Super League Round 24- Warrington v Wakefield Review

So how do I start? It was as expected, Warrington could rack up the points edging them nearer to the 1000 mark whilst Wakefield are still left dead bottom of the table. However, what are they playing for?

After wakefield's poor showing a couple of weeks ago leaving coach John Kear annoyed at their lack of effort and they certainly upped the effort yesterday. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to get a win over Warrington who stand 2nd in the table just 1 point behind leaders Wigan. 

The game lasted pointless for a mere 59 seconds when Chris Bridge crashed over for the first of Warrington's 11 tries.  Brett Hodgson then converted and that would be the last time he made an impact on the game after leaving through injury (quad strain). So from just 4 minutes in Warrington had to change their set up with Evans replacing Hodgson and Bridge switched to full back fairly early on.

I think at the start of the match and for most of the first half Warrington could be accused of overplaying and putting in too much effort causing silly errors and missed opportunities. However Wakefield capitalised on very little of these mistakes. 

So after a try in the first minute it took until the 11th for the wolves to strike again with a try from Ryan Atkins after brilliant offloads from Solomona and Bridge. Bridge then converted to make it 12-0 to Warrington. After being awarded a penalty Wakefield managed to hit back with a try from Kyle Amor which could be judged to have been a lucky deflection. Veivers then converted bringing the score to 12-6 after 16 minutes of time. 
Warrington then came back on the attack with a try from Richie Myler off a Simon Grix pass. Again it was converted by Bridge to make it 18-6. Joel Monaghan and Matt King then made it over the line both being converted bringing the score to 30-6 at half time.
However it wasn't all good for Warrington as they went in for the break with on 14 fit players for the next 40 minutes after Simon Grix (groin) and Ben Westwood (knee) were both withdrawn from the action in the first half.

10 minutes into the second half Michael Monaghan raced over for a try bringing the score to 36-6. Atkins then went over for his second try as wolves racked up the points and it was soon 48-6 after another try from Atkins who completed his hat-trick and his 7th try in 2 games. Rhys Evans then left the field through a foot injury leaving wolves with no players to interchange after 64 minutes.
However this didn't stop more points coming as Anderson slid over (his second try) , King went over for his double and then Mike Cooper ran down the field after a Chris Bridge break. Bridge added 2 points to all of the tries bringing the score to 66-6. Wakefield had the final say with a try from Smith which was converted bringing them into double figures just before the end finishing the scoring at 66-12.

This was the 11th time that Warrington have passed the 50 point mark this season - impressive or bad for the game?  

Quick overview:

Warrington 
Tries- Bridge, Atkins 3, Myler, Monaghan, King 2, Anderson 2, Cooper. 
Goals- Hodgson, Bridge 10.

Wakefield 
Tries- Amor, Smith. 
Goals- Veivers 2.

Chris Bridge got a well deserved man of the match even with some dodgy passes.

Challenge Cup Semis Preview (and a quick message)

Just a quick blog to say I'm away next week so there will be no reviews of this weekends matches or previews of next weeks.

But for now we have a great week of Challenge Cup to look forward to.
We have Saturday's big clash of Wigan and St Helens and on Sunday we have Castleford against Leeds.

Wigan v St Helens
Location: The Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington
When the venue for this game was announced the fans and even players began to moan and complain of the stadium's capacity of 13,024. However it is yet to become a sell out match. But who will be the ones to win:
Wigan
Main man Sam Tomkins will be able to weave through any gaps St Helens leave in their defence which is important for the Warriors. However I have noticed their own defence could do with a couple of tweaks and with that I reckon they could be the undoubted winners of the cup.
St Helens

It's all about James Roby but a burning question is why is he always let off by the RFL before big games. Never getting bans seems to be easy for this guy who forever leaves with just a slap on the wrists. St Helens are definately the underdogs but if Roby is in top form they could easily topple their opponents if Wigan aren't careful.

