Bradford Bulls v Warrington Wolves

Sunday 1st May 

Venue: Grattan Stadium

KO: 15:00

Referee: T Alibert

Teams: 

Bradford (17 from): Ainscough, Ah Van, Burgess, Crossley, Donaldson, Elima, Hargreaves, Herbert, Kopczak, L'Estrange, Lynch, Olbison, Platt, Walker, Royston, Sibbit, Sykes, Whitehead.

Warrington (17 from): Anderson, Atkins, Bridge, Briers, Carvell, Clarke, Cooper, Grix, Harrison, Higham, Hodgson, King, J Monaghan, M Monaghan, Morley, Solomona, Westwood, Williams, Wood.

Tom Burgess and James Donaldson should return for this game after missing the trip to Catalans through injury. Gareth Raynor and John Batement are the two that have been omitted from the 19 man squad.

Chris Bridge is fit again after missing Monday's loss to Hull, but are still without Richie Myler who is out for the next few weeks with a fractured cheekbone. Warrington have won on their last three trips to Odsal and I'm tipping them to continue that run on Sunday. 

What Bradford coach Mick Potter had to say:

"The guys went well against Leeds and were probably unlucky in some respects against Catalans as the weather was bad and that caused it to be an error-ridden game.

"Warrington have a lot of players who can hurt you if you lapse defensively. Just the sheer amount of offloads they can get in one play is a problem and we can't afford to have a lull in concentration for one second.

"Warrington can put 60 points on you if you blink. But they are beatable, as a few teams have shown this season. If they take their foot off the gas they become vulnerable."

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats v Hull KR

Sunday 1st May 

Venue: Hearwell Stadium (Belle Vue)

KO: 15:30

Referee: P Bentham

Teams:

Wakefield (17 from): Blaymire, Murphy, George, Korkidas, Rinaldi, King, Henderson, Morrison, Lee, P Johnson, Dean, Mariano, Howarth, Davey, Higgins, Hyde, Griffin, Amor, McCarthy.

Hull KR (from): Beaumont, Cockayne, Cook, Dobson, Fisher, Fox, Galea, Green, Hodgson, Latus, Murrell, Netherton, Sheriff, Taylor, Vella, Watts, Webster, Welham, Wheeldon.

Frankie Mariano, Josh Griffin, Liam Higgins and Julien Rinaldi all return after failing fitness tests before the Easter Monday match against Wigan. John Kear's side are without Greg Johnson though who is out with an ankle injury. Matthew Rildie is said to be rested. 

Justin Morgan has left out Joel Clinton and Rhys Lovegrove, bringing Scott Wheldon - who hasn't played for the past six weeks - and winger Sam Latus. 

Hull KR will be wanting to build on their victory against Harlequins 6 days ago and I am going for them to take the spoils!

Crusaders RL v Wigan Warriors

Sunday 1st May 

Venue: The Racecourse Ground

KO: 15:00

Referee: J Child

Teams:

Crusaders (17 from): Schifcofske, Thomas, Martin, Reardon, Witt, Sammut, O'Hara, Bryant, Cahill, Chan, Winternstein, Peek, Flower, White, Hanbury, Dudson, Johnson, Lupton, Tansey.

Wigan (17 from): S Tomkins, Goulding, Carmont, Richards, Deacon, Leuluai, McIlorum, Coley, J Tomkins, O'Loughlin, Prescott, Lima, Hoffman, Finch, Mossop, Farrell, Tuson, Charnley, Crosby.

Crusaders have made two changes in the side that lost to Leeds last Monday. Richard Moore is out through suspension so Adam Peek takes his place and Ben Flower is back in the side after a hamstring injury, replacing Jordan James.

Michael Maguire has recalled the exciting prospect of Dominic Crosby back from his loan spell at Widnes and has named him in the 19. Having played on Thursday night I'm unsure whether or not he'll play. Word on twitter is that Joel Tomkins is out with a calf injury. Chris Tuson is in the side, taking place of the injured Harrison Hansen. 

