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Kicks off again on Friday, with double-winning Wigan facing league leaders shield winners Huddersfield.

(http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c17/JCtheMessiah/_72775810_sw106_warringtonwigan.jpg)

Who are people's picks this season? Will Wigan be able to compete  after the exodus of some world class players, or will the next set of stars from the academy and the new signings not be able to deliver the results from last season? Have Warrington missed their chance now they too have lost some key players? How good will Leeds and Saints be this season? What about Huddersfield, and of course moneybags Salford? 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-2552600/Slammin-Sam-league-hit-2015-World-Cup-spectacular-code-switch-comes-off.html

Sam burgess to Union...eekk.

don't really watch union but the fact they want to sign a prop to play in the centres speaks volumes.

at first it looked like this was just media rubbish but the stuff I have read this morning seems to suggest this is serious. Really surprised given his current lifestyle/standing etc in Oz.

Without looking at odds, what would you say for top try scorer this season

Charnley doesn't have Burgess to produce as many openings, but will be favourite

Ryan Hall?

Monaghan?

I presume you mean Tomkins Tighty...However Goulding provides a good foil for Charnley in this respect and Bowen (if stays fit) could be a real provider that could match Tomkins.

Meh I dunno with these things as so much depends on staying injury free and also some teams seem to have a certain selection policy mid/late season where players are protected for the play-off series. Also Salford are a real unknown.

Charnley/Hall/Monaghan will certainly be favourites but it will be interesting to see how Briscoe will fit in at Leeds and who will be the regular starting wingers. I may favour Monaghan but he is not getting any younger and I think Charnley is the safer bet.

As an outside chance, Carney for Cas will score a lot of tries if a) he isn't injured and b) stops getting sent off so he isn't suspended. In recent years Castleford have scored and conceded a lot of tries. Maybe an each way bet.

Another outside chance may be someone like Broughton at Huddersfield, who has loads of pace and Hudds will probably play full throttle throughout the season.

Similair to last season I really believe there will be a fair few big priced winners in games this season, esp early on. With relegation it will make the season much more interesting imo, can't wait for the mad scramble.

Tonight Hudds 2/1 seems reasonable to me to beat Wigan.

Good start, easy win. Bookies clueless after the teams were announced.

Yeah, only one team was going to win last night. Wigan still clueless when O'Loughlin isn't in the side. With a week to go to the WCC, Wane obviously didn't want to risk him. Also, you certainly don't win the league in February as was shown last season. Huddersfield looked good though, and will be the consistent side through the regular season again.

What did people think about the video ref thing?

Watching the backs of two middle-aged blokes struggling to use their Sky+ boxes isn't great TV. We don't need to see them, just show the screen and have the audio.

At least it's the back of Ganson, rather than having to look at his face.

It's like that wire cam thing. Doesn't really add anything and detracts from the viewing experience. Good to try things though, but hope they decide to tweak it a bit.

Oh, andI  have no idea how Bowen stayed on the pitch. The ref obviously missed it, but surely someone could have had a word in his ear? Was at least a sin-binning.

I was watching on my phone so didn't get the best views of the new video ref, seemed ok and a bit more transparent.

The Bowen tackle was a clear sending off, late, high and hard. No idea why refs take the easy way out so often and put players on report! Make decisions please, not a tackle I want to see again.

Agree with you Kin, Wigan looked like they were already on the flight to Aussie. Means nothing the game apart from Hudds look like a solid team, they did wobble abit when Brough wasted the try scoring chance with a knock on and Wigan got a bit of momentum from it.

2-2 on the outsider bets with Saints winning last night. Will look over the weekends games see if any standout.

put them on TfT please

I had Monaghan first Try at 8-1 last night

Couldn't beleive the price for a prolific tryscorer

St Helens look to have turned round quickly, going to be right up there

Yes last night was a good marker for Saints who started last season very badly with the new coach. Must admit I was a little suprised at the result/score.

I saw this on replay and didn't think it was anything really bad as he half pulled out of the tackle before he hit Grix and I'd have been really surprised if he would have been sent off for this - as an aside, if the high tackle was considered bad enough, you can't sin bin for that offence IIRC.

Just shows how people things view incidents differently

I tipped Saints last season as they had a good mix of really good up and coming youngsters and good experienced pros. Missed the game last night but sounds like they looked really good and well led by Luke Walsh.

Walsh is a decent signing - when they originally signed him he was under pressure in the NRL as he was seen as too weak in defence and not willing to take the line on etc and was about to lose his place in the Penrith team. After that he played really well and turned his form right around. On that form would have definitely been capable of staying in the NRL and his goalkicking was excellent. Maybe the rejection by Penrith or allowing him to move to the UK made him work harder on his game and now looks a real top player to me.