Castleford v Leeds
Location: Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster
Leeds are definately considered favourites to return to Wembley for the second year in a row. The aren't exactly where they would love to be in the Super League table so a good Challenge Cup run is definately needed.
Castleford
Will Rangi play? I think it's mostly resting on this and if he does play they need him on top form. It is a big game for Castleford and they will certainly be raring to go and create a good upset. Do they quite have the spark needed to get to Wembley?

Leeds
I think Leeds can easily win BUT if the team think this then they could fall short. Cas have some good players and Leeds shouldn't be rolling in confidence at the minute. I think Rob Burrow and Danny McGuire are key in this game and if they pull it off then the team will follow closely behind.

So that was your games and remember no blogs next week so see you in a couple :-)

Super League Round 23- Warrington v Bradford Review

People wondered whether Bradford could pull off the mere impossible and beat second in the league Warrington. The answer – no. With Bulls only marking 6 on the scoreboard, Warrington were allowed to run rings around the visitors defence and racked up 64 points.
So who were those all-important scorers who created such a wide score line?

Warrington (26) 64
Tries: Atkins (4), King (2), Hodgson (2), J Monaghan (3), M Monaghan
Goals: Hodgson (5), Bridge (3)

Bradford (0) 6
Tries: Ah Van
Goals: Ah Van

Warrington managed to slide over for 12 tries crushing Bradford, who managed to score the final try, at the Halliwell Jones. It never started well from Bradford after the kick off went out on the full handing Warrington important ‘cheap’ metres from the first minute. Ryan Atkins broke the ice with a try in only the second minute of the game. It seemed like Bradford would be defending for most of the game but actually they did have their chances throughout the game and Wolves were left scrambling on the line but still didn’t let them over the whitewash until the final minutes of the game. So, after Atkins had made it over for the first try of the game he managed to knock up 3 more tries for his first four tries haul of his Warrington career. Wolves showed no mercy with a double from Matt King, a couple from Hodgson a try from Michael Monaghan and a hat trick by Brother Joel Monaghan. This broke into Joel’s best try scoring set beating his previous best of 21 tries for Canberra back in 2003. Ah Van finished the scoring of the game taking Bradford from nil which will maybe have disappointed Warrington but at least it gave the away fans something to sing about.

So who really stood out for the winners today?

Brett Hodgson – absolutely brilliant from the first minute he ended the fray to the end. After getting a hard knock in the opening stages he still managed to get his hands on 18 points. Brett seemed to pick up many knocks along the way but he put in an amazing performance after he was clearly not impressed with the way he played last week. Well-deserved man of the match after leaving the field after 62 minutes receiving a standing ovation.

Richie Myler – a lot of people doubt the talent and potential of the 21 year old scrum half but he proved all of those doubters wrong today. Briers who? Myler managed to organise the team perfectly and everyone seemed to know what to do and when to do it. I always knew he had it in him but I was just waiting for it to come out. His defence is stand out for me which you don’t get for a lot of people playing that role. His technique is good and he always seems to pop up at the right moment.

Simon Grix – he is a real unsung hero at Warrington. Forever unnoticed but always there doing the work week in week out without fail. Previous years he had missed the end of seasons through illness and injury so it is really nice to see him at his best at the business end of the season. He is a lot more dangerous than opponents would expect but he is key to the way Warrington play.

It’s so difficult to pick out of them because again Chris Bridge, Matt King, Ryan Atkins all stand out performers and I could easily write what everyone did right but it’d take a long time and you’d probably get bored reading it.
So that was another round gone and the end of the season nears, who will finish top? Who will make it to Old Trafford?