I think Wigan will win this, quite comfortably. 

Harlequins RL v Salford City Reds

Saturday 30th April 2011

Venue: Twickenham Stoop

KO: 6pm 

Referee: R Hicks

Sky Sports 1

Teams;

Harlequins (17 from): Ambler, Bailey, Burnett, Calderwood, Clubb, Dorn, Ellis, Gale, Howell, Koupartisas, Melling, Mitchell, O'Callaghan, Pryce, Randall, Temata, Ward, Wilkes, Williams.

Salford (17 from): Patten, Broughton, Jewitt, Nero, Anderson, Ratchford, Holdsworth, Cashmere, Godwin, Boyle, Neal, L Adamson, Wild, Smith, Sneyd, Gibson, Clay, Paleaaesina, Spencer.

News from London is that Harlequins will be unchanged for this match. Harlequins haven't won in the past 7 matches. Whereas Salford are out to make amends for their two thrashings by Warrington and Huddersfield over the Easter period. 

Salford have parted company with coach Shaun McRae, who was due to leave at the end of the season anyway. This shouldn't really bother Salford much as they have been playing under the eye of assistant coach Phil Veivers since March after Shaun McRae went on sick leave. 

Salford's defence shouldn't be tested as much in this match as the past few. I'll go for the Salford win. 

Catalans Dragons v Huddersfield Giants

Saturday 30th April 2011

Venue: Stade Gilbert Brutus 

KO: 17:30 (BST) 18:30 (CET)

Referee: Ben Thaler

Teams;

Catalans (17 from): Blanch, Farrar, Stacul, Bosc, Dureau, Ferriol, Henderson, Casty, Menzies, Raguin, Mounis, Baile, 

Millard, Vaccari, Simon, Fakir, Baitieri, Pelissier, Touxagas

Huddersfield (17 from): Grix, Lawrence, Cudjoe, Gilmour, Hodgson, Brown, Brough, Crabtree, Robinson, Griffin, O'Donnell, Faiumu, Lunt, Raleigh, Patrick, Horne, McGillvary, Simpson, Ferguson.

Catalans had a disappointing draw versus Bradford on Monday in horrendous weather conditions whereas Huddersfield had a rather impressive victory against lowly Salford on Tuesday. 

It'll be a difficult match for both sides, for different reasons though. Catalans had a bruising encounter on Monday and will definitely be feeling the affects of two games in quick succession. The Giants didn't have a difficult match against Salford but could affected by travelling to the south of France in the earlier hours of Friday morning. 

Catalans have two players back available after injury, which are: Frederic Vaccari and David Ferriol but are without five others: Setaimata Sa, who has a rib injury, Sebastien Martins, who has a hamstring injury, Daryl Millard, Steve Menzies and Mathias Pala.

Huddersfield will (hopefully) bring Leroy Cudjoe back into the side, in place of David Hodgson. Leroy was rested for the game on Tuesday. Luke Robinson is also set to return after missing the thrashing of Salford from a rib injury. 

Being a Huddersfield fan I obviously want the Giants to win, however, it's going to be a very difficult game for both sides so it really could go either way! 

Castleford Tigers v Leeds Rhinos

Friday 29th April 2011

Venue: The PROBIZ Coliseum

KO: 17:15pm

Referee: Richard Silverwood

Sky Sports 1 (from 5pm)

Teams;

Castleford (17 from): Mathers, Dixon, Arundel, Owen, Chase, Orr, Jackson, Clark, Emmitt, Snitch, Ferres, Jones, Milner, Aspinwall, Massey, Thompson, McGoldrick, Holmes, Widders.

Leeds (17 from): Webb, Smith, Delaney, Senior, Hall, McGuire, Burrow, Leuluai, Buderus, Peacock, Jones-Buchanan, Ablett, Sinfield, Cross, Bailey, Kirke, Burgess, Clarkson, McShane

For me, a person who has no interest in the Royal Wedding other than seeing what Kate's dress looks like, this is the only thing I am looking forward to on Friday. Dubbed as "Battle Royal" due to the fact it shares the date with the Royal Wedding, I would love to know what they would have called it if the wedding wasn't on the same day, it's set to be a great match between the local rivals.  

