This Week's Rugby League

By The Man

I've found myself a couple of wagers in Super League for this weekend and one from the Championship. There are others I would like to stay on the right side of on the exchanges. I'm quite happy to take on Huddersfield -10.5 odds on and I'm pretty sure I'll get matched with all the other bookies giving 12pt start. I also don't mind taking Hull, Castleford and Leeds on and have set my prices accordingly. So to the bets:
 
St.Helens v Salford

 
25th June 20:00 GMT

St.Helens come in to this game on the back of a magnificent victory in the derby over Wigan last weekend. However, if you have been reading my articles long enough you will know that I don't like to take the last performance in isolation; in fact it is probably more reason to oppose them. Teams simply cannot play to the same level week after week and Saints will find it mentally difficult to get up for this fixture after the euphoria of victory over their arch rivals. They also have Leeds at Headingley on the horizon in a week's time and they wouldn't be human if their thoughts didn't stray to that challenge cup semi final rehearsal.

Salford meanwhile come in to this fixture on the back of a very disappointing home defeat to Castleford. They will have targeted that game as a winnable fixture but they started off very slowly and, despite an improved second half display, the bridge was too far. Stefan Ratchford and Mark Henry are set to return from injury and that will improve their chances whilst free scoring Francis Meli misses out for the hosts.

Salford won the reverse fixture at The Willows and that is a slight concern because the Saints' coaching staff are sure to use that as ammunition to motivate their players but I still feel that Saints will only do enough for victory and will not overly concern themselves with chasing the high handicap mark on offer. I see an open game with Saints scoring plenty but at the same time I'm hoping they let some soft ones in. I had Saints by 16pts.
 
St. Helens squad:

Wellens, Gardner, Gidley, Pryce, Fozzard, Cunningham, Graham, Puletua, Flannery, Roby, Hargreaves, Moore, Clough, Ashurst, Dean, Dixon, Lomax, Magennis, Foster.
 
Salford City Reds squad:

Fitzpatrick, J. Smith, Henry, Talau, Gibson, Adamson, Parker, Sidlow, Alker, Broughton, Sibbit, Ratchford, Swain, M. Smith, Littler, Leuluai, Tyrer, Holdsworth, Boyle.

Pick: Salford +22 3pts @ 1.91 with Boylesports, Paddy Power, Ladbrokes, Sky Bet, VCBet and William Hill

 
Harlequins v Wigan

  
26th June 15:00 GMT

Similar thinking as above for this fixture as the big derby game of last weekend may well have drained a lot of fuel from the tank. They also have failed to name Karl Pryce and Amos Roberts in their squad which they are really testing to the limit. A lot of youngsters have been blooded this season and have come up trumps but there comes a point where there are too many in the team and they lack leadership. One such time was in the home fixture versus 'Quins when they blew a big lead and 'Quins will draw heart from the fact that they know Wigan are beatable.

The slight concern is that Wigan have bounced back in impressive fashion from all their defeats this season though none were as gruelling as last week's encounter.

'Quins themselves were very disappointing in defeat at Hull KR but you can bet your bottom dollar they will have been working hard under the guidance of Brian McDermott to put things right. They have a much better team than earlier in the season and I'm hoping they can give Wigan a run for their money and wouldn't completely rule out a home win. I had Wigan by 10pts.
 
Harlequins RL squad:

Bolger, Bryan, Clubb, Dorn, Ellis, Esders, Howell, Jones-Bishop, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Melling, Mills, O'Callaghan, Orr, Purdham, Randall, Sharp, Temata, Ward, Wilkes.
 
Wigan Warriors squad:

Gleeson, Carmont, Richards, S. Tomkins, Leuluai, Fielden, Riddell, Coley, J. Tomkins, Prescott, McIlorum, Bailey, Deacon, Mossop, Goulding, Farrell, Davies, Marsh, Tuson.

Pick: Harlequins +14 2.5pts @ 1.91 with Boylesports, Paddy Power, Ladbrokes, Sky Bet, VCBet and William Hill


Featherstone v Widnes

 
27th June 13:00 GMT

The league leaders Featherstone, after a week off, will be very focussed and keen to get one over on one of their franchise rivals. Widnes may tick many of those franchise boxes but their performances on the field his season have been sadly lacking. They have mitigating circumstances with the amount of injuries and have done well to reach the Northern Rail cup final but I don't believe they have the team to match Featherstone.

Featherstone have not failed to impress me this season and are playing full of confidence. Their defence has been particularly impressive and I really feel they will put Widnes to the sword in this fixture. When another of their rivals, Halifax, came to town they posted a wide margin victory and only Toulouse have lowered their colours in a game that featured a tired side after a mighty effort against Warrington and a quick turnaround victory over Keighley. I would be all over this if it was televised and the spreads were offering supremacy lines but alas they don't price non televised Championship games. I had this one as Featherstone by 16pts and would still be keen on any offer up to 12pts from the bookmakers.

Pick: Featherstone -8 4pts @ 1.91 with Sky Bet or Stan James
 
The Man