XIII Oceans

We’re almost at the end of the first act in this year’s competition and as we approach that point we’ve just come off the back of one of the most unexpected weekends of an already unpredictable season. 

Expansion Heroes
Harlequins RL and Les Catalans Dragons, the two surprise performers in Super League XIII without doubt.  It’s still relatively early in the season to talk about playoff appearances and past history suggests that both teams will fall off the pace and return to their expected lower table positions by the end of the season, however we think that we should be celebrating the success, so far this season, for the two most travelled teams in the league.  People tend to forget, when looking at Harlequins and Catalans just how far these teams travel every other week, forgetting the additional inconvenience, cost and how it can affect their performances on the field, having to go through this routine on a regular basis.  To overcome, what are excuses for other teams, and propel yourselves into fifth and sixth in the table is a feat especially when you consider that both sides have been suffering with the same injury problems as others but because they don’t have as many fans as, say, Hull we haven’t heard about it as much.  I could sink deeper into analysis about the strengths of Harlequins team spirit or the power of the French pack but I’d prefer to allow us the opportunity to soak in their success for a moment as they prepare for their final games in the round of fixtures, Saints and Wigoon, away because surely neither side can win those road trips…

Grand Final 2006 – Where Are They Now?
It’s been a mixed start to the season for one of the silverware favourites, Saints, with only three notable victories this season, albeit against the sides occupying second, third and fourth in the table.  The loss of your props is now perhaps as critical, if not more so, than your best playmaker and Hull’s current eleventh placed position in the league suggests that statement has more than a ring of truth about it with Saints’ missing similar players and struggling accordingly.  What’s happened to these two teams in the space of twelve months?  For some this is a continuation of last season’s form for Hull so it is not a shock but it is surprise.  What about Saints though?  Whenever this side has appeared in front of the SKY cameras this year they’ve entertained and competed at the level we all know they can, now they’re sitting seventh with an in-form Harlequins threatening to push them further away from the second placed spot they are after.  The thing is, for both teams, they could be in even worse positions had they had a touch less luck, particularly Saints who snatched two victories at home in the dying seconds so in theory Saints could well have been sitting third from bottom a point above Hull.  Talk of a Saints slide might be premature and many will still be fancying them for a top two finish but just look at that middle schedule of fixtures that sees them take trips to Wigoon, Warrington, Leeds, Wakefield, Harlequins and Hull.  The Saints of last year may have won five out of six of those but can the Saints of this year?  It should be an interesting middle third for Saints fans as their steel for a fight is tested.

Warrington Grind To A Halt
As one titan shows early signs of rust a team tipped to become a new one is finding it difficult to live up to those expectations.  Following defeat to the Bulls a few weeks ago, Warrington returned home, beat the Giants with room to spare and fended off the Tigers on the back end of the bank holiday weekend.  The loss to the Bulls was not unexpected and a return to winning ways in the next two games was a sign that the old Warrington inconsistencies were being removed gradually.  Sadly for their eager fans, the heavens conspired to dampen their free flowing attacking style and Gareth “Son Of Roy” Haggerty snatched two home points that many thought were not even put out on the sideboard for discussion.  It was a loss that meant yesterday’s match with Wakefield was important because it would indicate just how serious the Wolves are about contending for a top two spot.  A day later and it’s two surprise defeats casting serious doubts over those credentials with Warrington fans themselves probably asking questions.  Those who are looking at the whole of the competition will note that despite these two defeats Warrington still lie only four points from the top and so it’s far too early to be questioning where these two losses leave the Wolves.

Noble Warriors
Whilst their two Mersey rivals show flashes of brilliance the faded glamour of cherry and white has never looked so good as Brian Noble’s men sit comfortably in second after their first league-notifying win of the season.  That that win was over the current champions and consisted of them simply putting opposition players on their backside repeatedly should not be forgotten.  Even now I think that most fans are bemused about Wigoon’s rise back to prominence and it will take some more similar big results to get people taking their title aspirations seriously but figure this;  Wigoon have travelled to Saints, Leeds, Hull, Harlequins, Huddersfield and Warrington in those first ten games which is some fixture list and given their head coach’s past record in peaking at the right time i.e. he won it once from third, this could be the fifth reich coming!

There’s No Easy Games Anymore
I wanted to write something a bit more in-depth about the competitiveness of this year’s competition but it might be better to leave that for another month or two when squad depth might have played a bigger impact.  However, I couldn’t leave without adding my voice of concern to the increasing of the league to fourteen clubs.  Given how long it has taken the competition to get to a point where we’re looking at every round of fixtures as being competitive, I’d be worried about taking that away until the sport has the player reserves to support it.