It’s a relatively quiet Friday night by the standards set by the Betfred Super League as there are just two fixtures taking place. The televised game is Hull KR’s trip to Castleford, who are now no longer coachless after the confirmation of Andy Last as their head coach.
Elsewhere, the Leigh Leopards welcome the turbulent Leeds Rhinos to Leigh Sports Village, with both sides looking to make as much ground away from the bottom three as possible.
Castleford Tigers vs Hull KR
Where: Mend-A-Hose Jungle, Castleford
When: Thursday 20th April, 8pm
TV: Sky Sports Arena
Castleford’s Last Five: 14-6 Loss vs Salford (Round 9), 16-4 Win vs Wakefield (Rivals Round), 22-18 Loss vs Catalans (Round 7), 0-38 Loss vs Warrington (Round 6), 14-8 Win vs Leeds (Round 5)
Hull KR’s Last Five: 26-14 Win vs St Helens (Round 9), 0-40 Win vs Hull FC (Rivals Round), 20-12 Win vs Leeds (Round 7), 6-34 Win vs Wakefield (Round 6), 26-12 Loss vs Catalans (Round 5)
Betfred Match Winner Odds: Castleford - 7/4, Hull KR - 1/2, Tie - 18/1
First Try Scorer Odds: Ryan Hall - 6/1, Ethan Ryan - 8/1, Bureta Faraimo - 9/1, Greg Eden - 9/1, Shaun Kenny-Dowall - 11/1
Previous Meetings:
Castleford 32-0 Hull KR (Round 12, 2022)
Hull KR 34-10 Castleford (Challenge Cup QF, 2022)
Hull KR 26-10 Castleford (Round 3, 2022)
Hull KR 26-19 Castleford (Round 24, 2021)
Castleford 22-26 Hull KR (Round 6, 2021)
Total Super League Meetings: 28 (Castleford won 13, Hull KR won 13, 2 draws)
A battle between two sides with wildly different seasons so far. Hull KR fans can be forgiven for thinking they’d be in for a tough year with how last season ended, but they currently sit third in the table with six wins. Another would move them up onto the same points as Wigan in second.
Castleford on the other hand, have seen their head coach leave already this season, and are four points adrift of Leigh Leopards in tenth, tied with Hull FC and above winless Wakefield. They might get a boost from the recent announcement of Andy Last as the new permanent head coach at the Jungle.
Hull KR are boosted by the return of James Batchelor, but that is the only return to Willie Peters’ squad.
The Tigers see the return of Joe Westerman whose suspension ended after last week’s loss to Salford. Liam Watts is set to return from injury as well and Will Tate is set to make his Cas debut against the side he’s been loaned from. Gareth Widdop remains out.
Sportsman Stat: Hull KR have scored 24+ points against Castleford in six of their last seven ties.
Leigh Leopards vs Leeds Rhinos
Where: Leigh Sports Village, Leigh
When: Friday 21st April, 8pm
TV: N/A
Leigh’s Last Five: 0-32 Win vs Wakefield (Round 9), 20-22 Loss vs Salford (Rivals Round), 6-34 Loss vs Wigan (Round 7), 16-24 Win vs Hull FC (Round 6), 38-20 Loss vs Warrington (Round 5)
Leeds’ Last Five: 34-10 Win vs Hull FC (Round 9), 18-17 Win vs Huddersfield (Rivals Round), 20-12 Loss vs Hull KR (Round 7), 32-22 Win vs Catalans (Round 6), 14-8 Loss vs Castleford (Round 5)
Betfred Match Winner Odds: Leigh - 13/10, Leeds - 4/6, Tie - 18/1
First Try Scorer Odds: Ash Handley - 8/1, Josh Charnley - 8/1, Nene Macdonald - 10/1, Liam Tindall - 14/1, Harry Newman - 14/1
Milestones:
Cameron Smith is set to hit 100 Betfred Super League appearances, having played 99 times for Leeds since 2016.
Previous Meetings:
Leigh 10-46 Leeds (Round 19, 2021)
Leeds 48-18 Leigh (Round 12, 2021)
Leeds 52-22 Leigh (Challenge Cup QF, 2018)
Leeds 22-14 Leigh (Round 17, 2017)
Leigh 14-17 Leeds (Round 11, 2017)
Total Super League Meetings: 7 (Leigh won 0, Leeds won 7)
Friday night is the night that Leigh Leopards can make history by claiming their first ever Betfred Super League victory over the Leeds Rhinos, but it’ll be a tough game for Adrian Lam’s side. Leigh will more than likely be missing Ben Nakubuwai, so Nathan Wilde is expected to remain his replacement in the team after making his debut last week. Other than that, the Leopards are in as good a shape as ever, and the atmosphere created at LSV in recent weeks will surely be the biggest boost for a team looking to do more than just survive in Super League this season.
Leeds however will be boosted by the return of a few key players. James Bentley is set to come back, alongside Derrell Olpherts and Sam Walters. Rohan Smith’s side have been inconsistent this season, losing to the likes of Castleford yet beat Catalans in back-to-back weeks. It seems that they can never get going, and when they’re playing poorly, it’s a team-wide issue, not just individuals.
If Leigh can get momentum early, you’d have to fancy them to get a result with the young talented players on their side, as well as try-scoring machine Josh Charnley continuing to put up numbers on the flank.
Sportsman Stat: Leigh have never beaten Leeds in the Super League, having scored 84 points and conceded 309 in the seven fixtures. (Leigh have never played a team more than Leeds in the history of the Challenge Cup)
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