The Play-offs - Part 2

The Play-offs - Part 2

An eventful final weekend saw the Super 8’s and Qualifiers campaigns concluded with a few eye-opening results which sets up three enthralling match-ups for this coming weekend.

Who would have thought last season’s champions (Grand Finalists for the last four years) Wigan, on the verge of sneaking into the Play-offs on points difference, would be swept aside by Wakefield – an opponent who was already out of the running thanks to St Helen’s win a couple of nights earlier – and miss out on a Play-off place for the first time since 2006?

Hull’s emphatic defeat of Castleford Tigers at the Jungle set up an enthralling all-Yorkshire Semi Final with second placed Leeds.  Whilst St Helens, the only other side to win at the Jungle this season, finished fourth and will take on Castleford.

In the Qualifiers, Widnes came back from France celebrating their first ever win away to Catalans which secured their Super League status for another 12 months and left Catalans with the unenviable task of having to get a win at a partisan Leigh Sports Village in the Million Pound Game.

Elsewhere, the Championship Shield and League 1 Promotion Final also look to be mouth-watering encounters as well.

SUPER LEAGUE SEMI FINALS

Castleford Tigers v St Helens

Thursday, 28^th September 2017 – 19:45pm

The first of the weekend’s big games takes place at the Jungle on Thursday night.  St Helens stunned the home crown in Round 1 of the Super 8’s but that didn’t stop the Tigers from going on to claim the League Leaders shield three rounds later and finish the season ten points clear of nearest rivals, Leeds Rhinos.

The ‘will he start-won’t he start’ saga of Luke Gale will be answered this week.  Can Daryl Powell risk his main man a game early, or will he keep him on the sidelines in the hope that Saints don’t shock them by pulling off a memorable victory so he’s ready for the Grand Final?

It’s a big question but Castleford can’t rely on one man.  They have plenty of other match winners in their side.  Saints on the other hand won’t be bothered who they face as they’ll go out there with the same mentality as ever look for a second consecutive win at the Jungle and a third win over the Tigers this season.

My prediction: Castleford to win by 6+ points

Leeds Rhinos v Hull FC

Friday, 29^th September 2017 – 19:45pm

The other Semi Final will be just as exciting, if not more so.  Leeds Rhinos will host the game but they won’t have it all their own way and I fancy Hull to win this one.

Hull’s Dream Team pairing of Mahe Fonua and Albert Kelly could be crucial, and if they can pair that with another good performance from Mark Sneyd, Hull could run away with this like they did the Challenge Cup Semi Final a couple of months ago.

The Rhinos have made no bones about their own ambitions though.  This will be Danny McGuire and Rob Burrow’s final ever home game for Leeds and they won’t want to throw away a chance of successfully ending their career at Old Trafford like team-mates Kevin Sinfield, Jamie Peacock and Kylie Leuluai did in the treble-winning campaign of 2015.

My prediction: Hull to win by 2+ points

MILLION POUND GAME

Leigh Centurions v Catalans Dragons

Saturday, 30^th September 2017 – 15:00pm

It goes without saying that this game can make or break a club’s future.  Wakefield Trinity went from strength to strength after beating Bradford Bulls in the 2015 match (and just look which way Bradford went!)  A year later Salford sneaked it at Hull KR but Hull recuperated and have bounced straight back up to Super League at the first attempt.  Salford also enjoyed one of their most successful seasons in the summer era and they now look to be a settled side.

So this game brings with it a number of conundrums for both clubs.  Leigh will desperately want to avoid dropping down to the Championship after just one season in the top flight and working so hard to get there.  And there have been a few mutterings that relegation could destroy the Dragons, and French rugby league, if the result goes against them.

I would find it hard to go against what will surely be a partisan Leigh crowd which could sway this result.  Had it been the other way round and the game played in Perpignan, then I could have only seen one winner.  But with the game at LSV that should be enough to get Leigh over the line.

If that happens I feel sorry for the nine English Championship clubs next season who will have to travel to Catalans, Toulouse AND Toronto!

My prediction: Leigh to win by 4+ points

CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD FINAL

Toulouse Olympique v Sheffield Eagles

Saturday, 30^th September 2017 – 14:30pm (UK time)

Toulouse Olympique have the chance to claim a second consecutive Play-off trophy on Saturday.  Having beaten Barrow Raiders in last year’s League 1 Promotion Final they face Sheffield Eagles in the Championship Shield Final – another game that they are favourites to win.

The Eagles last trip to Southern France ended in a 16 point defeat and I don’t see it being any different this time around even if they did overcome a Batley Bulldogs side that finished seven points ahead of them after the regular season.

However, Olympique have won their last ten games and will be confident of making it 11 from 11.  That should offer some consolation for a team that was tipped by many to grab a spot in this season’s Qualifiers.

