Five major talking points from this weekend’s Super League action

We’ve closed the book on another pulsating weekend of Super League action. It was a weekend full of tries and intriguing encounters. Now that the weekend has been and gone, we now know more about the story of the current season. But what are the five talking points to take out of this weekend’s rugby?

1. Can Hull KR make it to Old Trafford?

Following their exhilarating clash with Catalans in France, many suggested that Hull KR very well could make it to this year’s Grand Final. They may have lost yesterday but they showed that they can hang with the very best teams in the league and even push them all the way. Many believe they have what it takes to get to the decider especially because of their expansive style of play. It promises to be an interesting second half of the season for the Robins.

2. What’s the situation with Luke Gale?

I, like many, believed that this week was crucial in Leeds’ determined journey back to the top. On Monday, the Rhinos announced the huge signing of Aidan Sezer before revealing on Friday that key player Matt Prior had signed a new two-year deal. But then on Friday night Luke Gale was mysteriously left out of the Rhinos’ victory over Salford. It now seems he was dropped but we do not know the reason why and there are plenty of vicious rumours swimming around the web. I expect this all to be resolved by Thursday’s clash with Hull FC, Rhinos fans will certainly hope so and so will Richard Agar after all Gale has been Leeds’ most important player since signing ahead of last season.

3. Wigan keep plodding along

Wigan have won the last three games and yet no one’s talking about last year’s league leaders. Perhaps that makes sense given their struggles recently, but we shouldn’t write the Warriors off just yet especially after Jackson Hasting’s superb performance against Wakefield on Friday. Suitably under the radar, the Warriors are in form and headed in the right direction once again.

4. Giving Oliver Russell deserved praise

Like last week, the impressive performance of Will Pryce caught the eye on Thursday. The teenager scored his second Super League try and got the whole rugby league world talking. However, in the same game I though Oliver Russell was just as good. In many ways he produced a more complete performance than his younger partner which is to be expected. He kicked well and stretched Hull FC’s defence. Yes, we should be excited about Pryce but we should give praise to Russell as well.

5. Can Salford and Wakefield still push for play-off rugby?

It’s an interesting question and one that feeds into the topic of a play-off system that incorporates more than six teams which I’ve already spoken about this weekend. Both sides have had decent runs of form recently. The Red Devils claimed back-to-back wins prior to their Headingley defeat whilst Wakefield have been competitive in all their games recently and even made Wigan work for their win on Friday. The play-offs seem a fair way off for both teams at this moment but if they can build on the positives shown in their recent performance maybe they’ll make a late push for the top six.