrell, 10 Ben Flower, 5 Anthony Gelling, 3 Darrell Goulding, 6 Blake Green, 14 Jack Hughes, 9 Michael McIlorum, 13 Sean O'Loughlin, 22 Eddy Pettybourne, 19 Sam Powell, 23 Dan Sarginson, 7 Matty Smith, 8 Scott Taylor, 4 Iain Thornley.
Read more at http://www.wiganwarriors.com/WContent.aspx?id=9021&type=1#Litw4haLMTZJmGdD.99

25 John Bateman, 1 Matty Bowen, 32 Joe Burgess, 24 Tony Clubb, 17 Dom Crosby, 12 Liam Farrell, 10 Ben Flower, 5 Anthony Gelling, 3 Darrell Goulding, 6 Blake Green, 14 Jack Hughes, 9 Michael McIlorum, 13 Sean O'Loughlin, 22 Eddy Pettybourne, 19 Sam Powell, 23 Dan Sarginson, 7 Matty Smith, 8 Scott Taylor, 4 Iain Thornley.
Read more at http://www.wiganwarriors.com/WContent.aspx?id=9021&type=1#Litw4haLMTZJmGdD.99

As is the first test for both sides, I predict a close game so predict Wigan 24 Huddersfield 18.

Wigan To Do The Double Double?

It is hard to believe that there are only two days to go until the start of the 2014 Super League season as the magnificent comeback at Old Trafford by the victorious Warriors is still fresh in the mind.

This year sees a change from the traditional setup with the season starting a week earlier for two teams with the reigning Grand Final and Challenge Cup winner Wigan and the reigning League Leaders Shield winners Huddersfield getting the ball rolling in a true 'Clash of the Champions.'

In the off-season, a wide range of opinions and predictions have been produced and even though I am a Warrior it is not bias to say that I do believe that Wigan will repeat their 2013 heroics in the Grand Final and Challenge Cup. However, the pursuit of the League Leaders Shield may evade them again due to the early issue of having the World Club Challenge to deal with and made harder by the fact it is in Australia for the first time in 20 years.

The first test of this will come when they return to face Wakefield in March after the games against the NZ Warriors and the WCC itself against the Sydney Roosters coupled with the long travel they will undergo.

Aside from Wigan, my main tip to do well in 2014 is one that many would not have foreseen and it is St Helens and this is because of the new signings that they have brought in with the standouts being Mose Masoe and Luke Walsh with the latter showing good signs in the last week's defeat to Wigan.

Saints have been pushed out of the illusive 'top four' and after a poor cup campaign coupled with the failure to reach the Play-off semis, an improvement is needed and I believe that if Wigan don't finish top of the tree it will be the boys from Langtree Park.

Huddersfield securing the LLS was a surprise to many but their lack of consistency in the play-offs let them down and I feel it could be 3rd/4th place finish for them with a play-off semi a possibility.

Warrington came so close to finally becoming Grand Final winners but just like Huddersfield, I feel that their failure to get the job done in the final stages of the season may see them drop and could put them in a three way battle for the final two places in the top four along with Leeds.

Leeds are a different side to consider because they do have the experience of being successful when the titles are handed out and have done so from outside the top four and I think may have to attempt it again despite the signing of Tom Briscoe to go with their mercurial winger in Ryan Hall.

Away from the big five, my next tip is Salford as the  massive changes they have made have galvanised their ambition to move away from the bottom and begin to challenge at the top. Their 2014 lineup features stars picked from all across the league with the biggest names being Adrian Morley, Rangi Chase and former Warrior Harrison Hansen.

Top five maybe a step too soon but 6th and a potential surprise feature in the final four of the play-offs would be a massive success for the re-branded Red Devils. Catalans have had mixed finishes in recent years and I think this year they will retain 7th as despite having a brilliant record over in France, their away form is very mixed and the main factor is the long trips that they have to make and I remember last year's game away to Wigan where they looked tired before the game had even begun with ended in a horrifying 38-0 defeat.

Hull are a side that back in August when they faced Wigan in the Challenge Cup Semi Final, looked like a good prospect for a run in the play-offs but that all changed when they were demolished by Huddersfield 76-18 and the resulting exit of Peter Gentle. In preparing for this preview, my hopes for Hull decreased after the thrashing they received against Featherstone at the weekend which was made worse because of the fact that they fielded such a strong side.

So I feel they play-offs will be just too soon for the new coach Lee Radford to reach in what will be a season of transition which could see them 10th.From this I think their city rivals, Hull KR will repeat their 2013 finish of 8th and secure a play-off place but in a battle with Widnes who have gone from basement boys to the heights of 9th in 2013 and with addition of Danny Tickle could trouble the top eight.

The biggest change in 2014 is the return of promotion and relegation and it will take a miracle for London to survive after a harrowing off season that at one time saw them with a squad of 12 players and in serious trouble of becoming non-existent in Super League.

London to finish bottom is a near certainty for most predictors but their companions in the bottom two this year for me are Bradford as they seem to be on the same path as London which is a shame given that they were flying at the top as recent at 2005.

Their problems were increased this weekend after a massive loss to fellow SL side Castleford who this year I think will renew their battle with Wakefield in the fight to avoid relegation by finishing 11th or 12th.

Next up will be the preview for Wigan v Huddersfield likely to be on Thursday to start of what should be a superb 2014 season, Come on you Warriors!