I'm from the other side of the pennines but always had a soft spot for Saints as they always play a really attractive style.

20:00TV Hull (1/2) Draw (25) Catalans Dragons (11/5)             Not keen on the french winning but 11/5 decent value.


15:00 Bradford (10/11) Draw (16) Castleford (10/11)               bradford in turmoil, admin again, players leaving, got tonked by Cas last week in friendly. I know its around evens but this is my banker.

15:00 Hull K R (28/13) Draw (25) Leeds (4/9)  Record crowd  for this, might be enough for them just over 2/1 vs a inconsistant leeds not bad.

15:00 Salford (3/10) Draw (22) Wakefield (13/5)  A new Salford team 3/1 on?! erm, Clark picks them to win the Grand final gg him. Wakey are so bad I would expect them to have been 5/1+

15:00 Widnes (2/13) Draw (19) London Broncos (13/8) Possibly the worst team in the league 13/8, blimey they aint giving much away here. Owt could happen here.

My bet would be Cas to win at Bradford but no outsiders bets are great value here. 10/11 for my fiver.

Is it also possible to stick up the handicap betting please AM? can't do it as I am at work.

Also note you still have the typical Leeds fan view of Wakefield - we will probably be a bit rusty this week as our o/s signings only arrived a few days ago and loads of changes in off season but we will still surprise a few as per usual. Clarke picking Salford to win the grand final is still the biggest joke of the year.

Hull -6.0 (1) Draw 8.0 (16) Catalans Dragons 8.0 (1)
Bradford 2.0 (5/6) Draw (16) Castleford -2.0 (1)
Hull K R 8.0 (10/11) Draw 8.0 (16) Leeds -6.0 (5/6)
Salford -12.0 (10/11) Draw (16) Wakefield 14.0 (10/11)
Widnes -22.0 (10/11) Draw (16) London Broncos 22.0 (1)


I dunno about Wakey, they will def. get some good results this year but best they can hope for 7th or 8th?

To say Salford or 1/3 on to Beat Wakey the Handicap of only 12 points! is ridiculas given Widnes are -22 vs London

yeah I wouldn't back Wakey in this instance off 12 but this is RL and both are pretty much unknown quantities

also not sure about the Bradford/Cas game - Bradford were supposedly in turmoil last year and they absolutely murdered us at Odsal last season in round 1 after we'd had a good season previously.

I'd be taking Hull giving 6 start out of that lot but literally anything can happen first game of the season.

Was deliberate, to stop the player running through.  Don't think he was trying to hurt him, just stop him.  So could be sin-binned for that, surely?

Saints did look good last night, and think it will be interesting and quite open this season.  It'll be interesting to see how it develops throughout the season, and obviously who is in form come the business end.

Good week for me then, only one outsider won at about evens, well done Cas 36-18 win over Bradford. Unlucky Wakey, but London tanked and look doomed lol. Leeds easy win, was surprised by the margin. 

3/3 will look at next weeks game a monday see of owt stands out.

Bath Rugby are excited to confirm that English Rugby League sensation Sam Burgess has chosen to sign a three year deal with the Club, which will see him cross codes and arrive at the Recreation Ground this October.

Well with Ford there least he knows what it takes to go from RL to Union.

good luck to him, sounds like he will play NRL for the coming season and move straight on.

As a wire fan hurts me to say this but Saints will win it this season, strength in depth and Luke Walsh is a class act, Wire will miss Briers and Monaghan will be solid but teams will be watching and waiting for the high kicks to the touch line

Saints will win what?

The title Dan

Big call after only one match.  I think they'll be challenging, but it's all about the side that peaks at the end of the season.  Should be quite open this year.

Week 2 and already the bookies have gone OTT on the odds for the games.  Some decent priced long shots that we love.

Wakefield (1/3) Draw (25) Bradford (38/11) Wakey played well against a new Salford team last week but I really don't think any Wakey team is ever a 1/3 shot. Bradford held Cas for an hour and just run out of steam, they did better then I expected.

Leeds (4/9) Draw (22)  Warrington (12/5) Warr didn't play too bad just Saints were solid and I think the bookies have overacted to it by pushing their odds out to a decent line. Leeds did well away at Hull KR but I really think Hull KR we poor.

St Helens (1/5) Draw (33) Hull (11/2) As we saw Saints did well over Warr to put a marker down for the season early on. Hull nearly lost it at home to a leaky Cat.

London Broncos (10) Draw (35) Salford (1/16) Woeful London tonked at Widnes but Salford only squeezed past Wakey and got 2-3 injuries from it including rangi.

Huddersfield (1/7)Draw (29)Hull K R (6) Hudds solid and Hull KR dire. So form book suggests easy Hudds win.

Castleford (8/15)Draw (21)Catalans Dragons (6/4) Cas made hard work of Bradford until the end and Cat threw away a draw with a missed kick. Think this will very really close.

