The Play-offs Part 6 - League 1 Play-off Final

The Play-offs Part 6 - League 1 Play-off Final

So it comes down to this one final game to decide who will join Rochdale Hornets in the Championship next season.

The traditionalists will be rooting for Barrow to return home victorious and keep Cumbria’s flag flying in the Championship, whereas the expansionists would love to see Toulouse fulfil their season long potential and add some French flair to the second tier next season.

Whoever’s side you’re on it’s going to be in for a tense game as I’m predicting a tight one.  The Raiders are clearly up for this but Toulouse will not want to lose a second Final on home soil and suffer another season in League 1, especially with the Toronto bandwagon joining the party in 2017.  Whichever side wins is probably only going to succeed by the odd couple of points and I for one cannot wait for this game.

LEAGUE 1 PLAY-OFF FINAL – TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE vs BARROW RAIDERS

(Stade des Minimes, Saturday, 1 October – 15:00pm CET)

Toulouse Olympique

It’s hard to see Toulouse’s Semi Final against York City Knights as anything but a nothing game.  It was a sheer formality that they would be hosting this Final when it was rumoured earlier in the week that York could only travel with a bare minimum of players.

In hindsight it might have been fairer on York to give Toulouse the walkover but that would have been very defeatist and, fair play to them, they went out there and gave it a go.  Yes they score line shows they got battered but to have only 12 players in your whole squad and only lose by 52 points is a fantastic achievement.  Well done York and good luck for next season.

Back on to the French side, they will have treated last week’s game as a training exercise in order to be fully match fit and prepared for this weekend’s fixture.  They are the home side and will be clear favourites again but they were two weeks ago and look how that turned out.

Toulouse will have to play to their full potential for all 80 minutes if they are to win this one on Saturday.

SUPER 8’s RESULTS:

Round 1 – Toulouse Olympique 40-4 Keighley Cougars

Round 2 – Toulouse Olympique 46-16 York City Knights

Round 4 – Doncaster RLFC 18-38 Toulouse Olympique

Round 5 – Toulouse Olympique 46-6 Rochdale Hornets

Round 3 – London Skolars 14-58 Toulouse Olympique (postponed to August Bank Holiday weekend)

Round 6 – Hunslet Hawks 12-16 Toulouse Olympique

Round 7 – Toulouse Olympique 44-22 Barrow Raiders

Promotion Final – Toulouse Olympique 22-24 Rochdale Hornets

Play-off Semi Final – Toulouse Olympique 62-10 York City Knights

Barrow Raiders

Barrow’s fantastic Super 8’s form continued last weekend with a rousing victory over Doncaster in front of a crowd of over 1,100.  The Raiders are a very well supported side and even though there will only be a handful of Barrovians who make the trip this weekend the whole of the town will be behind them and following the game any way they can.

The Raiders will know that they can have the beating of Toulouse and will be buoyed by their efforts in France two weeks ago despite the eventual final score.  They will also be confident that if Rochdale can beat Toulouse on their own patch, so can they.

There will be added impetus to win this one as Barrow’s captain Liam Harrison will hang up his boots after this game and will be desperate to end on a high by guiding his home town club to promotion glory.

If Barrow can conquer the French side’s so-called aggressive tactics and play their own game and play to their own strengths there is no reason why the Raiders can’t pull off another Promotion/Play-off Final surprise.

SUPER 8’s RESULTS:

Round 1 – Barrow Raiders 34-12 Rochdale Hornets

Round 2 – Doncaster RLFC 12-40 Barrow Raiders

Round 3 – York City Knights 6-20 Barrow Raiders

Round 4 – Barrow Raiders 44-26 Hunslet Hawks

Round 5 – London Skolars 4-54 Barrow Raiders

Round 6 – Barrow Raiders 26-18 Keighley Cougars

Round 7 – Toulouse Olympique 44-22 Barrow Raiders

Play-off Semi Final – Barrow Raiders 40-6 Doncaster RLFC

MY PREDICTION – I’m going for it ... Barrow to win by 1+ point!