The Betfred Super League rumbles on into Gameweek 17, with Adrian Lam’s Leigh Leopards having home advantage in this Friday’s showcase fixture against Hull KR.
Elsewhere, Wakefield have an earlier kick-off against Salford, St Helens host Castleford and Huddersfield take the M62 to Wigan.
Wakefield Trinity vs Salford Red Devils
Where: Be Well Support Stadium, Wakefield
When: Friday 30th June 2023, 7:45pm
TV: N/A
Wakefield’s Last Five: 28-12 Loss vs Hull KR (Round 16), 24-14 Win vs Leeds (Round 15), 4-30 Loss vs Leigh (MW), 36-6 Loss vs Catalans (Round 13), 6-26 Loss vs Hull FC (Round 12)
Salford’s Last Five: 6-26 Loss vs Wigan (Round 16), 10-42 Win vs Castleford (Round 15), 26-16 Win vs Hull KR (MW), 29-22 Win vs Hull FC (Week 13), 26-16 Loss vs St Helens (Round 12)
Betfred Match Winner Odds: Wakefield - 21/10, Salford - 2/5, Tie - 18/1
First Try Scorer Odds: Ken Sio - 6/1, Joe Burgess - 15/2, Rhys Williams - 9/1, Tim Lafai - 12/1, Tom Lineham - 12/1
Milestones:
Jay Pitts is one appearance away from reaching 200 Super League appearances, 83 of those come for Wakefield in a career dating back to a debut for Leeds Rhinos in 2009.
Ben Hellewell needs one appearance to reached 250 career caps, with 10 of those coming for Salford so far.
Ken Sio is three tries away from 100 Super League tries, 74 coming in the four years he’s spent at the Red Devils.
Previous Meetings:
Salford 14-13 Wakefield (aet) (Round 5, 2023)
Salford 74-10 Wakefield (Round 16, 2022)
Wakefield 30-24 Salford (Round 7, 2022)
Salford 24-14 Wakefield (Round 12, 2021)
Wakefield 20-28 Salford (Round 20, 2020)
Total Super League Meetings: 42 (29 for Wakefield, 21 for Salford, 2 draws)
Both Wakefield and Salford have been left pouring over the details of their defeats last weekend. Trinity showed their spirit in their shock win over Leeds, but came back down to earth after Hull KR put them to the sword last weekend at Craven Park.
Salford are without two fundamental parts of their squad once more in Ryan Brierley and last year’s Man of Steel, Brodie Croft. Although Paul Rowley’s side doesn’t solely rely on two players’ qualities, Salford need to show a bit of fight this weekend to make sure they don’t lose the momentum they’ve shown so far this season. And a trip to Wakefield is the ideal place to get more points on the board, even if they’ve struggled to do so historically.
Sportsman Stat: Wakefield haven’t lost against Salford at Belle Vue since June 2015, winning five times in that period.
Leigh Leopards vs Hull Kingston Rovers
Where: Leigh Sports Village, Leigh
When: Friday 30th June 2023, 8pm
TV: Sky Sports Arena
Leigh’s Last Five: 38-30 Loss vs Catalans (Round 16), 28-16 Win vs Hull FC (Round 15), 4-30 Win vs Wakefield (MW), 30-12 Win vs Warrington (Round 13), 4-30 Win vs Huddersfield (Round 12)
Robins’ Last Five: 28-12 Win vs Wakefield (Round 16), 38-4 Loss vs Catalans (Round 15), 26-16 Loss vs Salford (MW), 22-26 Loss vs Wigan (Round 13), 12-14 Loss vs Warrington (Round 12)
Betfred Match Winner Odds: Leigh - 4/7, Hull KR - 6/4, Tie - 18/1
First Try Scorer Odds: Josh Charnley - 6/1, Ryan Hall - 8/1, Fouad Yaha - 8/1, Tom Briscoe - 8/1, Shaun Kenny-Dowall - 12/1
Milestones:
Joe Mellor needs two more tries to reach 100 for his career, 22 of those coming in the last two season in which he joined the Leigh Leopards.
Tom Opacic is set to reach 100 career appearances, 16 coming for Hull KR so far this season, after spending six years in the NRL.
Previous Meetings:
Hull KR 25-30 Leigh (Round 3, 2023)
Hull KR 24-18 Leigh (CC Round Six, 2022)
Hull KR 44-6 Leigh (MW, 2021)
Leigh 28-34 Hull KR (Round 18, 2021)
Hull KR 40-16 Leigh (Round 8, 2021)
Total Super League Meetings: 4 (1 for Leigh, 3 for Hull KR)
It’s not too often that the Leigh Sports Village welcome the cameras, so Friday night’s showcase fixture should be a cracker to watch. Leigh might have taken a loss last weekend down in Perpignan, but scoring 30 away at Catalans is no mean feat and they’ll likely be fit and firing to protect their top four status against an injury-ridden Hull KR side.
Willie Peters’ side is boosted by the return of Ryan Hall, and Catalans loanee Fouad Yaha escaped a ban last weekend so is free to start in Greater Manchester on Friday night. The continued absence of Jordan Abdull remains to be a large blow for the side and the retirement of Lachlan Coote leaves the team short at full-back. James Batchelor and Sam Wood are also key men to be missing in the run-in.
