Round four begins tomorrow night with what should be an exciting game between Widnes and Salford with the hosts looking to go to the top of the league with a third consecutive win, after a superb turnaround last week against Huddersfiield saw them win 22-20 while the visitors will look to bounce back from the nilling the suffered against St Helens in a 0-38 loss.
Widnes will be wary of a backlash from Salford in a game that last season would have been a battle at the bottom but after good starts sees them face off from 4th and 5th with the potential of a place at the top for the winners.
Widnes - Allen, K. Brown, Clarke, Clough, Dean, Flynn, Galea, Gerrard, Hanbury, Isa, Johnson, Joseph, Leuluai, Lloyd, Marsh, Mellor, Owens, Tickle, White.
Salford - Jake Mullaney, Danny Williams, Martin Gleeson, Junior Sau, Tim Smith, Adrian Morley, Tommy Lee Lama Tasi, Tony Puletua, Harrison Hanson, Theo Fages, Andrew Dixon, Shannon Mcpherson, Steve Rapira, Matty Ashurst, Adam Walne, Jason Walton, Greg Johnson, Stuart Howarth.
A close game in my view so a prediction of Widnes 24 Salford 20.
Friday night sees the the Yorkshire derby between Huddersfield and Leeds in a battle between two of last seasons top four but this time around it is the visitors who are highest in the table after a perfect start and will be looking for a second successive scalp after their win over Warrington last week.
Huddersfield will be looking to break a run of 'blowing' a lead late on after being pegged back by both Hull KR and Widnes resulting in a single point rather then what should have been four and will face their biggest test so far in a Rhinos side that demolished the Dragons last week with Briscoe looking to be a very successful signing with five tries so far.
Huddersfield - Grix, McGillvary, Cudjoe, Wardle, Murphy, Brough, Robinson, Crabtree, Kopczak, Ferres, Chan, Bailey, Lawrence, Faiumu, Ta'ai, Wood, Broughton, Kaufusi, Johnson.
Leeds Rhinos - Hardaker, Watkins, Moon, Hall, McGuire, Burrow, Leuluai, Aiton, Peacock, Jones-Buchanan, Ablett, Sinfield (c), Ward, Delaney, Bailey, Clarkson, Achurch, Briscoe, Singleton.
A tight game that could go either way but I think Huddersfield will come out on top to end their winless run, Hudds 24 Leeds 18.
Bradford look to rid themselves of a negative points total with a win away to Hull who will look continue where they left off in the defeat to Warrington as they came back from 18-0 down to 18-16 in a superb second half fightback.
The Black and Whites will be looking to hand a debut to former Wigan forward Chris Tuson who has recovered form a neck injury and he could face a former team mate after Bradford secured a loan deal for Greg Burke along with the signing of Liam Sutcliffe from Leeds in a similar deal.
After a lot of off-field troubles with administration and players jumping ship, Bradford have done well to have two wins out of three and will be brimming with confidence after the win against London last week with Foster on form with 100% success from the boot.
Hull - Bowden, Crooks, Ellis, Heremaia, Horne, Houghton, Lineham, Miller, Paea, Paleaaesina, Rankin, Shaul, Talanoa, Thompson, Tuson, Watts, Westerman, Whiting, Yeaman.
Bradford - Addy, Bridge, Burke, Diskin, Donaldson, Foster, Gale, Henry, Kear, Kearney, Manuokafoa, Mullally, O'Brien, Olbison, Purtell, Roberts, Sidlow, Sutcliffe, Walker.
I could be a way off or bang on with this but I see a draw between two good sides so Hull 18 Bradford 18.
The third game of the night sees table toppers St Helens host Hull KR with the hosts full of confidence after a 38-0 drubbing of Salford while Rovers will look to recover from a 10-30 loss against Castleford. It seems strange to say that Saints are not runaway favourites for this but that is because Hull KR were more than just a bogey team for them in 2013 with a double in the league and a Challenge Cup win before losing to the Saints in the play-offs.
Saints will be wary because of this and could be caught out but will but will hand a debut to Mose Masoe who has recovered from surgery while Rovers will be without leading scorer Omari Caro who missed out with a hand injury.
