The Rules:

• Each person predicts the results of every Super League match.
• Predicting the correct winner will get you 1 point.
• If the predictor’s scoreline has the same winning margin, then 4 points will be awarded (only if the predicted winning team is correct).
• Correctly predicting the exact score will win you an additional 5 points.
• Two bonus points will be awarded if the first try scorer is predicted correctly, whereas 1 point will be awarded if the selected player scores during the match.

Last Round’s Results:

• Leeds Rhinos 24 – St Helens 16 (Nathan – 1, Ian – 2)
• Bradford Bulls 30 – York Knights 20 (Nathan – 1, Ian – 1)
• Castleford Tigers 14 – Leigh Leopards 24 (Nathan – 1, Ian – 1)
• Warrington Wolves 12 – Hull FC 4 (Nathan – 1, Ian – 1)
• Huddersfield Giants 16 – Toulouse Olympique XIII 36 (Nathan – 0, Ian – 0)
• Wakefield Trinity 26 – Hull KR 24 (Nathan – 0, Ian – 2)
• Catalans Dragons 16 – Wigan Warriors 40 (Nathan – 2, Ian – 3)

Current Score: Nathan 100 – Ian 108

Damn and blast. If only Rovers had held on to their lead, I wouldn’t have slipped further behind Ian! Never mind, there’s still only eight points separating us, so this is a true contest at the season’s mid-way point, where just one good week could make all the difference.

Round thirteen kicked off with a clash between the top two, as St Helens travelled to AMT Headingley to take on the Leeds Rhinos. In a fearsome back-and-forth contest, it was the league leaders who emerged on top, overturning a 16-8 half-time deficit to win 24-16 on home soil. Try scoring machine Maika Sivo added to his tally for this season in the dying minutes, taking his total after 13 rounds to 20 tries, six ahead of the next highest scorer.

In a deviation from scheduling norms, both Friday and Saturday saw triple-headers played out (with no Sunday game). Friday saw Bradford face York at Odsal, Castleford hosted Leigh at the OneBore Stadium, and finally, Warrington entertained Hull FC at the Halliwell Jones Stadium. In a clash between two of the Super League’s new boys, Bradford showed their strength at home by beating the York Knights 30-20, claiming their fourth win of the season on home soil. Meanwhile, and also in West Yorkshire, Castleford succumbed to a resurgent Leigh side, who beat the Tigers 24-14 at Wheldon Road.

The biggest shock of the weekend almost came in Friday night’s third fixture, as a struggling Hull FC side gave the Warrington Wolves an almighty scare on home soil. The Airlie Birds went into half-time 4-0 up, and it was only through a Josh Smith double that the Wolves escaped a shock loss at the Halliwell Jones.

Saturday’s trio of matches once again saw a pair of matches take place in West Yorkshire, with a third match taking place elsewhere. Huddersfield welcomed fellow Super League basement-dwellers Toulouse to the FLAIR Stadium in Dewsbury (the Accu Stadium was unavailable due to a concert), Wakefield entertained World Champions Hull KR, on the back of their humbling at Wembley at the hands of Wigan, and speaking of the Warriors, they took part in the weekend’s showpiece event as the Super League returned to Paris as the Catalans Dragons faced Wigan in the French capital.

It was a mixed day for the French sides in the Super League. In the day’s first game, Toulouse overcame the Giants in a convincing 36-16 win in Dewsbury, leaving Huddersfield marooned at the foot of the table on just four points. Meanwhile, in Paris, the Catalans Dragons were on the receiving end of a classic Wigan performance, as the Challenge Cup winners dazzled in the city of love, beating their French hosts 40-16.

Sandwiched between those two games was Hull KR’s trip to Wakefield Trinity, in what turned out to be a thrilling contest. The Robins came into the game on the back of a disappointing trip to Wembley and needed a performance to get the wind back into their sails. They turned in a real mixed bag of a performance in what was a closely run contest, with Wakefield snatching the win and two points in the dying minutes through a Mason Lino try. The Robins will be looking to bounce back as soon as possible to get their season back on track.

Nathan’s Picks:

• St Helens 24 – Warrington Wolves 20. First try scorer: Tristan Sailor
• Toulouse Olympique XIII 6 – Leeds Rhinos 36. First try scorer: Maika Sivo
• Hull KR 52 – York Knights 10. First try scorer: Oliver Gildart
• Wakefield Trinity 20 – Wigan Warriors 30. First try scorer: Junior Nsemba
• Hull FC 18 – Huddersfield Giants 8. First try scorer: Jake Arthur
• Catalans Dragons 20 – Castleford Tigers 12. First try scorer: Krystian Mapapalangi
• Bradford Bulls 12 – Leigh Leopards 24. First try scorer: Bailey Hodgson

Ian’s Picks:

• St Helens 14 – Warrington Wolves 24. First try scorer: Josh Thewlis
• Toulouse Olympique XIII 12 – Leeds Rhinos 42. First try scorer: Maika Sivo
• Hull KR 28 – York Knights 12. First try scorer: Joe Burgess
• Wakefield Trinity 18 – Wigan Warriors 30. First try scorer: Jake Wardle
• Hull FC 30 – Huddersfield Giants 12. First try scorer: Logan Moy
• Catalans Dragons 26 – Castleford Tigers 12. First try scorer: Charlie Staines
• Bradford Bulls 14 – Leigh Leopards 28. First try scorer: Innes Senior

Written by Nathan Major (Site editor & Hull KR fan)