Always worth a small punt on the outsiders at silly odds, London might find a disjointed and injured Salford squad! but 10/1 looks about right.  But my £5 bet would be on the sky friday game where I believe Smith will have Warrington fired up so scalp his old club. 5/2 seems like we will get a good run for our money. 10p Yankee on others.

Nice to see Bradford produce the result they nearly did vs Cas last week. Wakey as I said are never/should never be odds on for any game in SL, bar vs London.

not bad start to this weeks games 38//11.

Went to the game, abysmal. I include the referee/video refs in that description

Leeds were very good, especially in defence, whereas Warrington were very one dimensional in attack. Thought the scoreline flattered Warrington really, and the game should have been long put to bed before Westwood scored.

Thought Hardaker was exceptional, and deserved MOTM for me. Briscoe's try was very good as well. Leeds should be a force this season, but they'll need the old guard to be fit come the end of the season. Word is that Sinfield suffered a break. Apparently not a really bad one, and at this stage of the season it's far from the end of the world.

Ahh thanks Kin, missed the game and so only seen the trys on sky sports news. They say he out for a few weeks only which is good news. Thought it would be close, good win given Warrington needed to prove something after last week.

Ok time for Wigan now ;)

Wigan massive underdogs, and probably quite rightly. Lots of new players and not sure the team is ready for this.

Big plus that Lockers is playing. Just hope he can play the full 80.

Just the one shock/outsider and a draw for Hudds who threw it away :)


3/4 on bets so far.

Tonight should be a good test for Salford who rested key players last week away to London. Surly the Saints will win this? But at 1/3 on?! away?

Worth a stabb at 3/1 Salford.

Catalans Dragons (29/10) Draw (25) Leeds (1/3) Cata have been away the first two games of the season and their home form historically has been on a different level to that, Biased home refs and crowd means 3/1 in them is a good bet me thinks.

Hull K R (8/13) Draw (22) Castleford (8/5) Snatching a draw last week at Hudds, Hull seem to have become odds on against a Cas who seem solid so again 8/5 i like.
   
Widnes (13/4) Draw (28) Huddersfield (5/19) Beating London by a country mile means nothing but 3/1 at home against an inconsistant Hudds.

Bradford (1/20) Draw (35) London Broncos (10) 1/20 for a team just out of admin and losing the will to live. Granted London are so bad its untrue but they scored a fair few points last week and you never know.
   
Warrington (1/3) Draw (22) Hull (9/4) Warr were 2nd best again Leeds but showed they have the quality to get top 6. No value in 1/3 on.

Wigan (2/13) Draw (28) Wakefield (24/5) Wigan tired from trip down under? Wakey capitalise on this?nearly 5/1 on them I dont mind.

Some good games this round, I like Catalan to beat Leeds and a super yankee on rest...

Salford got to be a good bet at 3/1 definitely.

I'm all for betting against a weakened Wigan side, but still can't see a Wakey win on Sunday.  The players might be a bit jet-lagged, but still should have more than enough for Wakefield.  But what the hell do I know?

wow just seen the score, I guess Saints mean business.

There was only one side in it.  Saints were very good, and Salford were very disorganised - the combination meant Saints scoring lots of points. Definitely the in-form team at the moment.

Wane has rested half-a-dozen of the players who played in the WCC, so could be interesting.

Wigan battering Wakefield now.

Only two upsets this week. 8/5 & 13/4. Widness came from behind to beat a dodgy Hudds and Cas won away. Hull nearly pulled it off and London ran Bradford close.

Easy wins for Leeds, Wigan and Saints. Saints and Leeds now 5/2 3/1 for the Grandfinal.

For those interested in NRL, Premier Sports has all 8 games on live this weekend but 3 of them are on "freeview" to non-subscribers, including Tomkins playing for the NZ Warriors. Channel 428 on SKY. Worth putting on your SKY planner imo

will defo record and watch some games.


Hudds 2/1 vs Leeds tonight 4/7. I expect lots of points!

what would you think of Tom Briscoe 1st Try scorer 7-1.

5 this season, scored in each of the three games. looks a really talented finisher, Leeds play expansive stuff (really good backs, creative centres and quite small up front so try to move it around)

I watched Souths beat the Roosters quite convincingly yesterday in the opening game and Sam & George Burgess were amongst the best. Pace of the game was really quick.

Freeview games are:
Saturday 8am Manly v Melbourne
Sunday 7.30am parra v NZ warriors (Tomkins debut)
Monday  6.45pm Cronulla v Gold Coast

I think there will be a fair few trys tonight and for someone who will be top try scorer for Leeds this season that aint a bad price. His try vs Warr a few weeks ago was pure clase, caught the ball running through the defence, side foot the fullback and facepalm the traking back cover, he is a machine! I know Hall aint happy with not being the number 1. scorer now lol. But yeah Briscoe seems to be the go to guy right now and my only fear would be Hudds hitting us hard right away.