Leeds won both their matches over the Easter period against Bradford and Crusaders and have seemed to develop some form, after some dismal displays in the past. They were buoyed for the Easter Monday match against Crusaders by the return of stand off Danny McGuire, one of their most influential players. Confidence will be high due to their recent run of form, the successful return of McGuire last Monday and the fact that another influential player, Jamie Peacock is set to return in this game. All these factors will give the Rhinos much confidence which could be major factor when deciding the outcome of this game.

Castleford's Easter has been much the opposite after last gasp defeats to both Wakefield and St Helens. They've been going well so far this season but have hit a blip, like all good teams do. Unfortunately for them, not only have they lost two games on the trot but Craig Huby, who has been in the form of his life, broke a kneecap in their Easter Monday game and will be out for 4 months - it's a cruel world. They're also without Nick Fozzard. 

I'm going to go for the Leeds win in this match,  but I think it will be close. Castleford will be wanting to come out and get back to winning ways but due to the returns of Danny McGuire and Jamie Peacock I find it hard to go against Leeds.  

Good luck to both sides and enjoy the "Battle Royal", oh and the Royal Wedding too, if you're watching it! 

Hannah.

Huddersfield Giants 52-22 Salford City Reds

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for the delay of this post (like any of you were eagerly anticipating it anyway...) and I would like to apologize in advance for how biased this review could be, remember I am a Huddersfield supporter. 

After both sides had suffered humiliating defeats on Friday to Crusaders and Warrington, respectively, and wanted to get "back on the horse", for want of a better phrase. It was a terribly slow beginning to the match from both sides, Huddersfield had the best chance to score after a neat chip ahead for David Hodgson to run on to, he jogged and by the time he had got there the ball had gone out. Mind you, it makes a change for him to be actually running forward rather than doing his usual crab impression. (Apologies, to all David Hodgson fans, but it is the truth!) 

Salford were the first to score, after putting pressure on the Giants' line from three consecutive sets. Adam Sidlow the scorer with Daniel Holdsworth converting giving Salford a 6 point lead, which lasted for all of five minutes until some smart play by Darrell Griffin set up second rower Luke O'Donnell to power over and score, Danny Brough added the two points to go level at 6-6. Giants captain Kevin Brown had a great chance to score but he knocked on 20m out. Salford scored again to gain a 6 point lead on the Giants for the second time that night, this time the try scorer was Daniel Holdsworth who scored from his own kick which had bounced cruelly in the Giants' in goal area. 

Giants soon levelled the scoring again at 12-12 after Shaun Lunt scored from not too far out, Brough converted. The Giants then scored twice to take a 24-12 lead before Salford scored again not long before half time. The half time score was 24-18 in Huddersfield's favour. 

The consensus in the players' lounge at half time was that Huddersfield still weren't playing well enough and with the amount of chance that we had we should have had them dead and buried already.

Back up to our seats we went. The Giants extended their lead to 10 points through a Dale Ferguson try, Danny Brough missed the conversion straight after I had said "He's gonna miss this". Huddersfield's defence certainly improved in the second half and scored twice in quick succession, the second from an unlikely try scorer in Darrell Griffin getting the four points, Brough Converted which took the Giants to 40 points. No fewer than 6 minutes later did Shaun Lunt created captain Kevin Brown's try from a brilliant kick, Danny Brough converted and left the field soon after. With the game settled in Huddersfield's favour Nathan Brown took the decision to bring him off and safe him for Catalan on Saturday. Salford scored soon after to take their tally to 22 points but the game was never in doubt and it was mere consolation for them and the few fans that travelled over for the game, it gave them something to cheer about for a couple of minutes anyway. Until Jermaine "Jerry" McGillvary went over in the corner to take the Giants to 50 points, Scott Grix was on target and the final score was 52-22. The official man of the match went to Darrell Griffin but my man of the match was Shaun Lunt who was brilliant the whole time he was on the pitch. 

