Round 17 Previews

June 13, 2008 at 4:06 pm | Posted in Rugby League, Sport, Super League | Leave a comment
Tags: bradford bulls, castleford tigers, catalans dragons, harlequins RL, huddersfield giants, hull fc, hull kr, leeds rhinos, round one, Rugby League, saints, Sport, st helens, Super League, wakefield trinity wildcats, warrington wolves, wigoon warriors

Saints v Bradford (+18 )
There’s unlikely to be a big travelling support following three consecutive losses for the Bulls tonight.  Those that do travel will be hoping for improvement against a Saints side who are appearing on screen near enough every week during the summer.  Viewers might have anticipated a more competitive game last week, for Saints, although the cup tie exertions for Rovers crowded those thoughts and instead Saints found it relatively easy to avenge their round one loss.  Glen Morrison’s absence is going to be too much for the Bulls to plough into the top three without some sort of miraculous changing of gears and although Steve McNamara still has his side nestled in the six, last week’s defeat moved them out of contention for second.  Defeat for the Bulls here might have most dismissing their chances of third but they have three games coming up that you would expect them to win.  What’s perhaps more important on Friday is that improvement that the fans will need to protect McNamara’s hold on the top spot.  Since close scrapes at home to Hull and Wakefield, Saints’ have been near perfect at the GPS and the absence of key Bulls personnel should ensure that continues, heaping more pressure on ol’ labium lips.  Saints by 10.

Catalans Dragons v Warriors (+2)
Unfortunately this week’s game of the round was never in contention for being on SKY which is a disappointment because this promises to be an excellent match.  Three points separate the sides with a game in hand for the Warriors so it’s a big head-to-head and one in which an away win will shift this into a three-way race for second.  This threatens to be a tight contest and both teams have triumphed in close run games already thise year, in fact Catalans appear to have a habit of making games close.  How that will pan out is difficult to tell because a lot will rest on discipline because these are defences that can knuckle down in the red zone, but repeated pressure via penalties is usually too much eventually.  With Catalans being almost at full strength the visitors will hope that this is one of those games where the opposing forwards aren’t able to get on top too easily which is a concern that’s been fuelled by the Warrior’s ball retention difficulties.  Fortunately for the Warriors their top penalty machine and error maker, O’Loughlin, has been ruled out for several weeks which should increase their statistical chances of winning.  It’s been suggested that I’ve overestimated the Warriors this season and yet here they are, in the hunt for not just the top six but second and with seven of their last ten at home you fancy that they will finish strong.  I think that this is as tight as you can get before a match and the exertions at Odsal bring the two sides even closer with a lot dependent upon Gareth Hock’s fitness.  If he plays, the Warriors will have their second most destructive runner on the field and they will need that because Catalans will make you work for any victory.  Catalans by 1.

(+14) Harlequins RL v Leeds
Are Harlequins RL running out of steam?  Two rounds ago I placed a lot of emphasis on how important it was for Hull KR to beat Harlequins RL because of their following trip to Saints.  Had I looked at the following fixtures for Harlequins RL I probably wouldn’t have made much noise about them with the way that Warrington were playing but a loss last week has McDermott’s side staring at a three, possibly four, point gap between them and sixth place.  There’s a trip to Huddersfield next week, which could go either way, followed by a trip to the Warriors before facing Saints at home.  Winning some of these next four games might now be critical to making the top sixth because you expect at least one of Wakefield, Rovers and Warrington are going to continue collecting points.  I’m not so sure we’re at that stage though yet because those other three don’t have easy games over the same period and there are two head-to-heads in there as well.  Can Harlequins RL stop this Leeds machine though?  Against the Bulls and Hull the difference between the relative attacks was like that between a machine gun and revolver.  McDermott’s military experience probably doesn’t extend far enough to overwheleming Blitzkriegs but his side have stood up to the Rhinos in patches this year.  Can his side manage that for eighty minutes?  Can McDermott get his side to respond to losses in the manner that they were doing earlier in the year?  I’m sure he can, I’m just not crazy enough to suggest that a force like the Rhinos are going to allow his side to do that.  Oh and before we forget, Jamie Peacock is back for the champions as well.  Leeds by 12. 

