On another crucial weekend in the build up to the play-offs, it is the saturday which interests me most of all from a betting perspective.

Catalan Dragons host Wigan Warriors and St Helens are at home to Warrington Wolves.

CATALAN DRAGONS V WIGAN WARRIORS
Saturday 9th August, 2008 7pm

Having just lost back to back matches the Catalans are facing the genuine danger of actually losing the third place position which they have monopolised for so long in the season now.
We have all been impressed with how well the French unit have performed throughout this season and it should be applauded, but I just get the feeling that now it is coming to the crunch time, they will be really feeling the tension as they have never been in a play-offs situation and it is something that they need to be mentally prepared for. Too many defeats at the back end of the regular season will do them no good and they know they need to get back in the winning habit.
Wigan have been so incredibly inconsistent throughout the season but on occasions they have proved what a talented unit they are, driven on by the excellent Trent Barrett who they will miss greatly after the end of this season when he moves on to the NRL team, Cronulla Sharks.
Last week they destroyed a Hull side that unfortunately seemed to give up and lose their concentration very early on but despite the fact that the opposition wasn't the most intimidating, the way in which they brutally despatched the Challenge Cup finallists was highly impressive.
So it begs the question, what sort of handicap would I set? Well I personally had this one down as a four point start for Wigan, which just a couple of the major firms agree with. However you can actually take advantage of a handicap mark as high as eight with a few more generous firms and given the recent poor form that the Dragons side have encountered, you might wish to gratefully accept the eight point start on Brian Noble's side.

RECOMMENDATION - 4 points stake Wigan Warriors + 8 @ 1.91 ( Paddy Power)

ST HELENS V WARRINGTON WOLVES
Saturday 9th August 2008, 7pm. Live on Sky Sports 3

In recent seasons we have seen a pattern emerge in encounters involving Saints and Warrington. Warrington have won just one out of 34 Super league games against their local rivals, and it is rarely ever a large margin that they lose by. It must be incredibly frustrating for them as it seems like they just lack the mental edge that Saints possess, every time it seems that Saints are capable of going to the well and digging out a victory.
I am man enough to admit when I have got something wrong and last week when I underestimated this Warrington team for when they played the Rhinos, it has to be said, I made a bit of a blunder. Warrington outplayed Leeds in every aspect of the game, and their extra intensity and will to win was completely proved. Having now won seven out of eight league matches, Warrington are very firmly the second best team in Super League on current form. It is a bit of a shame for them that at a stage where they have gotten close to Catalans for third place that they have to run into a Saints team that is in scintillating form.
The captain Paul Sculthorpe and Maurie Fa'asavalu will be missing for Saints which will be a bit of a blow but Warrington have a couple of players missing from the squad themselves in the Anderson brothers (Louis and Vinnie) so the handicap should remain unaffected by these missing names.
So how should the handicap mark look then? Well I had this one down as being a twelve point handicap which I would have been prepared to lean towards Warrington on given that these games are almost always competitive despite the fact that Saints nearly always triumph. Having came up with such a terrific performance in beating Leeds last week, led fantastically by Adrian Morley, this team can once again prove a stern test for the Saints.
Luckily enough, a start of fourteen is available for Warrington and I for one think you should take this. Not a major back, but a confident one.

RECOMMENDATION - 2.5 Points stake on Warrington Wolves + 14 @ 2 (Bet365)

Good luck and have a terrific weekend.

Crafty Stan