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SUPERLEAGUE ROUND 10 PREVIEW
TheEdge949
Member Posts: 5,713
Well a good deal later than advertised lets have a peek at the upcoming fixtures shall we.
CASTLEFORD V SAINT HELENS
Well when you've won 3 league games on the bounce there are 2 things you don't want. The first is to come up against a rampant Saints outfit. The second is to have it shown live on Sky for the world to watch. Well that's the winning streak coming to a shuddering halt regardless of what Saints say about playing "The Youngsters". To be brutally honest Saints could field a reserve grade 13 and give Cas the runaround. Can't see any scenario here where Castleford come out on top.
SAINT HELENS by 16
LEEDS V TOULOUSE
Leeds have found a little form over Easter although to be honest, they couldn't get worse really and a draw with Huddersfield should have been followed up by a win at Castleford who tried every which way to gift Leeds the spoils. Perhaps Leeds failure to capitalise shows just how far they have fallen. Toulouse on the other hand are improving week on week losing narrowly to Catalans and Hull KR over the Easter period. This is a huge game. A Toulouse win puts Leeds on the bottom, a Leeds win and there's daylight between Toulouse and the rest.
LEEDS by 6 but would love to be wrong.
HULL KR V WAKEFIELD
Hull KR are riding the crest of a wave right now having defeated their bitter rivals Hull then travelling victoriously to Toulouse. News that their coach will be leaving at the end of the season will either spur them on to greater heights or deflate the morale around the club, but either way this will be a mission for a Wakefield side who have shipped nearly 90 points over Easter in a 17th consecutive Derby defeat by Cas and then an absolute mullering by Wigan 3 days later. This game promises little respite and Hull KR should take this.
HULL KR by 12
WARRINGTON V HUDDERSFIELD
Warrington once again flattered to deceive over Easter seemingly having turned the corner against Salford only to go down to a battling Hull 3 days later. Huddersfield also had a rough time of it firstly scraping a draw at Leeds before welcoming Saints who did what saints do. With both teams desperate to put in a performance this could be a really entertaining game although I'm not sure that home advantage is all that for Warrington whose fans can be somewhat fickle.
WARRINGTON by 8
WIGAN V SALFORD
Wigan recovered from a bit of a mauling in the big (not derby) derby from Saint Helens to then take it out on Wakefield with a quite devastating show of attacking rugby league. Salford meanwhile continue to struggle following early season promise losing to Warrington and Catalans respectively over the Holiday period. Nothing from the teams suggests anything other than a Wigan win and with Salford already on the wrong end of a couple of big scores this season, this one could get ugly and right quick at that.
WIGAN by 18
HULL V CATALANS
If Hull can put out a competitive side out then this one could be the best game of the round but that is a big if. Ravaged by injuries they capped their Easter programme with a hard fought arm wrestle against Warrington emerging with a late try and conversion to win but subsequent injury and suspension woes have left the Airlee Birds short on personnel. Catalans meanwhile went about their business racking up a close win at home in the all French tie and then strolling through the Salford sunshine to cement their play off ambitions. For me this is all about the squads, if Hull can muster the team neccessary then this will be close, I just feel that it's a tough one too soon.
CATALANS by 10
Sorry for the delay in posting guys, sometimes life just gets in the way. Have a brilliant weekend, take in a game and enjoy life.
Mark
CASTLEFORD V SAINT HELENS
Well when you've won 3 league games on the bounce there are 2 things you don't want. The first is to come up against a rampant Saints outfit. The second is to have it shown live on Sky for the world to watch. Well that's the winning streak coming to a shuddering halt regardless of what Saints say about playing "The Youngsters". To be brutally honest Saints could field a reserve grade 13 and give Cas the runaround. Can't see any scenario here where Castleford come out on top.
SAINT HELENS by 16
LEEDS V TOULOUSE
Leeds have found a little form over Easter although to be honest, they couldn't get worse really and a draw with Huddersfield should have been followed up by a win at Castleford who tried every which way to gift Leeds the spoils. Perhaps Leeds failure to capitalise shows just how far they have fallen. Toulouse on the other hand are improving week on week losing narrowly to Catalans and Hull KR over the Easter period. This is a huge game. A Toulouse win puts Leeds on the bottom, a Leeds win and there's daylight between Toulouse and the rest.
LEEDS by 6 but would love to be wrong.
HULL KR V WAKEFIELD
Hull KR are riding the crest of a wave right now having defeated their bitter rivals Hull then travelling victoriously to Toulouse. News that their coach will be leaving at the end of the season will either spur them on to greater heights or deflate the morale around the club, but either way this will be a mission for a Wakefield side who have shipped nearly 90 points over Easter in a 17th consecutive Derby defeat by Cas and then an absolute mullering by Wigan 3 days later. This game promises little respite and Hull KR should take this.
HULL KR by 12
WARRINGTON V HUDDERSFIELD
Warrington once again flattered to deceive over Easter seemingly having turned the corner against Salford only to go down to a battling Hull 3 days later. Huddersfield also had a rough time of it firstly scraping a draw at Leeds before welcoming Saints who did what saints do. With both teams desperate to put in a performance this could be a really entertaining game although I'm not sure that home advantage is all that for Warrington whose fans can be somewhat fickle.
WARRINGTON by 8
WIGAN V SALFORD
Wigan recovered from a bit of a mauling in the big (not derby) derby from Saint Helens to then take it out on Wakefield with a quite devastating show of attacking rugby league. Salford meanwhile continue to struggle following early season promise losing to Warrington and Catalans respectively over the Holiday period. Nothing from the teams suggests anything other than a Wigan win and with Salford already on the wrong end of a couple of big scores this season, this one could get ugly and right quick at that.
WIGAN by 18
HULL V CATALANS
If Hull can put out a competitive side out then this one could be the best game of the round but that is a big if. Ravaged by injuries they capped their Easter programme with a hard fought arm wrestle against Warrington emerging with a late try and conversion to win but subsequent injury and suspension woes have left the Airlee Birds short on personnel. Catalans meanwhile went about their business racking up a close win at home in the all French tie and then strolling through the Salford sunshine to cement their play off ambitions. For me this is all about the squads, if Hull can muster the team neccessary then this will be close, I just feel that it's a tough one too soon.
CATALANS by 10
Sorry for the delay in posting guys, sometimes life just gets in the way. Have a brilliant weekend, take in a game and enjoy life.
Mark
Comments
So why ?
I'm not a fan of this even if it does give my team an advantage. It's disrespectful to the other sides in the competition and creates an uneven playing field.
You should, under penalty of a points deduction, always field your strongest team.
I remember Bradford doing something similar against Wakefield years ago and gifting them 2 points. That season Wakefield beat us in the final game and relegated us by a single point whilst they stayed up by a single point. I've had something of a chronic dislike for Bradford ever since.