It's such a strange game tonight, who would have thought Hudds after their win at Wigan would look so erratic? Good luck on the Briscoe bet, I would have guessed him being around 5/1.

Thanks, perfect time for me as I am up with my daughters from 7am at weekends. I would if Tomkins will get special treatment? lol.

I watched the Footy Show (their RL/entertainment show) and even the Aussies were tipping Tomkins to make a big impact. He will obv get some treatment but the Warriors are playing last season's bottom club so should be a good start for him.

As for top try scorer Tighty, it's always a bit of a punt as any of the Leeds back line are decent chances to score and would imagine that Hudds have a fair few likely candidates too. Not seen the other prices but Hardaker has started well this season. Also think it will be a tighter game than some think.

Yeah Rhinos have some excellent players at back, 9/1 Tom Briscoe at Laddys seems value though.

Tighty.

If you are going to back 1st try scorers in Super League then look to do it with Betfred. They offer double the odds if your player scores again, and treble for a hatrick. Very good value on wingers in games you think will be high scoring.

Huddersfield trying to give Leeds the win here.  Leeds haven't played that well tonight, but are a far better side than Huddersfield (if they were both playing at their best). 

A rare stinker from Hall tonight (so far), as he's usually so consistent.

Thanks for the reminder :)up

Neither side wanted to win that one!  Exciting finish though.

Parramatta were very impressive, and I think the NZ Warriors are a level or two behind them.

Wigan beaten by Cas 36-31, but that scoreline doesn't tell the whole story. 

Wigan weren't good at all, and Cas were deservedly ahead 16-0 after 15 minutes. But then Wigan got back into it, and were ahead at half-time somehow.  Second half saw Cas go ahead and Wigan should have been dead and buried.  Then Wigan scored a try and the conversion made it 30-30 (Smith kicked it from the touchline, after missing three conversions before then from out wide) with only a few minutes to play.  But they couldn't keep Cas out and they scored with the final play of the match and the conversion made it 36-31.

Lots of work for Wane to do at Wigan.  Whether it's all the changes in the side, or a hangover from the WCC trip, or a combination of the two - Wigan are well of the pace at the moment.  Fortunately, it doesn't matter all that much with the dodgy play-off format.

Both teams are known for their inconsistency plus it's round 1 so literally anything could have happened. The Eels looked really up for it though.

Went to Wakey v Catalan game today, we were decent but the Catalans were woeful

Heard the result.  Sounds like it was definitely a better game for Wakefield fans than Catalans!

Huge sigh, missed all games this weekend due to disney on ice, kids, sun and parties to attend. Hopefully watch the SL show tonight on BBC.

A few things to note, Cas are looking very good and on the reverse the Frenchies look horrible, will they go down with London?

If this continues I can't see the Catalans coach lasting another month

Think there is another NRL freeview on 428 this weekend. Will try and find out when

6pm this Friday NQL v Brisbane

Cas weren't good, Wigan were very bad - and still nearly won.

Cas are similar to Hull last season for me.

Wigan continuing in defence where they left off last week. Woeful.

Fortunately, Hull KR aren't very good either.

Also, Hull KR were blown up for a forward pass that looked perfectly fine to me that would have given them a 12-point lead at the start of the second half. Not sure Wigan would have come back from that the way they were playing.

Some good games over the weekend, really glad we have the SL show on BBC. Londons defence vs Wakey lol...it was like Tag rugby.

Its time London went away I am afraid, 1000 crowds at home is totally unacceptable.

it might be, but once again you'd be condeming RL in England to a regional game with little hope of expansion. At a time when RU is well funded, rising TV deals and increasing crowds, and RL is struggling to keep players, maintain its TV deal and appeal to the casual fan that has to be a blinkered view

Wish I could articulate what I felt, but in short I agree with you. It's just very frustrating seeing teams struggle for years and be propped up, at least this year the worst teams will get relegated and give hope for everyone outside the SL for the first time in 20+ years.

At the top level at least RL will still be viewed as a regional game, even with the London presence in SL. It's really unfortunate that just as the development work there is coming into fruition and good players are coming through, the running of the club has been left in a terrible state, culminating with what happened in the off season and many of their products actually moving north.

Based on current playing form London have no chance and would be a real issue if Catalans carry on like they are as well.

I'm just relieved Wakey have picked up a couple of wins after 2 dire performances previously.

Also SL recently signed a new TV deal with Sky.

I want RL to succeed and be popular in London and other areas but that expansion has to be organic. Even if they are relegated it is not necessarily the final nail but agree it would be bad for the game as a whole.