My prediction: Toulouse to win by 18+ points

LEAGUE 1 PROMOTION FINAL

Barrow Raiders v Whitehaven

Sunday, 1^st October 2017 – 15:00pm

The final match to take place this weekend sees an all-Cumbrian derby in the League 1 Promotion Final.  It’s the match-up every neutral expected and every supporter of either side probably wanted.

Barrow hammered Newcastle Thunder in their Semi Final and will be everyone’s favourites to claim victory and the second promotion spot on Sunday.  It will be Whitehaven’s first visit to Craven Park this season as both previous meetings were up the coast at the Recreation Ground where both sides claimed a victory each.

It took a drop goal deep in extra time for Whitehaven to finally overcome York City Knights but will hope for a more comfortable victory if possible on Sunday and Carl Forster will have his side thoroughly fired up for this encounter.

My prediction: Barrow to win by 8+ points

If you enjoy what you read you can follow all my blogs on Twitter.  Just search and follow @TheRLBlogger.

The Play-offs - Part 1

The Play-offs - Part 1

This season seems to have flown by.  It doesn’t seem five minutes since I was watching my first game of the year way back at the end of January at Leigh Sports Village catching the Challenge Cup First Round tie between Leigh Miners Rangers and Wigan St Patricks.

But with one round of fixtures left to play in the Super 8’s and Qualifiers sections we have reached the Play-offs elsewhere in the professional rugby league divisions.  Five Play-off matches will take place this weekend and I’ll look at each of them here.

CHAMPIONSHIP SHIELD SEMI FINALS

Toulouse Olympique v Dewsbury Rams

Saturday, 23 September 2017 – 14:30pm (UK time)

The French side will be clear favourites to win this semi final having won all but one of their seven Shield matches this year, making up for them narrowly missing out on a place in this season’s Qualifiers, and setting up potentially two final home matches to end the season.  They will be wary after what happened against Rochdale in last season’s League 1 Promotion Final though but I wouldn’t expect any slip-ups in this game.

Ironically, the only blot in this later stage was a 36-34 defeat away to their semi final opponents.  However, despite a very slow start to the season, Dewsbury failed to live up to further expectations after that victory and lost three of their last four matches to finish 18 points off the pace of Toulouse in the final standings.

My prediction: Toulouse to win by 14+ points

Batley Bulldogs v Sheffield Eagles

Sunday, 24 September 2017 – 15:00pm

It would be wrong to read anything into Batley’s decent 34-18 victory over Sheffield last weekend in what was a dress-rehearsal for this week’s second semi final.  Both sides have middle eight’s experience from the previous two years and this should be an interesting match-up.  The Bulldogs will be slight favourites having finished seven points clear of their opponents in the final table and have the home draw, but Sheffield will be desperate to make amends for what has been a very hit and miss season.

The gap in the final score won’t be as high this weekend and it’s these particular games which make we wish the Championship was still shown on TV as I think it could be a cracker.

My prediction: Batley to win by 4+ points

LEAGUE 1 PROMOTION SEMI-FINALS

Barrow Raiders v Newcastle Thunder

Sunday, 24 September 2017 – 15:00pm

Barrow lived up to everyone’s expectations in League 1 this season by finishing second behind Toronto Wolfpack and winning the League 1 Cup at the end of May.  Six victories from their seven Super 8’s matches started with an excellent win away to promotion rivals Whitehaven at the end of June.  They haven’t quite managed to win by the big margins they achieved in the early part of the season but they’ve been very consistent throughout.

Newcastle on the other hand scraped into these Play-offs by the skin of their teeth thanks to a great win away to York City Knights and Doncaster and Keighley’s defeats to leapfrog both teams and finish fifth.  Thunder finished 13 points behind Barrow in the final standings and will be major underdogs for this match against a team in good form and a big home crowd at Craven Park.

My prediction: Barrow to win by 12+ points

Whitehaven v York City Knights

Sunday, 24 September 2017 – 15:00pm

Relegated Whitehaven have won both the encounters between these two sides this year.  The most emphatic was a ten point victory two weeks ago and should be favourites again for this match.  When Haven moved to second at the end of the regular season after victory over Barrow Raiders, the game between them both the following weekend saw them drop back to third but it was the defeat to Doncaster in Round Three that sealed their fate.

York on the other hand had a very successful season following the doubts that surrounded the club over the winter when we were unsure if there would even be a Knights team in League 1.  Their start wasn’t great but they’ve built up confidence and made the promotion Play-offs for a fourth consecutive season.

My prediction: Whitehaven to win by 6+ points

LEAGUE 1 SHIELD FINAL

Hunslet Hawks v London Skolars

Sunday, 24 September 2017 – 15:00pm

The final Play-off match this weekend sees a ‘best-of-the-rest’ shoot-out between Hunslet and London Skolars.  Hunslet’s only defeat in this section came away to North Wales Crusaders in Round Three and only secured the home final last weekend thanks to a six point victory over the Skolars.  They will face a tough game on Sunday against an in form London side smarting from defeat at the weekend.