It wasn't the greatest performance in the world by Huddersfield, not by any means. Our defence was anything but perfect in the first half but it got better the further into the game they went. Back to the top of the table the Giants went, but improvements are definitely still needed. 

The table after round 12. 

Round 12- Summary & Table.

St Helens 22-20 Castleford Tigers;

Both sides wanted to gain the two points after dramatic losses to their derby rivals (Wigan and Wakefield) on a not so good Friday; both sides only lost by minimal margins, and it's fair to say that both sides were probably better than the ones that took home the two points. Anyway, back to their Easter Monday game. It was nothing less dramatic than the Good Friday matches as Francis Meli scored a try in the final minute to draw level with classy Cas who had an 8 point lead with a quarter of an hour to go looked certs to go top of the league, however, an Ade Gardner try clawed Saints back within four points of them and in the last open play of the game Francis Meli went over to score the try, with the ever so cool Jamie Foster converting to win by 2 points and go top of the league, even if it was just for one night! 

Leeds Rhinos 34-16 Crusaders RL;

After Crusaders' thrashing of the Huddersfield Giants last Friday confidence was definitely high going into this game against Leeds. Leeds kept Crusaders under much better control than the Giants did and were clearly inspired by the return of Danny McGuire. Leeds scored three quickfire tries after Danny McGuire came on and soon had a 24-0 lead but the Crusaders never gave up and ran in three tries themselves.  A couple more Leeds tries sealed the victory and they managed 4/4 points over the Easter period. Could the return of Danny McGuire kick-fire their season? Maybe.

Warrington Wolves 10-24 Hull FC;

Hull came back from 10-0 down to make sure Wire wouldn't be top of Super League that night (after Saints' victory, of course). Joel Monaghan and Rhys Williams were the first half try scorers for Warrington who failed to score in the second half. Warrington put ball to ground and scuppered a few chances in the second half, but despite their performance at the beginning of the match they didn't really look like winning. Kirk Yeaman scored in the final minute after Adrian Morley made a handling error which Yeaman pounced on. There were plenty of bone crunching tackles in this match and there were sure to be a few sore bodies the morning after!

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 0-26 Wigan Warriors;

Wigan looked a very tired side after their last gasp victory against local rivals St Helens last Friday, it was a ferocious, bruising encounter. Wakefield struggled against the reigning champions and their heroic efforts to beat Castleford last week clearly showed, so much so they couldn't break through the Warriors' defence but they did have plenty of opportunities to attack which the couldn't turn into points, which was unfortunate for them. It could have been a much bigger score line for Wigan and it might well have been if the turn around in matches over the Easter period, but lucky for Shakey Wakey it wasn't. Wakefield coach - one of the most honest in Super League - was full of praise for his boys, but more so Wigan and superstar Sam Tomkins. 

Hull KR 37-24 Harlequins RL;

Harlequins' losing streak stretched to 7 on the trot after Hull KR beat them on Easter Monday. The latter started the game much better than their London rivals scoring 12 points quickly. Harlequins clawed two tries back to draw level on 12 all before Michael Dobson and Ben Galea both scored for the Robins to regain their 12 point advantage. Harlequins weren't to go down without a fight and themselves scored twice more to go 24 all, Hull KR again losing a 12 point advantage. A converted Scott Murrell try for KR meant that Quins would have to score a converted try to get back level, they failed to do so and a Dobson field goal and a Ben Fisher try sealed the victory for Hull KR.  