I know you are a union man Tighty but do you have any interest in RL at all, would you go watch a game if you had the opportunity, for example?

I used to watch Fulham in the early 80s, so yes.

I just think RL is run so badly (insular), does itself no favours

I agree it's badly run but not that it is insular, not in the UK anyway, it's many of the fans that have insular attitudes. I would include my Dad in that category btw. The problem with the people running the game is that generally they are out of their depth and unfortunately the current state of the game is down to poor management in the last 20-30 years rather than just now.

The insular running of the game perhaps comes from Oz where it is a popular sport, with a particular disdain for anything SL related where they just do what they want without regard to the international game, or SL. I think they are just beginning to realise this (hopefully) with more English players in their game. In the end the NRL administration could be the white knight for SL and RL in general but the game as a whole needs the NRL and SL to work together.

Rugby League in this country is run by half wits.

5 all SL ties in challenge cup draw and 3 other SL teams have tough away games

WHAT A TRY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZihpHt1b4xY&feature=youtu.be

Brilliant tekkers!  Similar to Nofoaluma's last season for the Tigers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61iHH5z0zlw

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PkN4D86y1A8

Like this one from 2008, not sure if link works as on mobile but it is "Jordan Atkins try" on YT

Wakey wakey :) bring on the saints.

went to the game on Friday and it looked like an easy win from early on. Fair play to Wakey they never gave up and put in the tackles right until the end. Good crowd too.

Shame Cas could not have held on to beat the Saints but it only confirms they are currently the best in the league.

I was going to Leeds to watch Wakey but after being at the cup game the week before my dad refused to go and I decided to stay home too. The arse has proper fallen out of my team and the coach is a buffoon .

Hope we show some heart vs Cas on Friday

It's now officially a good Friday. :)

FML   Forgot it was on            :(

Bugger. I had to listen to it as I'm driving down to Devon. Thought we'd lose today the way sintellins have been playing.

Interesting results this weekend.  Saints losing again, and Leeds looking like the side to beat (and I can't see Saints beating them in the Cup this weekend).  Shame to see Bradford in the situation they're in, and Wigan scored 84 points with their foot off the gas (resting O'Loughlin for half the match).  It's not good for Super League though, although it's good to have Cas and a few others jostling around for the top spots this season, even if Salford aren't one of them - despite the money that's been spent.

Easy win in the end. Rhinos defense :) add Hall to the mix who was unplayable again we might have a chance to win the cup this year.

What a try.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0FQScfWmaA

Watched it live and just knew he was going to do it once he made the initial break. Imagine how good he would be if he actually looked like he was trying. The guy is a freak

Some cracking games this round. Bradford & wakey wins most entertaining.

Magic weekend might not be so magic for Wigan.

O'Loughlin the biggest miss, but loads of others out as well. "Liam Farrell, Matty Bowen, Josh Charnley, Iain Thornley, Ben Flower, Eddie Pettybourne and Ryan Hampshire, who all missed last Friday's 44-16 win at Hull, are unlikely to return and they have been joined on the injury list by Tony Club, who will be out for four to five weeks with a knee injury, and Ryan Sutton, who was concussed at the KC Stadium.

"We're absolutely down to the bare bones," said head coach Shaun Wane who is set to bring two 18-year-old forwards, Rob Lever and Ben Austin, into his 19-man squad for Saturday's game."

"I'm gutted but going to Hull last week lacking eight first teamers and losing two middles for 75 per cent of the game but scoring forty-odd points against a full-strength Hull team means I'm not stressed about it.

"I want us to win this game on Saturday and I genuinely believe we'll be competitive."

Leeds to win by a good 40 points?

Looks like Wane is quite rightly focusing on the challenge cup match against Castleford. Makes sense at this stage of the season.

Wigan will still be alright

If O'Loughlin is out Leeds win. 

Good to see Wakey win a few on the bounce, where did that come from?


The Cas Vs Leeds game was good last week, no surprise Cas score a lot of points but Leeds defense just too good for them after Cas let a few chances go in the first half.

Leeds will win, and win comfortably.

We have a lot of new players in key positions and it takes time for things to come together. After a few truly abysmal performances I think we have found some spirit and managed to edge 2 really close matches away from home.

Magic weekend pretty good so far.

London just edged it by Catalan, and Widnes v Salford is turning into Chase v Brown. They're two-a-piece at the moment in terms of tries scored or created.

Widnes ahead by two points with four minutes left. Widnes have been playing with very few subspecies for most of the match. Great effort.

Widnes try in the corner, and that's game, set and match.

Wigan v Leeds. It's a feisty one!

60 minutes gone, and it's 18-10, and Wigan with their best performance of the season so far.

Leeds still dangerous though, as the Ablett try showed. Far from over, and Leeds have the firepower to score from anywhere on the pitch.

