And then there were four. Following this weekend’s eliminators we have just three more Super League games left to play this season, but the excitement and action just keeps on coming.
Leigh Leopards and Salford Red Devils played out an entertaining and brutal contest on Friday night with Adrian Lam’s side coming good in the second half to record a 14-6 win and progress to the semi-finals. Warrington Wolves joined them there as they beat St Helens 23-22 thanks to a George Williams drop goal in golden point extra time.
Both games were entertaining, enthralling and closely contested and they set up this weekend’s semi-finals perfectly with Leigh going to League Leaders’ Shield winners Wigan Warriors and Hull KR hosting Warrington.
Before we look ahead to those games, we take a look back at some of the talking points to emerge from the weekend just gone.
Leigh’s ‘last dance’ goes on
Leigh simply had too much for the Red Devils in the second half of Friday night’s contest at the Salford Community Stadium. Tries from Josh Charnley, Gareth O’Brien and Edwin Ipape were enough to seal the win and what followed was an outpouring of emotion from the head coach, who was visibly teary as he spoke the media, and his players.
With so many key players leaving the club at the end of the season, the Leopards are driven to bring the curtain down on what has been a remarkable few years on another high. Having won 11 out of their last 13 Super League games, Leigh’s squad is on a remarkable run and with the squad so tightly knit, they might take some stopping from hereon.
Of course, they have the tough task of trying to beat Wigan Warriors on Saturday, but Leigh’s ‘last dance’ mentality makes anything possible.
Injury blow
What makes Saturday’s game even more of a challenge for the Leopards is their injury situation. Lam was already without Kai O’Donnell on Friday night due to what sounds like a serious abdominal injury and it remains to be seen if he will return to action all this season.
However, Josh Charnley was taken to hospital with a neck injury and won’t be involved at the weekend, and neither will Frankie Halton, who failed a HIA in the first half of the win over Salford. It means Lam will be going to Wigan without his first choice back row and his top tryscorer.
Changes will be made then, but Leigh will be confident that whoever comes into the side will step up to the plate.
A great advert
Friday’s game was entertaining even if it was lacking quality. Saturday’s game had plenty of attacking action, though, and it was broadcast to the nation on free to air TV.
Of course, Sky Sports’ TV cameras were down at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, but so were the BBC’s, with the game being shown live on BBC Two. According to Rugby League on TV, the game boasted an average of 320,000 viewers and a 368,000 peak.
Considering the game was being shown on both channels, that’s an impressive tally and they were treated to a cracker of a game. With Wigan v Leigh set for the same terrestrial treatment, the hope is that those who were captivated by Saturday’s Super League offering will tune in once more next weekend.
Saints’ struggles
St Helens just haven’t been themselves this season and while they gave it everything they had on Saturday, they proved to be their own worst enemy at times. Conceding so early on was a huge blow and missing 50 tackles in the game is something that head coach Paul Wellens will be undoubtedly frustrated about.
They showed their mettle to level the game at the end of the 80 minutes, but they just couldn’t get it done in Golden Point and that only serves to underline what has to be a concerning trend.
To their credit, St Helens beat Wigan at the Totally Wicked Stadium on Good Friday. Since then though they have played 11 games against sides that finished in the Super League top six and lost all but one, with a golden point win over Salford coming in August. If the club are to bounce back next season, they have to start beating the teams around them.
Playing into Hull KR’s hands?
It’s fair to say that the nature of Saturday’s contest, with the game going to golden point, suits Hull KR down to the ground. By finishing second, Rovers earned the opportunity to rest up this week while this Friday’s opponents Warrington were going at it hammer and tongs against St Helens for 83 minutes.
That game will have taken something out of the Wolves, but they’ll be doing all they can to recharge their batteries and recover this week in order to give themselves the best chance possible to beating the Robins in east Hull.