Catalan Dragons 8-8 Bradford Bulls;

A game that will be probably be remembered more so for the electrical storms that caused Sky's coverage to go a tad wild and we lost the game completely for a second quarter, meaning we had to sit and watch sky sports news reel off the football results and tables 50 times over, despite the fact we were supposedly going to be kept up to date with the score. Sky sorted things out and we were back with Eddie, Stevo and co in the South of France at half time. We had sort of seen Ben Farrar's try for the home side in the first half but by the time Bradford had scored to level at 6 all we had lost all coverage. That was the half time score. Much ball was put to ground throughout the match due to the worsening conditions in Perpignan, and the dry, fast style rugby that both sides wanted to play was never going to happen. Both sides had penalties which they both converted making the score line 8-8. Nearer the end of the match both teams tried to get the field goals they wanted, but they both failed to do so and the game ended in a draw. 

The Huddersfield-Salford full match review will be up on Wednesday some time. The Giants won the match and returned to the top of the league. This is how the Super League table looks after round 12;

RIP Sadler's Wells.

Round 12; mini previews and predictions.

Unfortunately, because the matches over the Easter period come so quickly I don't have the time to do full match previews for this round. These should return, all being well - time permitting, in time for Round 13 on Friday morning.

Apart from Huddersfield v Salford, the 6 remaining fixtures of this round will take place on Easter Monday. The aforementioned match will take place on Tuesday, due to the fact Huddersfield Town are playing at home on Easter Monday and the Galpharm is unavailable for the Giants.

Catalan v Bradford;

Catalan are probably the most inform team at the moment in Super League, having won 4 matches on the bounce, two of them being against Warrington and Wigan. Bradford will be feeling disappointed with their overall performance in their match against Leeds last week, having started the match well, the took their foot off the gas and ended up losing the match, that they could have easily won, especially if they'd have got some important refereeing decisions, which could have changed the match completely. I think Bradford will bring Catalan back down to earth in this match, they'll be looking for the victory and Catalan could be a little complacent. However, the quick turn around in matches and the travelling could take it's toll on Bradford, but I'm going to stick with them for the victory. 

Hull KR v Harlequins;

Both sides will be looking to get back on track after losing their respective derbies against Hull FC and Catalan. Harlequins were probably the better side out of the two, in their matches last week, but it really is anyone's game. With Michael Dobson back for the Robins I'd side with them. Hull KR to win. 

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats v Wigan Warriors;

Both sides clawed victory back at the end of their derby matches on Good Friday, against Castleford and St Helens respectively. However, neither team put in a full performance as they both went behind early on, but both came back to win. Wakefield will take a lot of confidence out of their match and will go into the Wigan match hoping for the win, however, I think it'll be reigning champions Wigan who take the two points home. 

Warrington Wolves v Hull FC;

Warrington thrashed Salford 60-0 on Friday and Hull FC beat their inner city rivals Hull KR by 36 points to 18. Both will be wanting the victory and I doubt there'll be any let up in form from either team. Warrington went off the boil a little a few weeks back but are definitely back in contention for silverware this season, even though it's still early days. Hull's form is in and out but I sense that the victory over Hull KR will spur them on to play well continuously. I'll go for the Warrington win as they're the better side out of the two. I doubt the score line will be as massive as the past couple of weeks for them though! 

Leeds Rhinos v Crusaders RL;

Leeds took the spoils against Bradford in a thrilling game at Odsal on Thursday night, however, their performance was far from brilliant. They started the game slowing conceding two early tries and it didn't really look like they were interested in the game at all. They still came away with the win, whether the deserved it or not. Crusaders pulled off one of the biggest shocks of the round when they beat - well thrashed - (my team) Huddersfield Giants. Crusaders were always the better side in the match and it looked more like they were top of the league and not Huddersfield. Although Crusaders will take a lot out of that match I doubt they'll be good enough to beat the Rhinos who are to play Danny McGuire for the first time this season after his "rugby-god's karma" caused knee injury last season. Leeds to win this match.

St Helens v Castleford Tigers;

Both sides suffered late defeats in their matches last week and both scuppered the chance to go top of the league after Huddersfield had lost earlier in the day. Liam Farrell scored for Wigan in the dying seconds, breaking St Helens' hearts, whereas Castleford had more time to find a try to beat Wakefield but Wakey's defence was too strong and they held on to win. Both sides will be gutted at their losses, but probably quite disappointed with their overall performances and both will want to win this match. I really can't split the two teams, I think the whole result will dependent on how well each side begins the match. I'll go for St Helens win. 

