XIII Oceans

Challenge Cup weekend gave us two belters for the viewing public.  Saints continued where they left off against Leeds and the Bulls folded in the dramatic style that they are fast becoming know for.  Returning to our regularly programmed schedule it’s derby round for most with a couple of stand out tussles far down the M62.

Harlequins RL v Catalans
The eighty minute war resumes at The Stoop on Thursday for two teams meandering through the competition on directionless rafts.  Rivalry between teams as far apart as these gets wrongly overlooked by the neutral.  Since Catalans’ introduction to Supere League these two teams have provided some terrifically entertaining games and I expect we’ll see the same again.  Last week Catalans pulled off the unlikeliest of wins when they finally realised that their big men could flatten the Bulls water balloon muscle boys.  It was thrilling watching that game develop wondering just when the Bulls would front up to the Dragons’ impetus which they never did and if Catalans can get off the blocks with the same kind of desire here they could undo McDermott’s men who do not have the physical presence to match them.  The 2009 Harlequins RL resemble previous post-Tony Currie outfits, surprisingly good or bad one week and then unsurprisingly good or bad the week after.  There appears to be no middle ground for Harlequins RL and I believe that for all the talk by McDermott of winning the World Club Championship next year, he would settle for consistency now.  Consistently inconsistent is a phrase that could be defined by this side.  Where does that leave us for this round?  Well as indifferent as Harlequins RL are, Catalans have been a big disappointment so far.  The structure that Mick Potter had infused in his team has gone, defensively they look lethargic and their intimidating size tends to surface only when games are slipping out of reach.  McDermott will have had his side going through the tackling bags this week and with Catalans defence looking decidedly dodgy this should be another end-to-end feast for the 1,500 who turn up. Harlequins RL by 8.

Wigan v St Helens
And so it begins.  Wigan’s slow climb back to the top of the pile commenced this week with the addition of Saints castoff Martin Gleeson.  I’m not best positioned to determine if a centre was one of great need, particularly after Noble has added Phelps, Roberts and Pryce over the past year.  It’s like Noble has a glass slipper approach to signings, trying them all out until one fits so hopefully this one will, the fans say.  One thing is for sure, Gleeson will give Wigan presence down the white line and he’s certain to give some much needed dusty showbiz to a threequarters that has instantly gone from being mediocre to the best in the competition.  Will he be given a freebase role where his defence may be of use to a team looking increasingly lacking in one?  What about getting a prop forward instead?  I know which I can see as the more important from the outside, however when a player of Serpico’s ability becomes available you have to be interested when you’re in the chasing pack, particularly when you’ve got the British Darren Lockyer waiting to fling out the passes to him.  Warrington tried to build a winning team around good centres and have admitted defeat so where does that leave Wigan?  In the firing line you could say as the competition’s form team rolls in complete with a seemingly impregnable defence.  In the past three weeks Saints’ defence has proven to be a game winner, stifling Leeds twice and crunching up the Wildcats attack to the point of non-existence.  It is that defence which dictates how this game is going to go.  The slowing down of the play the ball has allowed Saints defence to force itself into the opposition defensive line.  Without suitable size and work rate upfront I’m struggling to see how Wigan can compete effectively with Saints.  Most of their fans know that and the signing of Dr Zhivago, in front of home fans, added to a couple of players missing from Saints probably won’t prevent a loss but it should stop the visitors uncorking the scoreboard.  Saints by 12.

Bradford v Leeds
As epic as the airport derby has been (who can forget the games at Cardiff) it is no longer the draw that it was.  Many of you may point to the fact that usually the team in the ascendancy wins with relative ease, however under Brian Noble the Bulls still managed to give Leeds a game when they only had ‘The Volcano’ to rely on.  Those days have long gone.  Steve McNamara now helms a Mark 1 Tank and not the Tiger that his predecessors had access to, complete with all the comparative weaknesses.  Against the Dragons powerful running the Bulls had no answer.  Momentum can be a big turning point in games and Bradford have witnessed it from both sides in crucial games before.  Last week’s evaporation will have Bulls fans queuing up to get a view of the big screen at their local instead of on the terraces.  Who can blame them?  It’s a tragic state of affairs for one of the competitions standard bearers and keeping Leeds under fifty is what sane Bulls fans will be hoping for.  They might manage that because it is a derby and in heavily unbalanced contests the lesser light usually gives more than it does against other nobodies.  Sadly for them Leeds are still the second best team in the competition and there are more than a couple of rungs between them and Bradford.  In fact, after this week the Bulls are going to need an elevator.  Leeds by 20.