Leeds right back in it.

Wigan defence seems to be tiring and falling off the tackles a bit. Need some possession to give the defence a break.

18-14

Tremendous match. Fantastic performance from Wigan , didnt dare post earlier for fear of bokking them.

Still buzzing. Immense performances all round from a very young side. Leeds could have nicked it at the end, and it was a good job the match wasn't five minutes longer as they would have scored.

Bailey always tries to pick a fight with a smaller bloke. Picked the wrong one tonight in the form of Bateman as he's one tough nut. The only bigger mistake he could have made would have been trying to pick a fight with McIllorum - who was brilliant tonight.

Best team won.

Not sure anyone on sky mentioned we had 5 out too, but Wigans ruff tactics worked a treat. A spear tackle (on report), elbow to face (on peacock, defo red on report) and tackles after balls passed (on Sinfield) seemed a little off character for Wigan. It was no surprise Leeds (Bailey) got rattled.

Disallowed try at end was marginal, knock on from Leeds when all you could see was fuzz on the screen, second year on the trott we had one chalked off to win it. But like I said it was entertaining right through the game and Wigan 100% deserved it for their tactics and defense for 80mins.

Next game between them should be fun.

It was a definite knock on at the end, as your coach said.

As for the foul play you mentioned, you missed off McGuire kicking out after being tackled, and none of the offences you mentioned were deemed necessary to have punishment by the disciplinary committee.

Like you said both sides missing players, and these are the two clubs who'll be fighting it out at the end of the season.

Tonight it's a trip to Salford for Wigan, with a few more players out injured. Hampshire in for Bowen though, and he's a definite superstar for the future.

A look at the ages of some of the Wigan players who spanked Salford tonight:

Powell 21
Manfredi 18
Williams 19
Burgess 19
Sarginson 20
Sutton 20
Hampshire 19
Bateman 20
Gelling 23
Smith 26
Crosby 23
Dudson 23
McIllorum 26
Hughes 22
Goulding 26

Amazing from such a young group, although I want to see Manfredi's birth certificate :D

State of Origin - Game 1 about to start.

On Premier - but there are streams available as well.

Jarryd Hayne is a freak.

He's decent

There is a freeview NRL game at 8pm tonight on Premier, sky channel 428

:)up

Warriors v Newcastle. 

Get to see Sam in action.  :)

Watched that game yesterday, was decent.

My planner also shows free view same time next week

28 years ago I travelled to Central Park by train with my brother and old man. Who would have thought that Wigan would not lose another game at home in the challenge cup for 28 years. When Cas are prefixed with Classy, it's usually time to book tickets for the final. The defence today was outstanding and Powell knows a thing about upsetting Wigan. Superb stuff.

Wemberrrrley, wem....... (As long as we leave Leeds until the final)

Yeah Cas were great today, really good team atm

Wigan were second best today by a long way. No inventiveness in the halves, no drive from the forwards to create a platform  too many injured or non-match fit players in the side, and Cas were stronger across the board.

Wane has been excellent, but made some wrong decisions yesterday in both selection and tactics.

Hope Cas go on to the final and win it. A good side who are playing well for the coach. Thought Dorn was the outstanding player yesterday as well, but the whole side were good.

Another premier sports NRL freeview tonight at 8, channel 428

Ta :)up

Welcome back Josh, and welcome home Joel!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/27893068

Oh, and a try-scoring debut for another Farrell :)

wow good game, Rhinos vs Cas felt like a playoff game.

Really surprised Sir Kev butted him! lol.

I told my Dad it would be close so happy he bet the draw :)


Kin did you see Hock last week?

Hock has a screw loose, just can't help himself.

But did you see the Catalan v Wigan game last Saturday? The bloke who tried to throttle Charnley only got three matches. Charnley now has an ear problem, who knows what damage could have been done? It certainly wasn't an accident as they came out in that second half determined to hurt Wigan players, and they weren't worried about doing it legally.

Didn't see tonight's game as I was out. What happened with the head butt? Sounds like a good game.

Yeah saw Catalan, very physical and naughty...

Sir Kev got upset at a pen he gave away and was getting verbals from cas player, out of character but god knows what was said. Very frantic game, high tempo, Cas looks really dangerous. I really thought with all our players fit and back we would have edged this and might have without the headbutt which then resulted in Cas getting 75th Min try to equal the scores..

still cracking game, seemed like Cas had thousands there.

Couldn't believe it when he butted him lol

Then peacock went for a 30m drop goal - crazy game

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2LUV2Ce3eQ

That's a big forehead to stick in someone's face, although Dorn was lucky it wasn't JJB butting him, that would have been very serious :D

3-match ban?

