Round 20 sees Super League enter the final third of
the season meaning the fight for the end of season play-offs and awards hots up
and after some surprise results in the last few rounds every place is up for
grabs.
Tonight sees a tasty tie between Wakefield and
Widnes with the Wildcats surprise favourites given that they sit three places
below their opponents.
Wakefield come into the game in superb form after a
four game unbeaten run under new coach James Webster which includes wins over
Wigan and last week’s narrow win over Leeds. The run of success has seen them
even linked with a late charge for the play-off places and with only a gap of
four points to the top eight, the dream is alive.
Widnes come into the game on a terrible run of form
that has seen them win only once in five games with the solitary victory coming
against basement boys London and after a loss to Challenge Cup last four
opponents Castleford a week ago, confidence is pretty low.
Last season's meeting up in Yorkshire saw Wakefield
secure a 24-14 as part of a league double over the Vikings and after a 24-18
win in this season's reverse meeting, there is the prospect of a league double
for the Wildcats tonight which if completed would give them huge hope for the
top eight.
Wakefield include Ali Lauitiiti in place of Max
Jowitt with Matty Wildie and Chris Annakin replacing injured duo Pita Godinet
and Daniel Smith while Widnes include Stefan Marsh in place of Cameron Phelps.
Wakefield- Mathers,
Riley, Annakin, Keinhorst, Sykes, Lauitiiti, Anderson, McShane, Gilmour,
Wildie, Washbrook, Ryan, Owen, Moore, T. Smith, Tautai, Lyne, Scruton, Raleigh.
Widnes- Ah Van,
Allen, Brown, Cahill, Clarke, Dean, Flynn, Galea, Gerrard, Hanbury, Isa,
Johnson, Joseph, Leuluai, Marsh, Mellor, Owens, Tickle, White.
Wakefield have won the last five meetings between
the sides and I think they will make it six tonight so Wakefield 30 Widnes
22.
Friday night sees three fixtures with the televised
match being a feisty Yorkshire derby between Castleford and Huddersfield with
the Tigers looking to go top of the league.
Castleford despite their high position in the
league are in mixed form with three wins from their last five but with the
chance to move to the league's summit, confidence is high with a Challenge Cup
semi-final next month.
Huddersfield despite a shock loss last week to
Salford are in good form after a streak of four wins including triumphs over
Wigan and Leeds and still have hopes of repeating last season's League Leaders
Shield success but will be wary of Castleford's fine home record.
Last season's meeting at the Jungle saw the Giants
secure a 40-24 win as part of a league double over the Tigers and after a tight
29-28 win in the meeting earlier this season, the prospect of a double is on
the cards as well as a dent to the fortress that the Jungle has become.
Castleford make three changes from the win over
Widnes with Frankie Mariano, Jake Webster and Liam Finn replacing Luke Dorn,
Garreth Carvell and Michael Channing while Huddersfield bring in Antonio
Kaufusi, Jake Connor, Kruise Leeming and Jack Miller in place of Scott Grix,
David Faiumu, Jason Chan and talismanic captain Danny Brough.
Castleford-Sneyd,
Dixon, Webster, Shenton, Carney, Ellis, Finn, Lynch, Clark, Huby, Holmes,
Mariano, Millington, Jewitt, Wheeldon, Milner, Massey, Gibson, Clare.
Huddersfield -McGillvary,
Cudjoe, Wardle, Robinson, Crabtree, Kopczak, Ferres, Bailey, Lawrence, Patrick,
Ta'ai, Wood, Broughton, Kaufusi, Mullally, Johnson, Connor, Leeming, Miller.
A hard game to call but with the influential Brough
missing for the Giants, I will tip Castleford so Castleford 32 Huddersfield
24.
St Helens host Bradford looking to retain top spot
with the Bulls still harbouring hopes of surviving relegation to the
Championship.
St Helens come into the game after a 40-10 humbling
away to Hull KR which saw them continue a barren spell at Craven Park since
2007 and as a result saw the chasing pack close up on them as the race for the
League Leaders Shield hots up.