St Helens squad: Lomax, Makinson, Turner, Jones, Swift, Hohaia, Walsh, Masoe, Roby, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Soliola, Wilkin, Manu, Laffranchi, Amor, Wellens, Walmsley, Percival, Wheeler
Hull Kingston Rovers squad: Salter, Cockayne, A.Walker, Eden, Poore, Cox, Larroyer, Burns, Carlile, Lovegrove, Hall, Green, Costigan, Langley, Keating, Welham, Weyman, Horne, J.Hodgson
I think Saints will avenge the defeats of 2013 and remain at the top with a win so Saints 32 Hull KR 18.
Sunday begins with what on paper could be a massive mismatch as Warrington travel to London with the Wolves looking for a second win after hanging on 18-16 against Hull while the Broncos will be looking for a first win after a dismal run.
Last year, Warrington won 82-10 on a truly horrific showing by London and while the Broncos haven't improved much since then they will take solace from the fact that the visitors have scored less than themselves this season (40-38) with the defences still a bridge apart which could be the decisive factor in this game.
A London win would be the shock of the season so far but despite Wire being in mixed form, I would say a win for them , London 12 Warrington 36.
Catalans are back on the road with a trip to Wakefield who themselves put in a good performance away to WIgan last week and will have confidence for the visit of the Dragons who have had a bad start to the season so far. Both sides have lost all three games so far despite leading at several times but the long trip for the French has had an adverse effect for them with a good example being leading away to Hull and going on to lose.
After watching Wakefield first hand last week, they have a very good attack on the break and stunned Wigan with two long range tries but their defence on the wings can be caught out which the visitors which look to exploit with Micheal Oldfield who scored in last weeks loss.
A first win is a need for both but after the strong performance last week coupled with no travelling, Wakefield 30 Catalans 14.
The final game of the weekend sees Wigan travel to face Castleford in what has been a tasty game in recent meetings and it always tough place to go as Catalans found out in round two. Wigan shook off their WCC disappointment in the win against Wakefield and will look for a repeat of last years win when a late Tuson try secured a 22-28 win ironically enough a year ago this week in what was round five and the Warriors will be wary of Richard Owen who is in blistering form after a hat-trick last week against Hull KR.
As I will be doing a full preview later in the week a prediction will be added at that time but for now, enjoy your Rugby League!
Widnes will be wary of a backlash from Salford in a game that last season would have been a battle at the bottom but after good starts sees them face off from 4th and 5th with the potential of a place at the top for the winners.
Widnes - Allen, K. Brown, Clarke, Clough, Dean, Flynn, Galea, Gerrard, Hanbury, Isa, Johnson, Joseph, Leuluai, Lloyd, Marsh, Mellor, Owens, Tickle, White.
Salford - Jake Mullaney, Danny Williams, Martin Gleeson, Junior Sau, Tim Smith, Adrian Morley, Tommy Lee Lama Tasi, Tony Puletua, Harrison Hanson, Theo Fages, Andrew Dixon, Shannon Mcpherson, Steve Rapira, Matty Ashurst, Adam Walne, Jason Walton, Greg Johnson, Stuart Howarth.
A close game in my view so a prediction of Widnes 24 Salford 20.
Friday night sees the the Yorkshire derby between Huddersfield and Leeds in a battle between two of last seasons top four but this time around it is the visitors who are highest in the table after a perfect start and will be looking for a second successive scalp after their win over Warrington last week.
Huddersfield will be looking to break a run of 'blowing' a lead late on after being pegged back by both Hull KR and Widnes resulting in a single point rather then what should have been four and will face their biggest test so far in a Rhinos side that demolished the Dragons last week with Briscoe looking to be a very successful signing with five tries so far.
Huddersfield - Grix, McGillvary, Cudjoe, Wardle, Murphy, Brough, Robinson, Crabtree, Kopczak, Ferres, Chan, Bailey, Lawrence, Faiumu, Ta'ai, Wood, Broughton, Kaufusi, Johnson.
Leeds Rhinos - Hardaker, Watkins, Moon, Hall, McGuire, Burrow, Leuluai, Aiton, Peacock, Jones-Buchanan, Ablett, Sinfield (c), Ward, Delaney, Bailey, Clarkson, Achurch, Briscoe, Singleton.