Huddersfield Giants v Salford City Reds;

It's fair to say that both sides were humiliated on Good Friday, it wasn't so good for either of them. Salford were thrashed 60-0 by in-form Warrington, and Huddersfield were also comprehensively beat 32-6 by basement side Crusaders. Neither will be happy about their performances and will be wanting to win this game and get back on the horse. It will be very much back to basics for both sides who shouldn't be playing anything fancy, and just go back to the basic ways of playing rugby league. I've tried to be as unbiased and indifferent as possible however, I'm going for the Huddersfield win. Otherwise I'll be very upset. 

Round 11- summary & table...

Wigan and St Helens' game was the best of this round, in my opinion. The lead swapped between each side and Wigan scored a try in the dying seconds to steal victory from the jaws of defeat, breaking St Helens' hearts in the process. I thought it was so good that I watched it all again afterwards! 


The biggest shock of the round was Crusaders' emphatic victory against my beloved - or not so at this moment in time ;) - Huddersfield Giants. The Giants just weren't at the races yesterday, dropped so much ball, gave away silly penalties and their usually impeccable defence was broken too many times. Fair play to Crusaders, they fully deserved the victory. 32-6 the game finished. 


Another shock was Wakefield's victory over Castleford, the final score was 28-24 Wakefield's way, despite Castleford having an 18-6 lead at half time. 


Other winners in round 11 were:
Warrington who thrashed Salford 60-0
Catalan who beat Harlequins 37-30, despite Quins' late  fight back
Hull FC beat inner city rivals Hull KR by 36 points to 18
Leeds beat West Yorkshire rivals Bradford 30-22


So this is what the table looks like after Round 11.

Crusaders RL v Huddersfield Giants

KO: 14:00pm  Date: Friday 22nd April 

Referee: S Ganson

Venue: The Racecourse Ground

Teams:

Crusaders (17 from): Schifcofske, Martin, Mellars, Reardon, Witt, Sammut, O'Hara, Bryant, Cahill, Chan, Winternstein, James, Hanbury, White, Dudson, Johnson, Moore, Lupton, Tansey

Huddersfield (17 from): Grix, Lawrence, Cudjoe, Gilmour, Brown, Brough, Crabtree, Robinson, Griffin, O'Donnell, Fa'alogo, Faiumu, Lunt, Kirmond, Patrick, Horne, McGillvary, Wardle, Simpson

This is a clash of polar opposites, Huddersfield sit at the top of Super League, whereas Crusaders are rock bottom, propping the rest up. Huddersfield have only lost two games all season and it doesn't look like they’ll be losing this one. Crusaders were on the wrong side of a huge score line when they played Warrington last weekend.

Despite confidence being high in the Huddersfield camp, Nathan Brown has urged his side not to get too complacent, “the guys are definitely feeling pretty happy and confident at the moment but they all realise it's hard work that's got them to where they are now and they know that, if we don't keep working hard as a group, then you get yourselves in trouble.” he said at the press conference this week.

There’s a possibility that a couple of the key men may be rested for Huddersfield as they have 3 games in 8 days, but it is more than likely that Nathan Brown will stick with the same 17 as last week. Crusaders probably won’t be good enough to beat the white-hot Giants but they will try and put on a good show, that’s for sure. 

Betting (prices correct at 21:30. Thursday 21/04/2011):

Crusaders: 13/2

Huddersfield: 1/12

Draw: 25/1

Hannah. 

Salford City Reds v Warrington Wolves

KO: 15:00pm  Date: Friday 22nd April 

Referee: R Hicks

Venue: The Willows

Teams:

Salford (17 from): Patten, Broughton, Henry, Nero, Anderson, Ratchford, Holdsworth, Cashmere, Godwin, Boyle, Neal, L. Adamson, Wild, Smith, Sneyd, Gibson, Sidlow, Paleaaesina, Spencer.