My prediction is 2 matches for that, given it wasn't really bad, he's really sorry and he has a decent disciplinary record

Leeds vs Bradford this week should be interesting. Leeds have 4 out injured plus Sir Kev suspended. Also they are resting 2-3 players.

I think normally Bradford would be 8-10/1 but they are 5/1. Not worth a bet but still wouldn't be a big shock.

Tbh I think leeds v Bradford will be pretty straightforward. I'll be at Wakey v Hudds and have no idea what the result will be.

O ye, of little faith.

Nice little 5/6-1 winner.

Ha yeah as soon as I saw the Leeds team I thought I'd wish I hadn't posted that lol. Some close games tonight by the looks

If I was a cynical man, I'd think some teams are deliberately losing games on the run up to the play offs.   Doesn't look like anyone is busting a gut for the LLS.

Leeds comfortably beat Warrington in the CC semi. Deserved win, and clearly favourites for the final against Castleford most probably.

Oops, amateur mistake!

I should have spammed it here also but there are 2 seats available for the Challenge Cup final in two weekends time for as little as a fiver here http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=64141.0 (http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=64141.0)

Yeah, it's a great thing you're organising. Would take part myself, but I already have a ticket and can't go!

Glad to see a Leeds Cas final, hope it's half as good as their last meeting.

If you are a fan of NRL, my sky box shows there is a freeview game of the round on 428 at 8pm. There sure some crackers to choose from this weekend

Super League season starts here.

Wigan v Huddersfield. Obviously biased, but can't see anything other than a Wigan win tonight.

Going as expected.

But there's a problem with the Sky cameras.  The close up camera is a split second behind the standard wide-zoom. It's very disconcerting, and it means that you see the ball being played twice when they switch from one zoom to the other, or you miss a tackle when they switch the other way.  It's very disconcerting!

Bloody disconcerting when they switch from one zoom to the other.

I think the cameras have affected Huddersfield!  Very one-sided match, but good to see Wigan peaking again for the play-offs.

Emphatic.

I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me watching the game. It was really weird.
I think Scott Grix suffered from the same syndrome, one second he thought he was about to tackle someone and the next second they were past him

:D

Play offs not quite providing the spectacle the league or Sky would have hoped so far.

The NRL playoff game this morning was bizarre. It was 30-0 to the roosters after about 30 mins and I was thinking of going out rather than watching the second half. Half an hour later it was 30-30 and a drop goal 5 minutes from time made it 31-30 to the roosters.

Still time for 2 disallowed tries, including a really contentious one for the Cowboys in the final minute. Weirdest game I have seen in ages

Bring on sintellins!!

Going to be at Old Trafford next week for this.  Perfect final really (as long as Wigan win!).

This.

McIlorum with a suspected fractured cheekbone.

Wane said he'll have a scan after the final! :D

Sam Burgess fractures his cheekbone in the first challenge of the NRL Grand Final and goes on to win the MOTM award.  Nice way to retire from the game, for the time-being any way.

Congrats to Madge as well.  Would be excellent if Wane and Maguire can both be the winning GF coaches this year.

Did it 6 seconds in and made 225 metres and 35 tackles, winning man of the match after playing the full 80.

Half time interview was funny: how is your face Sam? " it's fucked, it's gone..."  Commentator. "Well didn't quite catch what Sam said there...."

Legend:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyleague/11147511/Brilliant-Billy-Boston-still-the-pride-of-Wigan-and-the-greatest-rugby-union-player-Wales-never-had.html

Both Wigan and St Helens have named their squads for the Super League Grand Final this Saturday – with just one change made across both of the squads.

Wigan have gone with an unchanged 19-man squad for the game, with the same 17 who defeated Warrington last Friday likely to take to the field at Old Trafford. Ten of the current 19-man squad were at Wigan last year, and the likes of Josh Charnley and Liam Farrell played in last year’s Grand Final win.

Ironically, Wigan scrum-half Matty Smith – another who featured in last year’s win against Warrington – played for Saturday’s opponents St Helens in the last time the two sides met in a Grand Final, back in 2010.

As for St Helens, they have made a solitary change for the Grand Final. Gary Wheeler drops out, whilst Matty Dawson comes in as Nathan Brown looks to make as few changes as possible to his squad.

Wigan: John Bateman, Matt Bowen, Joe Burgess, Josh Charnley, Tony Clubb, Dom Crosby, Liam Farrell, Ben Flower, Anthony Gelling, Blake Green, Jack Hughes, Michael McIlorum, Sean O’Loughlin, Eddy Pettybourne, Sam Powell, Dan Sarginson, Matty Smith, Scott Taylor, Joel Tomkins

Saints: 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Jordan Turner, 4. Josh Jones, 5. Adam Swift, 6. Lance Hohaia, 8. Mose Masoe, 9. James Roby, 10. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 11. Sia Soliola, 13. Willie Manu, 14. Anthony Laffranchi, 15. Mark Flanagan, 16. Kyle Amor, 17. Paul Wellens, 18. Alex Walmsley, 22. Mark Percival, 26. Matty Dawson, 27. Greg Richards, 28. Luke Thompson.

http://www.totalrl.com/super-league-grand-final-squads/?

