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:

• Warrington Wolves 6 – Leeds Rhinos 34 (Nathan – 1, Ian – 1)
• Hull FC 10 – Wakefield Trinity 36 (Nathan – 1, Ian – 0)
• Hull KR 22 – Leigh Leopards 8 (Nathan – 1, Ian – 0)
• York Knights 20 – Wigan Warriors 72 (Nathan – 1, Ian – 1)
• Catalans Dragons 34 – Bradford Bulls 24 (Nathan – 2, Ian – 2)
• Castleford Tigers 36 – Toulouse Olympique XIII 18 (Nathan – 2, Ian – 1)
• St Helens 38 – Huddersfield Giants 6 (Nathan – 1, Ian – 1)

Current Score: Nathan 121 – Ian 127

The chase is back on! I got six predictions from seven this week, but managed to save a point from the Warrington-Leeds game by virtue of selecting Brodie Croft to score a try. I was otherwise flawless this week in terms of picking winners, whereas Ian picked the wrong winners in both Hull games.

I’m expanding the format I introduced last week, with Ian offering his reasoning for predicting his results. To make it easier to decipher who is saying what, whatever Ian is saying will be presented in bold, whereas my (Nathan’s) take will just be the normal typeface.

The first fixture of the week was a challenging one for me. Looking at the table, you would think the prediction would be an easy one, but sometimes the table tells lies. Yes, Warrington (before their defeat against Leeds last week) had been on a winning streak, but they didn’t look like a side that was winning comfortably in those games. They were shaky against Hull and were the better of two poor sides against St Helens. Meanwhile, Catalans have quietly been pulling together as a team in the past few weeks, bar a defeat against an imperious Wigan team. I think John Cartwright’s men will turn up ready for a game on Thursday night, but I do think the Wolves will claim a narrow victory to stay in the top two.

I’ve gone for Wire because until recently they’ve been in decent form at home, but I’m saying they won’t win by many because I know how hard John Cartwright will make Le Dracs to beat. I think Ewan Irwin and Leon Hayes are starting to benefit from some time on the pitch together, and the home side has some strike players that can really hurt any team.

Castleford are a team that has been the very definition of inconsistency this season. Fluctuating between looking like contenders and looking like pretenders from week to week. The fixture schedule has, however, been kind to them these past two weeks, and I’m backing them to claim back-to-back wins at home against the York Knights. I don’t think the Knights will concede anywhere close to as many points as they did this past weekend, but it should still be fairly cut and dry.

I think Cas look like a side who have turned a corner in recent weeks with the Ryan Carr effect present for all to see. York will inevitably be short on confidence after the treatment that Wigan dished out on them, but Mark Applegarth will be very methodical in preparing them. However, I just think Castleford will have too much strike for them, especially down their left side of Qareqare and Mapapalangi.

The other Friday night game is giving me a bit of a headache. It’s a real head vs heart scenario, where my head tells me not to go against Leeds at home, but my heart is telling me to go with my team, as we owe Leeds payback from Vegas. As I write this, I’ve changed the winner twice and probably will do so again before I hit publish, so whatever is below is what I finally agonisingly decided was the best way to go.

I am going for Leeds to complete the double on the defending champions, not just because of recent form for both, but because at this time, the Rhinos seem to hold an Indian sign¹ over the team from Craven Park. My reasoning for predicting such a comfortable victory for Brad Arthur’s side is based on how they dealt with Rovers in Nevada and how they demolished 2nd-placed Warrington last week, a side that was previously unbeaten at home.

What can you say about Hull vs Wigan? I doubt there are very many Airlie Birds fans looking forward to their next home game on Saturday, when they are visited by the Warriors, who are in monstrous form ever since their Challenge Cup victory at Wembley at the end of May. I doubt even the eternally optimistic Mr Judson will be backing his team this week; he’s probably just hoping that the score is kept at a reasonable level.