Warrington (17 from): Anderson, Atkins, Bridge, Briers, Carvell, Clarke, Cooper, Grix, Harrison, Higham, Hodgson, J. Monaghan, M. Monaghan, Morley, Myler, Solomona, Westwood, Williams, Wood.

 Salford put on a highly impressive display in front of the sky sports cameras last week when they thrashed Bradford. Some will say “Bradford didn’t play well”, well yes of course they didn’t, but credit where credits due, Salford were awesome.

Warrington are also “back on the horse” after losing to Catalans and then losing comprehensively against fierce rivals and table toppers Huddersfield as they thrashed Crusaders last weekend who themselves are currently propping up the rest of Super League.

If my maths is correct, collectively the two sides scored 120 points for and only conceded 22. I doubt this match will be as higher scoring as the two matches they played last week, but it will be a good one as both sides will be full of confidence.

To add some spice to the match it will be the first time brothers Louis and Vinnie Anderson play eachother after being teammates at Warrington for the past few years. Vinnie moved to Salford in the off-season.

Matt King is set to make his second appearance of the season after being injured in the very first match, which they lost against Huddersfield. He will take his place in side over Joel Monaghan. Lee Briers is also in line to return after being out for the past couple of games with a dead leg.

Salford will stick with the same 17 that beat Bradford so comprehensively as Rob Parker and Sean Gleeson are both still out through injury.

Betting (prices from Ladbrokes correct as of 21:05 Thursday 21/04/2011):

Salford: 6/1

Warrington: 1/10

Draw: 25/1

Hannah.

Harlequins RL v Catalans Dragons.

KO: 14:00pm  Date: Friday 22nd April 

Referee: B Thaler

Venue: The Stoop

Teams:

Harlequins (17 from): Ambler, Bailey, Bryan, Burnett, Clubb, Dorn, Ellis, Gale, Howell, Koupartisas, Melling, Mitchell, O'Callaghan, Pryce, Randall, Temata, Ward, Wilkes, Williams

Catalans (17 from): Blanch, Farrar, Sa, Stacul, Bosc, Dureau, Ferriol, Henderson, Casty, Menzies, Raguin, Mounis, Baile, Vaccari, Simon, Martins, Baitieri, Pelissier, Pala.

The home side are set to give new loan signing, Lee Mitchell, a debut. He will probably replace Ben Bolger in the side and prop Danny Ward is set to return after injury.

Catalans have named an unchanged 19 man squad for the match against Quins, which is their “local” derby. Thomas Bosc is in the side and may make his first start this season after being injured. However, the French side are still without Darryl Millard, Clint Greenshields, Jamal Fakir, Vincent Duport, Lopini Paea and Cyrille Gossard; they’re all out with injuries.

Catalans are currently in 6^th place (at the time of writing) and Harlequins in 8^th. The latter started the season very well but dropped off a little and lost their place nearer the top of the table whereas Catalans didn’t have as good a start to the season but are coming into this match on a three match winning streak after beating: Wigan, Warrington and Hull FC. 

Betting (prices from Ladbrokes. Correct at 20:30 - Thurs 21/04/2011):

Harlequins: 7/4

Catalans: 4/9

Draw: 20/1

Hannah.

Castleford Tigers v Wakefield Trinity Wildcats

KO: 14:45pm  Date: Friday 22nd April 

Referee: J Child

Venue: The PROBIZ Coliseum, more commonly known as The Jungle.

Teams:

Castleford (17 from): Mathers, Dixon, Arundel, Owen, Chase, Orr, Jackson, Hudson, Huby, Emmitt, Snitch, Ferres, Jones, Fozzard, Aspinwall, Thompson, Holmes, Widders, Clark

Wakefield (17 from): Blaymire, Murphy, George, Jeffries, Rinaldi, King, Henderson, Morrison, Lee, P. Johnson, Dean, Mariano, Howarth, Higgins, Wildie, Hyde, G. Johnson, Amor, McCarthy.