Castleford v Wakefield
Remember how the million pound derby has panned out in recent years?  Well this one isn’t the same anymore.  It’s back.  Castleford versus Wakefield now has new meaning.  It’s not only the hairlines that are receding here, Wakefield’s power over their neighbours has been pushed back without there being a run of Castleford wins in this contest.  There isn’t enough testosterone, saliva or false teeth in the country to furnish the terraces when this game kicks into gear and it’s a pity SKY haven’t recognised the decline of the airport derby as a meaningful fixture when they could have given us this little treat on Friday night.  All that said, Wakefield were poor against Saints and I expected better.  I try not to build up Saints too much because I’m painfully aware of any accusations of bias but on that Friday John Kear’s men looked like a bottom half of the table outfit.  Their defence had all the hallmarks of McNamara’s new wave Bradford and coupled with Saints defence they were never in it.  Castleford won’t be as pressing and they’re likely to commit more errors in less forgiving field position which gives Kear something to work with.  Form is in the Tigers favour and although they got out of jail against Bradford they must be confident of a quarter final spot in the cup and going 6-2 in the year.  Wakefield can’t be as bad as they were against Saints and this is a derby that will probably be closer and better value for money than some of the more celebrated ones.  Castleford by 4.

Huddersfield v Celtic
Huddersfield are on the verge of arriving in this competition big time.  Successive thrashings of Harlequins RL supports mine and their own fans suggestions that this team is competing.  I’m starting to wonder if Nathan Brown might be capable of turning this team into the fourth, maybe even third best team this year.  We’re a long way from the playoffs so they’ve been thrown a light lunch by the fixture planners before a Primetime game at Hull KR on Monday.  Will they face opposition here?  How much of Celtic’s performance at the HJ was attributable to Tony Smith’s men and how much was self-propelled?  It doesn’t really matter does it?  I expect the Giants might not be as fluent for this as their recent scorelines have indicated so it could be a bit more interesting.  It’s over to you Mr Brown to show how much professionalism you’ve managed to instil into this Giants outfit.  Giants by 18.

Salford v Warrington
Crack sales in the UK rose by 275% over the past week following Salford’s progression into the next round of the cup as a Four Tops tribute act belted out ‘The Same Old Song’ at The Willows the night after.  Rapture has never known such excess.  It’s back to Lancashire lasses time with Adrian Morley not offering to finish off his career with his home town club just yet, whilst he’s still fit enough to play more than a game per month.  I have this down as my second choice match of this round because we’re still not sure just where Warrington are at.  Before the Celtic game I had the Wolves pegged as a team slowly improving and one which won’t have too much difficulty in disposing of a newly promoted team.  Considering we’ve been writing Salford off all season every positive performance should be recognised for the great feat that it is.  If the Salford forwards can get up in the face of Warrington there’s a chance here with the Wolves still trying to find their confidence that aggressive defence could reap big rewards.  All that said, Warrington only have to  keep on winning whilst they have the easy games and others will trip up.  They can worry about the tough ones later, it’s points and gathering form that is important and with Salford’s plywood defence this shouldn’t be a problem.  Warrington by 12.

******GAME OF THE ROUND******

Hull v Hull KR
Sorry supporters of Hull.  It appears my bigging up of you a few weeks ago when I said you could be undefeated going into this one has jinxed you.  Losses to Castleford and Harlequins RL have done nothing but undermine your playoff credentials.  I know I’m being unfair when I say this but somebody should remind British coaches that Shaun McRae’s style of coaching went out ten years ago.  Barging the ball up the middle and controlling possession is not Total Rugby, it’s a basic that I would expect any Super League club to be able to do.  Winning games in a manner that served Andy Gregory and Karl Harrison well for about a year will probably keep you off the foot of the table.  It won’t push you too far up it unless you’re exceptional in other areas of your game.  I’m really intrigued by this match.  Okay I’m dismissing Hull on the back of only watching them on the telly and hearing about their recent failures, including defeat to Salford (don’t laugh, it happens to the best of us).   The thing is, this is a derby game which they have failed to take control of since its resumption in the top flight and up to a couple of weeks ago I was foreseeing a real humdinger between two rising clubs about to make it big.  Now I’m looking at this as Hull being a bunch of plodders trying for success on the back of a gameplan from last century.  Hull KR may not be promoting the ball as well as their contenders for breakthrough team of the year, the Giants, but they do the ball control game as well as Hull and have more imagination with it too.  If the ball controlling Hull was complimented by a tough defence I would be excited beyond belief looking at this as one of the games of the year.  With those deficiencies it tilts the game in Rovers’ favour because of their efficiency.  Time for Hull to step up and prove their worth before their great start becomes a memory.  Rovers by 4.

Last week’s prediction:

Wakefield by 1 (lost by 26)
Leeds by 20 (won by 28 )
Wigan by 1 (lost by 14)
Harlequins RL by 4 (won by 10)
Hull KR by 18 (won by 36)
Warrington by 18 (won by 5)
Castleford by 6 (won by 2)

28-19 overall.