Bradford come into the game in wretched form with
just one win in their last five and after a superb performance against Catalan
they suffered a late defeat by just two points as their hopes of avoiding
relegation slip away.
Last season's meeting at Langtree Park saw Saints
secure a 30-18 win as part of a league double over the Bulls and after the
meeting earlier in the season resulted in a 50-0 thrashing in favour of St
Helens so there is the potential not only for a league double but a 'nilling'
double.
St Helens include fit-again Kyle Amor while
Bradford include former Saints star Jamie Foster, Nathan Conroy and Alex Mellor
while Lee Gaskell also faces his former side for the first time at Langtree
Park
St Helens- Makinson,
Turner, Jones, Swift, Hohaia, Masoe, Roby, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Soliola,
Wilkin, Manu, Flanagan, Amor, Wellens, Walmsley, Percival, Wheeler, Richards,
Thompson.
Bradford - Blythe,
Pitts, Olbison, Purtell, Gale, Williams, Donaldson, O'Brien, Mellor, Henry,
Conroy, Arundel, Kearney, Foster, Addy, Gaskell, Sidlow, Manuokafoa, Fakir.
Both sides need wins for different reasons and will
be keen to bounce back from last week but I see Saints coming out on top so St
Helens 38 Bradford 12.
Leeds host Hull KR with the Robins looking for a
second successive scalp while the Rhinos will look to avoid successive defeats to
sides outside the top eight.
Leeds fell afoul of a resilient Wakefield side in
the previous round and have been in mixed form with only two wins in the last
five games but still sit second in the table and with a good record over the
Robins having won four of the last five meetings.
Hull KR go into the game in similar form to their
opponents with two wins in their last five games but with two wins in their
last three with last weekend's stunning win over league leaders St Helens
improving their hopes of a play in the end of season play-offs.
Last season's meeting at Headingley saw the Robins
stage a surprise with a 12-16 win but when the sides met earlier this season in
fact in the opening round, Leeds secured a perfect start with a 34-6 win and
would be glad of a repeat to complete a double over the Robins.
Leeds include Rob Mulhern, Mitch Achurch with Kevin
Sinfield, Rob Burrow and Carl Ablett all returning after long absences while
Hull KR recall Neville Costigan and Liam Salter in place of Jordan Cox and
Sonny Esslemont.
Leeds - Jones-Bishop,
Watkins, Moon, Hall, McGuire, Burrow, Aiton, Peacock, Ablett, Sinfield, S.
Ward, Delaney, Bailey, Achurch, T. Briscoe, Sutcliffe, Minchella, Mulhern,
Walters.
Hull KR- Burns,
Carlile, Caro, Costigan, Eden, Green, Hall, D. Hodgson, J. Hodgson, Horne,
Keating, Larroyer, Lovegrove, Netherton, Ollett, Salter, A. Walker, Welham,
Weyman.
This could be a real cracker and I will stick my
neck out and say Leeds 20 Hull KR 22.
Saturday features two evening kick-offs with the
first seeing the third meeting of 2014 between Salford and Hull FC after two
superb games in league and cup earlier this season.
Salford go into the game in mixed form with two
wins in their last five games with the last coming in round 19 when they
shocked Huddersfield in a 10-36 win and with new signings Kevin Locke and Mason
Caton-Brown having scoring debuts, the future looks brighter than their
position in the table suggests.
Hull alike their hosts have two wins in their last
five games and still harbour hopes of claiming a place in the top eight with
the try scoring form of Callum Lancaster a huge boost after a mixed start to
the season. The signings of Marc Sneyd and Leon Pryce for next year give
the Airlie Birds confidence that the future is bright.
Last season's meeting at the AJ Bell stadium saw
Hull win 18-24 as part of a league double over the then named Red Devils and
the reverse meeting earlier this season saw the Black and White stroll to a
30-8 win. However, Salford won the most recent meeting between the two as they
secured a 36-37 win in the Challenge Cup after the game went into golden point
at 36 all.