High flyers Castleford, who are 1 point behind league leaders, Huddersfield, with a game in hand over them, play hosts to Wakefield, who are in 13^th position with only 2 points, had they not gone into administration they would have been on 6 points, but due to points difference still in 13^th position.

Stuart Jones will return for Castleford after being out with a shoulder injury, but Nick Youngquest and Willie Isa are still out for the Tigers. Glenn Morrison and Aaron Murphy are both available for selection after recovering from their injuries, with Kieran Hyde also vying for a place after some impressive performances in reserve games.

The winners of the game will also be the winners of the Adam Watene trophy. It is a tribute to the late rugby league star that played for both sides and died from a heart attack at the terribly young age of 31. 

Betting (prices from Ladbrokes. Correct at 19:00 Thursday 24/04/2011

Castleford: 1/8

Wakefield: 5/1

Draw: 25/1

Hannah.

Wigan Warriors v St Helens

KO: 14:45pm  Date: Friday 22nd April - Sky Sports 1

Referee: R Silverwood

Video Referee: T Alibert

Venue: DW Stadium

Teams:

Wigan Warriors (17 from): S. Tomkins, Goulding, Carmont, Richards, Deacon, Leuluai, McIlorum, Coley, Hansen, J. Tomkins, O'Loughlin, Prescott, Lima, Hoffman, Finch, Mossop, Tuson, Charnley and Farrell.

St Helens (17 from): Wellens, Gardner, Shenton, Soliola, Meli, Roby, Graham, Puletua, Wilkin, Moore, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Wheeler, Ashurst, Dixon, Lomax, Magennis, Foster, Makinson, Hale.

“Leeds-Bradford is an airport, Wigan-Saints is a derby”, or so the fans of Wigan and Saints say anyway, I’m sure Leeds and Bradford fans would have something to say about that one.

Wigan have had some “below par” performances in the past few weeks as the club has been going through some changes which seems to have hit the players hard. Martin Gleeson was sacked by the club a month or so ago, no one knew why, and the way the players were playing, it didn’t seem like they knew either. Over the past few weeks speculation grew over coach Michael Maguire’s long-term future at the club as rumours in Australia stated that Madge would leave Wigan to coach the South Sydney Rabbitohs, after the usual “no comment” rigmarole from Wigan it was announced last week that Maguire would be leaving at the end of the season. The Saints match will be the first time Wigan have played since announcement and it could help them and spur them on or have them playing down in the dumps, a prime example of the latter is when Nathan Brown said he was leaving Huddersfield last year, they had a terrible month of May after this news was announce, only for him to announce a month or so later that he had taken a u-turn and he would be staying after all. Hope for Wigan still? I doubt it.

Saints are currently lying in 2^nd place, only one point behind current league leaders Huddersfield and should be happy with most of their performances this season, especially with the amount of young players that they have, the majority whom have come through their academy system. Saints thrashed Wakefield last weekend, 52-6 was the final score. They’re sure to take a lot of confidence from that game and the fact that they haven’t lost a game this season on the road.

Their first derby of the season was, like all the majority of others, at Millennium Magic in Round 1, Wigan were leading 16-0, but the match ended up as a draw, 16-16. It was a huge turn around for the last time the teams met in the Grand Final last October when Wigan ran away with it.

It’s a match between the experienced Wigan players versus the youth of St Helens. All Wigan-Saints derbies are good matches, and more often than not are heated affairs. It is all so a sell out, as usual, so if you haven’t got your tickets now, I’m afraid you’ll have to listen to Eddie and Stevo’s verbal diarrhoea on Sky. Enjoy the match and lets see if it really is the so-called best derby in rugby league.

Betting (prices correct from Ladbrokes at 18:00 Thurs 24/04/2011)

Wigan: 4/11

Saints: 9/4
Draw: 20/1

Hannah.