Hull v Castleford (+12)
Whilst Warrington and Huddersfield appear to be taking a considered approach to appointing their new coach, Hull FC ploughed straight in, dumping their news in amidst football promotion excitement.  Was there time for fans’ comments?  Time to get some sort of reaction?  Does it really matter?  Agar has settled things down with solid outings in defeat to the top two either side of a heroic battle at Bradford.  For his first pressured game he’s got the relatively tame Tigers to play with, a good start you might say.  A good start it will be if Hull manage to take the two points with something resembling a professional display, a shaky win or less will push the focus towards the next opponents, Bradford and Warrington and as up and down as those two have been I wouldn’t want to chance snake eyes on either.  Castleford wilted last week and sadly for their fans the £1m derby is looking as one-sided as other more glamorous ones are.  Once Wakefield got in front there didn’t appear to be any way back into the game for Cas despite a propensity for promoting the ball that shames teams higher up in the table.  However, this trip does offer an opportunity for Clive Anderson if only on the basis of his counterpart, Agar, being an unknown quantity at this stage.  The earlier meeting between these two teams though saw Hull’s conservatism win through and you expect that to be repeated here because no matter how positive Castleford are with the ball they can’t hide those defensive weaknesses.  Hull by 12.

Wakefield v Huddersfield (+6)
This marks the Giants first game post-Sharp and I doubt there’s much irony lost as their former coach, John Kear, sails forward and becomes one of the most respected coaches of his generation.  Although those Giants fans were happy at the time to see him go, I suspect that there’s some envy emanating from them at how Wakefield appear to have managed some consistency under Kear.  Sunday’s game should see an interesting encounter with the Giants all but out of the playoff picture, little in the way of pressure on the side and hidden promises that they might be about to let the ball take to the air.  Earlier in the year it was mentioned that the Giants have some talent in their side but it’s something that’s rarely been present at the same time as a good pack outing.  This is where the two teams differ.  Wakefield have managed to put up a good show in the forwards and maintain a positive, expansive game which is reaping rewards.  There isn’t much for the Giants to lose now and that week off they’ve just had would have been useful for them, however this is a must-win for Wakefield with victory likely to push them into the top six.  More importantly for the Wildcats, with Harlequins RL hosting Leeds and Rovers taking a ride to Warrington, they could be looking at giving themselves a three point cushion from the team in eighth.  Wakefield by 10.

Warrington v Hull KR (+10)
Great result for Wire last week and it’ll be more of the same this week.  Rovers will be hoping for a better performance than the drubbing at Saints but there’s every chance that the home side will have gained enough mental strength to continue where they left off.  Although the Wolves started as favourites last week there were still questions as to how much of an impact Cullen’s departure would have.  Lowes states that he wants the job, he’s getting the chance to audition and victory here will strengthen his claims.  In the last preview I said that a good winning run wouldn’t change my mind on Lowes and I haven’t changed on that.  For a team of Warrington’s quality and aspirations there’s too much risk associated with giving a fresh coach the appointment.  Rovers’ penalty count costly them dearly last week and a similar approach puts this Warrington attack in prime position to play to their strengths.  Had this been at Rovers I could see their workmanlike pack pushing them to the win but a combination of Lowes’ honeymoon period and the fact that the Wolves have been underperforming means that it’s two in a row for the home side.  Wolves by 8.

Last week’s predictions;

Leeds by 10 (won by 16)
Saints by 12 (won by 42)
Wakefield by 4 (won by 16)
Bulls by 8 (lost by 8 )
Harlequins RL by 6 (lost by 16)

Mixed week with the two away wins making an overall figure of 60-37 (62%).