Sportsman Stat: The last time Leigh defeated the Robins at home was at Hilton Park in August 2006, in a 36-10 win in the National League One.
St Helens vs Castleford Tigers
Where: Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens
When: Friday 30th June 2023, 8pm
TV: N/A
Saints’s Last Five: 34-6 Loss vs Hull FC (Round 16), 34-16 Win vs Wigan (Round 15), 48-6 Win vs Huddersfield (MW), 12-13 Win vs Leeds (Round 13), 26-12 Win vs Salford (Round 12)
Castleford’s Last Five: 23-14 Win vs Warrington (Round 16), 10-42 Loss vs Salford (Round 15), 24-26 Win vs Leeds (MW), 20-4 Loss vs Huddersfield (Round 13), 22-46 Loss vs Catalans (Round 12)
Betfred Match Winner Odds: St Helens - 1/8, Castleford - 11/2, Tie - 22/1
First Try Scorer Odds: Jon Bennison - 7/1, Tee Ritson - 7/1, Jack Welsby - 10/1, Will Hopoate - 11/1, Konrad Hurrell - 11/1
Milestones:
The only milestone to watch out for in this one is the same as last week’s if you’re a Saints fan. Konrad Hurrell needs one more try to reach 100 for his career, which would be an excellent milestone to hit to celebrate his contract extension this week.
Previous Meetings:
Castleford 6-24 St Helens (Round 2, 2023)
St Helens 20-12 Castleford (Round 22, 2022)
Castleford 30-10 St Helens (Round 10, 2022)
St Helens 10-20 Castleford (Round 19, 2021)
Castleford 12-26 St Helens (CC Final, 2021)
Total Super League Meetings: 60 (49 for Saints, 10 for Castleford, 1 draw)
Another tantalising clash in one of the most exciting Super League campaigns in years, St Helens host Castleford after losing out to Hull FC last weekend. It was a shocking game to watch as a neutral last weekend as Hull kept Saints shut in the first half and dominated the game for a large part, something that very rarely happens to the Saints even at their worst.
Castleford on the other hand, raised their game away at Warrington to claim themselves a famous win. The Tigers, much like Hull, shut out their table-topping opponents for the first half and managed to do just enough to win the second half after a strong comeback from the Wolves to claim a 23-14 victory.
Curtis Sironen misses this one, but Morgan Knowles appears to have passed a late fitness check and Mark Percival returns for Paul Wellens’ side. Castleford have lost Nathan Massey after he suffered a knee knock last week, but Bureta Faraimo, Albert Vete and Mahe Fonua are set to return. Warrington loanee Riley Dean is set to make his debut under Andy Last as well.
Wigan Warriors vs Huddersfield Giants
Where: DW Stadium, Wigan
When: Friday 30th June 2023, 8pm
TV: N/A
Wigan’s Last Five: 6-26 Win vs Salford (Round 16), 34-16 Loss vs St Helens (Round 15), 22-46 Loss vs Catalans (MW), 22-26 Win vs Hull KR (Round 13), 18-40 Loss vs Leeds (Round 12)
Huddersfield’s Last Five: 54-0 Loss vs Leeds (Round 16), 30-26 Loss vs Warrington (Round 15), 48-6 Loss vs St Helens (MW), 20-4 Win vs Castleford (Round 13) 4-30 Loss vs Leigh (Round 12)
Betfred Match Winner Odds: Wigan - 2/15, Huddersfield - 5/1, Tie - 22/1
First Try Scorer Odds: Bevan French - 6/1, Abbas Miski - 7/1, Liam Marshall - 7/1, Jai Field - 11/1, Toby King - 14/1
Milestones:
Liam Farrell is set to reach 300 Betfred Super League appearances, including the games in play-offs and equivalent fixtures.
Jermaine McGillvary is three tries away from reaching 250 for his prestigious career, 204 of those coming for the Giants.
Previous Meetings:
Huddersfield 12-14 Wigan (Round 5, 2023)
Huddersfield 14-16 Wigan (CC Final, 2022)
Huddersfield 32-22 Wigan (Round 12, 2022)
Wigan 22-12 Huddersfield (Round 3, 2022)
Huddersfield 12-14 Wigan (Round 9, 2021)
Total Super League Meetings: 58 (39 for Wigan, 17 for Huddersfield, 2 draws)
Matt Peet stuck up for his fellow coach Ian Watson in this week’s press conference, but it’s likely that his team won’t be sharing such sympathies going into Friday night’s clash. The Giants were woeful at Headingley last week and need reinforcements quickly. Jake Connor, Esan Marsters and Harvey Livett featured for the reserves whilst the first team were getting hammered by Leeds and could return to the squad that travels to Wigan in an attempt to halt the slump.
For Wigan, there are no changes to last week’s squad but keep an eye out for youngsters Harvie Hill and Junior Nsemba who could feature from the bench to build their experience before crunch time in the Challenge Cup.
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