Salford retain both new signings after stellar
debuts while Hull include Jordan Rankin, Tom Lineham and Chris Green in place
of Gareth Ellis, Chris Tuson and Richard Whiting.
Salford -Ashurst,
Caton-Brown, Chase, Evalds, Fages, D.Griffin, J.Griffin, Hansen, Hock, Johnson,
Lee, Locke, Morley, Puletua, Rapira, Sau, Tomkins, Walne, Walton.
Hull FC- Abdull, Bowden, Green, Hadley, Heremaia, Horne, Houghton, Lancaster,
Lineham, Paea, Paleaaesina, Rankin, Sa, Shaul, Talanoa, Thompson, Watts,
Westerman, Yeaman.
A hard one to call on form but I think Salford to
edge a win so Salford 25 Hull 22.
The second game of the evening sees champions Wigan
make the long trip to Perpignan to face Catalan who have been near unbeatable
at home this season.
Catalan go into the game in good form with three
wins and a draw in five games with the only loss being a last-gasp defeat away
to Leeds in round 18. It is the superb home form of the Dragons that has put
them within touching distance of the top six having lost only one home tie in
2014 when Leeds humbled them early in the campaign.
Wigan make their second long trip in a week after
the trip to London where they thrashed a poor Broncos outfit 6-58 and have
three wins in their last five with back-to-back defeats to Wakefield and St
Helens the only negatives. The Warriors have been one of few teams to defeat
Catalan on French soil be it in Perpignan or the special trips to Montpellier
and if results go their way could move to the league's summit.
Last season's meeting in France saw a much changed
Wigan side lose 22-8 to the Dragons just a week before their Challenge Cup
final triumph at Wembley and in this season's reverse meeting, Wigan needed a
stunning try from Matt Bowen to secure a 22-16 win that puts them on target for
a first league double over the Dragons since 2012.
Catalan name an unchanged 19 from the win over
Bradford while Wigan welcome back captain Sean O'Loughlin in place of the
suspended Gil Dudson and Dom Manfredi replaces Lewis Tierney.
Catalan-Escaré,
Pryce, Pomeroy, Oldfield, Elima, Henderson, Lima, Taia, Anderson, Mounis,
Pelissier, Whitehead, Millard, Bousquet, Baitieri, Duport, Cardace, Garcia,
Williams.
Wigan-John Bateman, Matt Bowen, Joe Burgess, Greg Burke,
Josh Charnley, Tony Clubb, Dom Crosby, Liam Farrell, Anthony Gelling, Jack
Hughes, Jordan James, Dom Manfredi, Sean O'Loughlin, Eddy Pettybourne, Sam
Powell, Dan Sarginson, Matty Smith, Scott Taylor, George Williams.
Discussions
last week suggested I would go against Wigan for a change but the late kick-off
suggests mild weather so will tip Wigan just so Catalan 20 Wigan 26.
Sunday afternoon sees Warrington host London with
the sides at polar opposites when it comes to recent form.
Warrington come into the game with the best form in
the league with a current run of eight consecutive wins that has seen them move
into contention for a top-four place and has boosted their chances of a second
League Leaders Shield in four years.
London face the in-form Wolves in what can only be
described as unbelievably horrific form with not a single win in 2014 and 19 losses
in a row. They have had some close calls for a win but last week's demolition
at home to Wigan ruined all of the previous hard work. A miracle is needed to
avoid relegation and would surely be dubbed the biggest turnaround of all time
should they complete such a task.
Last season's meeting at the HJ stadium saw London
lose 54-20 as part of a league double that included a 10-82 loss in the home
meeting. This season's reverse meeting saw them lose 16-44 in a game that many
will remember well after the Broncos led at half-time before capitulating in a
poor second half.
One past meeting between the sides that springs to
mind was when London thrashed Warrington 62-18 at the back end of the 2012
season, a repeat of which would not only stun the Rugby League world but would
be the worst possible end to a winning run, I could ever think of.
There
could be a surprise but I feel Warrington will come out on top so Warrington
42 London 12.
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