Have a great time tomorrow Dan , irrespective of the result i hope it is a cracking game.

Thanks Boo.

Yeah, as long as Wigan win :D

Don't care who wins, just hope it's brutal

On the Northbound M6
(http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c17/JCtheMessiah/20141011_111756.jpg)

:D

Didn't quite mean that though!

Well, what a disappointment. For Wigan fans obviously, but also for super league. Probably the worst team to ever win the title?

Ben Flower effectively lost it for Wigan when he lost it. The first punch was fair enough in retaliation for Hohaia's elbow, but the second punch was totally wrong. Saints were not very good though considering they had a man advantage for the whole match. Don't think I saw either side get a repeat set of six in the whole match. A very poor standard, and as a Wigan fan I'm probably biased, but shouldn't/couldn't Hohaia have been sent off (or at least a yellow), for the elbow on Flower? I haven't seen the match on telly yet so can't really say what it deserved but in real time it looked bad.

Wigan stayed in the game pretty well until they got tired. Think the tipping point was the missed penalty by Smith. I said to my brother that even if he misses, the key thing is to put it into the crowd so we get the ball back. Failing to do that seemed to deflate the side and certainly felt like the point at which the game turned.  He's a good player for us, but he just isn't good enough at goal kicking unfortunately.

Disappointing end to a disappointing season really.

Flower is a dick.

Really missed McIllorom

Yep, agree with that. I reckon McIlorum would have made a massive difference when we were down to twelve. However, Hohaia would have probably elbowed him in the face instead of Flower if he'd been playing.

Such a disappointing day.

There's no way Hohaia would have been sent off for his part in isolation.

The whole thing looks worse in slow motion, including Flowers' actions. He is looking at 8+ matches with the grading he has been given. I expect around 10 matches would be fair.

I would be uncomfortable if the police ended up getting involved

Elbow in the face off the ball?  https://vine.co/v/OAjJjZ0KjTz  A yellow at least, surely?  He's up in front of the RFL (along with Flower), but we'll see what happens.  Bit late now of course.


Can't complain if he gets a 8+ ban.  Interesting thing though is comparing it to Ben Westwood's punch in last year's GF.  Is it really worse than that?  Westwood hit Green whilst he was being held on the floor, but it wasn't in a fit of anger it was cold-blooded.  Why is there such an uproar about Flower's punch when there was far less said about Westwood's last year?  Both hit a man who was on the floor and couldn't defend himself.  Not defending Flower at all (he was an idiot and deserved the red and a long ban), but just wondering why there's the discrepancy in the way the media and fans have spoken about this. Is it because he got a red card and Westwood didn't (despite everyone seeing what happened)?


Me too.  Is every punch up, late challenge, headbutt, and shoulder-charge going to be investigated by the police? A dangerous line to cross.  Is every 'illegal' strike in boxing going to be investigated by the police - every low blow, every elbow, headbutt, etc.? 

Bit dopey lumping him again, once he is on the deck, but the guy who got sparked deserved the first punch.

As you say, the police should keep out of it, and just let the clubs sort out the punishments.

Hadn't seen that replay before but at full speed it looks like Hohaia goes in to rough up Flower after he made the mistake by barging/shoving him and by the Vine replay it looks like he got it wrong when he made contact as it was made with the forearm to the head.

But let's be realistic, if it wasn't for Flower's subsequent actions no-one would be considering any action against Hohaia, least not that he would be sent off in-game, and people wouldn't be discussing it days afterwards.

I'd have to refresh my memory on Westwood's punch before I compare. All I do know is he is a dirty bastard.

Hohaia runs a good ten metres to hit Flower as he was getting up off the floor.  It was no accident, and the fact he's up on a charge in front of the RFL for the incident must mean they also think there was something in it.

Of course, Flower punching him when he was on the floor was well out of order, and as he's being charged for a grade F, it'll be 10 matches+, especially because of the media coverage and the outcry.

The missus summed it up best.  The first punch was a beauty and the second completely stupid, unnecessary and not really a good punch either.

I didn't say Hohaia hit flower by accident, it was a deliberate ploy. I don't think there was real intent to hit him in the face with the forearm though.

Hohaia hit flower to get a reaction after he had dropped the ball with the line in sight, he just got much more of a reaction than he bargained for

One match for Hohaia after submitting early plea
6 month ban for Flower, effectively 12 games. No appeal

Can't argue with Flower's ban.

Can definitely argue with what others have received, especially Hohaia.