The Skolars had won an impressive eight consecutive matches up until last weekend and will be disappointed to have let home advantage slip for this final match of the season.  They will travel to the South Leeds Stadium fully confident they can claim their first ever trophy in the professional game.

My prediction: Hunslet to win by 2+ points

If you like what you read you can follow all my blogs through my Twitter page @TheRLBlogger.

Amateur Focus - Part 5

Amateur Focus - Part 5

Over the next few weekends we’ll see all the National Conference League clubs completing their regular season.  Celebrations have begun already in the lower leagues whilst Siddal rounded off another fantastic campaign last weekend.

Premier Division

As I said above it’s been another successful year for Siddal who will go into the Play-offs as NCL Minor Premiers for the second consecutive season.  They will aim to go all the way and make a third successive appearance in the Premier Division Grand Final and keep hold of the trophy they won against Leigh Miners Rangers last October.

Having finished their league fixtures alongside Rochdale Mayfield at the weekend they’ll have a couple of weeks off now before they return to the field in pursuit of that goal.

Joining them in the Playoffs are second placed Thatto Heath Crusaders, third placed Mayfield, Wath Brow Hornets who are fourth, and the 2014 NCL champions West Hull.

Kells lie sixth with a game in hand on Egremeont Rangers and Myton Warriors so they will be favourites to claim that final Play-off spot.

At the bottom end of the table, Leigh Miners claimed only their third win of the season after succumbing to relegation the previous weekend, and it’s a three-way battle between Wigan St Patricks, Pilkington Recs and Skirlaugh for the final two relegation spots.  St Pats have a point advantage going into the final round of fixtures.

Division One

Moving into the second tier there are still a couple of weekends of fixtures remaining but Underbank Rangers and Hunslet Club Parkside sit nine points clear of the chasing pack and have claimed the two automatic promotion spots.

Milford Marlins are the only team to have claimed a Play-off spot so far whilst four teams will battle it out for the three other places over the next couple of weekends.  York Acorn are in pole position, a point ahead of both Lock Lane and Normanton Knights.  Seventh placed Ince Rose Bridge are a further three points behind but still mathematically have a chance of sneaking into the top six.

Shaw Cross Sharks can rest easy for another season as, even though they cannot make the Play-offs, they are safe from relegation.

Any three of the current bottom four cold still go down.  Bottom the of the league Blackbrook won at the weekend to move them six points behind safety, and with a game in hand can still mathematically remain in the division.

But safety should go the way of Hull Dockers who are three points above the drop zone.  Hunslet Warriors and Featherstone Lions are the two other teams still fighting for survival.

Division Two

Three teams are still in contention of claiming one of the two automatic promotion spots in Division Two with one round left to play.  Oulton Raiders are top as it stands – a point ahead of Thornhill Trojans and four ahead of third placed Wigan St Judes.

Because of St Judes’ game in hand they could still claim top spot and effectively drop Oulton into the Play-offs if Thornhill also win their last game but with such a far superior points difference the Raiders are all but there.

Bradford Dudley Hill are also guaranteed a Play-off place for the end of the year.  Fifth placed East Leeds and sixth placed Askam are level on points and both four points above Crosfields.  Askam and Crossfields do have a game in hand so East Leeds will be watching their results closely if this weekend goes against them.

At the bottom, Millom will join Salford City Roosters in the bottom tier in 2018 after their home defeat to St Judes put them five points behind Leigh East with one game to play.  Also safe are Saddleworth Rangers and Drighlington.

Division Three

Because Elland and Rylands Sharks resigned mid-way through the season, there are still three weekends of fixtures to play in this division.  However, West Bowling made sure of their automatic promotion with victory at the weekend but can still be caught for the title by Stanningley who lie four points behind in second.

As they have played a game less than Desbury Moor Maroons above them, Eastmoor Dragons can still claim not only automatic promotion, but also the league title as they are six points behind Wests with three games to play.  Moor Maroons are level on points with Eastmoor but have played a game more and sit a place above them on points’ difference.

Moor Maroons can still claim the second automatic promotion spot though, as can fifth placed Woolston Rovers and are both guaranteed at least a Play-off spot.

Sixth placed Gateshead Storm can’t finish higher than fifth but can still be caught by any of Oldham St Annes, Clock Face Miners and Barrow Island for that final top six position – so it’s all to play for as we go into the final three weeks.

Dewsbury Celtic and Stanley Rangers are nine points behind the Islanders but both should avoid finishing bottom as Waterhead Warriors have only two points to their name thanks to a four point deduction received earlier in the campaign.

If you like what you read you can follow all my blogs through my Twitter page - @TheRLBlogger