A tight game that could go either way but I think Huddersfield will come out on top to end their winless run, Hudds 24 Leeds 18.
Bradford look to rid themselves of a negative points total with a win away to Hull who will look continue where they left off in the defeat to Warrington as they came back from 18-0 down to 18-16 in a superb second half fightback.
The Black and Whites will be looking to hand a debut to former Wigan forward Chris Tuson who has recovered form a neck injury and he could face a former team mate after Bradford secured a loan deal for Greg Burke along with the signing of Liam Sutcliffe from Leeds in a similar deal.
After a lot of off-field troubles with administration and players jumping ship, Bradford have done well to have two wins out of three and will be brimming with confidence after the win against London last week with Foster on form with 100% success from the boot.
Hull - Bowden, Crooks, Ellis, Heremaia, Horne, Houghton, Lineham, Miller, Paea, Paleaaesina, Rankin, Shaul, Talanoa, Thompson, Tuson, Watts, Westerman, Whiting, Yeaman.
Bradford - Addy, Bridge, Burke, Diskin, Donaldson, Foster, Gale, Henry, Kear, Kearney, Manuokafoa, Mullally, O'Brien, Olbison, Purtell, Roberts, Sidlow, Sutcliffe, Walker.
I could be a way off or bang on with this but I see a draw between two good sides so Hull 18 Bradford 18.
The third game of the night sees table toppers St Helens host Hull KR with the hosts full of confidence after a 38-0 drubbing of Salford while Rovers will look to recover from a 10-30 loss against Castleford. It seems strange to say that Saints are not runaway favourites for this but that is because Hull KR were more than just a bogey team for them in 2013 with a double in the league and a Challenge Cup win before losing to the Saints in the play-offs.
Saints will be wary because of this and could be caught out but will but will hand a debut to Mose Masoe who has recovered from surgery while Rovers will be without leading scorer Omari Caro who missed out with a hand injury.
St Helens squad: Lomax, Makinson, Turner, Jones, Swift, Hohaia, Walsh, Masoe, Roby, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Soliola, Wilkin, Manu, Laffranchi, Amor, Wellens, Walmsley, Percival, Wheeler
Hull Kingston Rovers squad: Salter, Cockayne, A.Walker, Eden, Poore, Cox, Larroyer, Burns, Carlile, Lovegrove, Hall, Green, Costigan, Langley, Keating, Welham, Weyman, Horne, J.Hodgson
I think Saints will avenge the defeats of 2013 and remain at the top with a win so Saints 32 Hull KR 18.
Sunday begins with what on paper could be a massive mismatch as Warrington travel to London with the Wolves looking for a second win after hanging on 18-16 against Hull while the Broncos will be looking for a first win after a dismal run.
Last year, Warrington won 82-10 on a truly horrific showing by London and while the Broncos haven't improved much since then they will take solace from the fact that the visitors have scored less than themselves this season (40-38) with the defences still a bridge apart which could be the decisive factor in this game.
A London win would be the shock of the season so far but despite Wire being in mixed form, I would say a win for them , London 12 Warrington 36.
Catalans are back on the road with a trip to Wakefield who themselves put in a good performance away to WIgan last week and will have confidence for the visit of the Dragons who have had a bad start to the season so far. Both sides have lost all three games so far despite leading at several times but the long trip for the French has had an adverse effect for them with a good example being leading away to Hull and going on to lose.
After watching Wakefield first hand last week, they have a very good attack on the break and stunned Wigan with two long range tries but their defence on the wings can be caught out which the visitors which look to exploit with Micheal Oldfield who scored in last weeks loss.
A first win is a need for both but after the strong performance last week coupled with no travelling, Wakefield 30 Catalans 14.
The final game of the weekend sees Wigan travel to face Castleford in what has been a tasty game in recent meetings and it always tough place to go as Catalans found out in round two. Wigan shook off their WCC disappointment in the win against Wakefield and will look for a repeat of last years win when a late Tuson try secured a 22-28 win ironically enough a year ago this week in what was round five and the Warriors will be wary of Richard Owen who is in blistering form after a hat-trick last week against Hull KR.
As I will be doing a full preview later in the week a prediction will be added at that time but for now, enjoy your Rugby League!
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