I believe the Airlie Birds will make a fight of this, but ultimately run out of steam in probably the final 20-30 minutes. There is method in the madness here, because watching Hull FC every week, I am very aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and while they really can defend their line at close quarters, it has to be said, Wigan are physically very strong and have pace to burn. A lot probably depends on what sort of start the home side makes.

My next pick may shock a few, as I’ve gone for Bradford to beat St Helens on Saturday. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something just doesn’t feel right about this Saints team. Despite the scoreline flattering them against Huddersfield on Sunday, they remain unimpressive. If they had played anyone else, they would have struggled to be in front at times. Bradford have also proved to be a difficult challenge when playing at Odsal, so I’m going for them to pull off an upset against the ten-time Super League champions.

I think this could be a statement win for the Bulls, because they have been generally difficult to beat at Odsal, and the Saints aren’t exactly in the most convincing form at the moment. Kurt Haggerty has taken the Paul Rowley playbook and fed it to his players. It may be the sourcerer against the apprentice, but a look at recent games tells you all you need to know about how both are playing. The one caveat being that the Bulls have just had a long trip to Perpignan and back, so much will depend on how they react to that.

Toulouse is a difficult team to pick a result for, in that they very rarely win, but they also don’t struggle to score points either, and therefore aren’t getting thrashed nearly as often as people thought they would. They also have a bad habit of only playing in the second half, which has seen them punished in the first forty minutes on a few occasions. Leigh should have Lachlan Lam and Josh Charnley back for their trip to France, so I think they’ll come away with the two points, but I expect TOXIII to score points too, and it’ll be closer than Leythers would like it to be.

Leigh are usually pretty good at dispatching these lower teams, but I think the long trip to South Western France will take its natural toll. Toulouse will certainly ask Adrian Lam’s side some serious questions, but I just think the Leopards have more strike weapons and they will get away from them, particularly on either side of half-time in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.

Finally, we have Wakefield vs Huddersfield. Poor Huddersfield, in more than one way. Poor in the sense that I feel sorry for them and their supporters having to watch them play, and poor as in they are awful at the moment. Wakefield are at home and still chasing a top four finish, there’s only one way this ends, it’s just a case of how many Wakey will win by.

I expect Trin to make pretty short work of the Giants and have this match wrapped up probably by halftime. After their last outing at home, when they were demolished by Wigan, they will want to put on a show for a home crowd against a team that increasingly looks like they are a Super League club in name only, just to make up the numbers.

Nathan’s Picks:

• Warrington Wolves 24 – Catalans Dragons 18. First try scorer: Josh Thewlis
• Castleford Tigers 20 – York Knights 6. First try scorer: Krystian Mapapalangi
• Leeds Rhinos 24 – Hull KR 26. First try scorer: Maika Sivo
• Hull FC 4 – Wigan Warriors 46. First try scorer: Zach Eckersley
• Bradford Bulls 24 – St Helens 18. First try scorer: Caleb Aekins
• Toulouse Olympique XIII 18 – Leigh Leopards 26. First try scorer: Josh Charnley
• Wakefield Trinity 48 – Huddersfield Giants 6. First try scorer: Tom Johnstone

Ian’s Picks:

• Warrington Wolves 24 – Catalans Dragons 12. First try scorer: Matty Ashton
• Castleford Tigers 36 – York Knights 12. First try scorer: Jason Qareqare
• Leeds Rhinos 42 – Hull KR 18. First try scorer: Harry Newman
• Hull FC 16 – Wigan Warriors 44. First try scorer: Jake Wardle
• Bradford Bulls 24 – St Helens 18. First try scorer: Ethan Ryan
• Toulouse Olympique XIII 14 – Leigh Leopards 28. First try scorer: Josh Charnley
• Wakefield Trinity 5 – Huddersfield Giants 6. First try scorer: Max Jowitt

1. Editor’s note: I had to Google what Ian meant here. For those (like me), who don’t know what this means, it’s an old saying that refers to holfing a jinx or a hex over someone. The more you know. ↩︎