Super League Round-up

Super League Round-up

Earlier in the season I posted a blog about the upcoming Super League campaign and, like in my Championship preview and round-up, I raised a few questions that had come to mind ahead of this new campaign.

Overall I think this season has been a great spectacle with plenty of surprises popping up and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the renaissance of teams like Castleford and Leeds, alongside the disappointing opening few weeks that the likes of Widnes and Warrington have had (for any supporters of either of those teams reading this I don’t mean that in a derogatory sense by the way!).  Some of these I’ll expand on later but if the rest of the season continues in the manor this opening quarter has gone I can’t wait to see how the rest of the year pans out.

As I did a couple of weeks ago, I’ll look back and see how my initial thoughts and questions are panning out.

CAN WIGAN RETAIN THEIR TITLE?

I was very positive about Wigan’s chances before the season started and my answer was short and sweet ... “In a word – yes” was what I opened with but now I’m beginning to re-think my answer slightly.

I expanded on that opening comment with the claim that they would sweep all before them and that idea was proving true early on as they had a fantastic opening few weeks.  Despite a couple of bad results I wouldn’t completely renege on that idea either.  Winning their first five games, which included the World Club Championship, was a fantastic start to their season and at that point they were sitting pretty at the top of Super League with maximum points and virtually untouchable.

But the last couple of weeks have seen a dip in form for the Warriors and may have raised a few eyebrows that they’ve gone two consecutive home games without a victory.  The DW Stadium proving that it isn’t a place to be scared of coming to get a result.

I would still agree that they are the favourites for the title despite slipping to fourth in the table but it’s still very early in the campaign and a lot can happen in a few months.

The upcoming Easter period will be interesting and that could be the weekend that defines their future potential as, if they can come through the visit of St Helens and the trip to Wakefield unscathed, then they will be odds on for the title in my eyes.  But, even it doesn’t quite go to plan for them I would never right them off!

TOUGH START FOR PROMOTED LEIGH...

I had some concerns for Leigh, now the closest SL club to where I live, as they had been given an extremely difficult opening few games.  But roll on a few weeks and they have certainly turned a few heads and made more of a stir in the league than I thought possible already this season.  Having played a game more due to their involvement in round five of the Challenge Cup in a few weeks they are sitting pretty in seventh in the table!

Some fans would have been forgiven for thinking the worst after such a heavy defeat to Castleford on the opening weekend but, putting it into perspective against the way the Tigers have started the season, that wasn’t too much of a surprise.

However, three wins from their following three games, including recent consecutive victories over established sides like Warrington and Huddersfield and a narrow defeat to Wakefield, have made the Centurions a real force in Super League and they certainly don’t look out of place in this division.

It wouldn’t come as a major shock if they still up in the Qualifiers come the final phase of the season, as many people will have tipped them to do just that (and I think they would retain their SL place if they did) but on the flip side, going on current form, they would thoroughly deserve a place in the Super 8’s.

We wait and see...

LET’S HAVE A MORE COMPETATIVE SUPER LEAGUE...

So far so good I think!  Early on we have seen plenty of exciting rugby being played and it has been hard to predict the outcome of many of the games.

The emergence of Castleford as a force has been good for the competition and I think they have a genuine shot at finally reaching the Play-offs this year.  Whether they can sustain their form throughout the whole season and overcome a side like Wigan or Leeds, who are both well versed in the unpredictability of the Play-offs, is another matter and that’s a long way off yet.

Some of the results they have thrown up have really impressed me.  Notably the drubbing they handed out to Leeds’ youngsters, a game in which I watched in awe at some of the plays and tries they were scoring, and a decent victory over Catalans last weekend has been impressive to see and hopefully they won’t just fade off into the distance as the season progresses.  Two successive fifth-place finishes shows that they are a consistent side in SL and I think they’re showing enough class and skill to be strong enough to retain their top four place.  Daryl Powell for England?!?!

Another side who have impressed me is Salford Red Devils.  They were unlucky to end up in the Million Pound Game last year following their point’s deduction but this year they have really stepped up a gear.  They’re the only side to have beaten Castleford so far and sit in fifth with eight points from their seven games and have a healthy point’s difference to boot.  Marwan Koukash wanted to make the constantly struggling SL club a strong side within this division and it finally looks like they are going in the right direction.

Leeds Rhinos have picked themselves up this year after a very bad 2016 by their standards.  I predicted them to be strong again this year and so far I have been right.  I think Brian McDermott will be breathing a sigh of relief that his side are back to their usual ways again.

One club that has also surprised me, but for all the wrong reasons, is Warrington Wolves.  The poor Wire just cannot get a break having lost all six of their opening games.  For a team tipped to be challenging for titles this year it looks like their season is already over!  It surprises me as they looked a very strong team when I watched them last season in the Challenge Cup but the injuries to key players seem to have really hit them hard.  They’ve got a hell of a lot of work to do turn their season around but with visits from Hull FC and Leeds coming up they could be heading for a very unwanted record of eight straight defeats.

Both Warrington and Widnes Vikings are trailing the pack already and look to be staring down the barrel of a very long season battling against relegation or an appearance in the MPG.  At the other end it’s looking very healthy with five teams all within two points of each other.  And it looks like it could be a healthy battle in the middle with five teams on either six or five points.  Teams will drop away or come through sticky patches right throughout the campaign but so far it looks to be going very much to plan.

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