Criminals of Crusaders: All set for nothing

So Crusaders look finished for but did it actually ever begin?
It looks like the Welsh team were kidding everyone from the first moment it all started. So it seems right that Wakefield keep there place and the criminals of Crusaders are sent to an empty pit.
With blazing views spreading across twitter from Crusaders players, ex-crusaders, crusaders of the future, players in general and the fans of the great game.
Keith Senior started the ranting using a very explicit choice of language but who can blame him with the way he and other rugby players have been treated. Matt Bryant was first to release the shambles of the welsh. So was it plummeting from the minute the club began:
- The players were made to pay their own may for the Magic Weekend in Scotland in 2009.
- For France 2009 they had to leave 6 players behind due to illegal visas which the club were plainly aware of.
- These 6 were then treated like criminals and the club played innocent whilst the players were deported.
- The owner was then to pay them with 'hush money' but then ditched them once they had been removed from the country.
- The players were led to believe keeping quiet was in the best interest - but the owners were not thinking about the future of this club at all.
- It is also believed wages were sacrifised with administration.

Believe what you wish but by this Crusaders seemed to be forever doomed. It is better they are gone, they have brought a bad name to the British game.

Challenge Cup Quarters- Warrington v Wigan Review

I'm not going to get annoyed with the game on here but if I do please excuse me. I will start by complementing the Wigan fans for being in good voice and I am ashamed of the warrington fans that left before the end of the match. I know it wasn't long before the end but leaving early isn't right and the lads don't deserve it. People seem to have short memories of a few years back when it was lose regularly and get beat by lower teams but still stay. The glory supporters need to decide whether they are to stay or go, you can't pick and choose what suits. Anyway now that's over onto the game itself.

The game started with good pressure by Warrington but they quickly let it go without any points on the board, this gave Wigan an opportunity and being the side they are the 2010 league champions soon converted their pressure into points. It was soon 22-0 after tries from Hansen, Coley, Tomkins and Richards and the match looked like it was heading for a heavy beating. Luckily Warrington hit back and made it 22-16 by half time with tries from two tries from Richie Myler and a try from matt king to lessen the embarrassment.
The second half started positive for the wolves with a try from David Solomona however it again switched back to wigan's attack. Warrington's return to wembley was shot down with a brace from Charnley and tries from Richards and O’Loughlin to finally finish off the scoring. The game ended with a scoreline of 24-44, a larger scoreline than most predicted. 

My stand out performers were:
Warrington - Matt King tirelessly working down the wing, but even more impressive Mike Cooper who kept going and going when everyone was down but unfortunately it wasn't good enough and you could tell wolves were missing Morley in the forwards.
Wigan - Josh Charnley was really good for me, he was great both in attack and defence earning himself 2 tries. 
There is a lot of good, young talent in England at the moment some of which was on show in this game. 

I believe the better team won by far and you could tell Warrington were missing the guidance and spark Lee Briers brings to the side on a regular basis. Also after Solomona going off injured the forwards began to struggle having to play long amounts of time.

2 wembleys and 2 trophies was amazing and it couldn't last forever. I said before the game that I believed whoever won this game would win the cup so I think Wigan will be taking the silverware. Now Warrington have got to concentrate first on finishing top of the league and then hopefully having a good run of play offs to get to Old Trafford. The fans will hope they can stop Wigan contesting for the treble. 

Challenge Cup Quarters- St Helens v Hull KR

Now we have the last game of the weekend and that is St Helens v Hull KR. Everyone is thinking it so why not say it, walk in the park for Saints? Well you don’t get to 3rd in the table for nothing, even when they are off their best Saints can still be a very dangerous side and you can easily slip up and be caught out before you know it. Famous for last minute wins are Saints but I doubt that will be necessary this time around. However, don’t just write the Hull KR side off. They go in without the expectation to win or win well like Saints so there is no pressure they just have to go out and pull off a strong performance and if they lose it won’t be a shock so in that respect they are at an advantage. On the other hand, Saints go in with floods of confidence after a huge 40-18 win over Catalan Dragons. Hull KR do also go in with a slightly unconvincing 21-8 win over Salford. I don’t think they are good enough to topple St Helens but I’m free to being surprised. Also with Hull KR announcing the departure of Ben Cockayne are they 100% concentrated on the game. It’s a big game so who are the big men who can direct each team to victory?
James Roby
Number 9 James Roby has been highly influential for Saints this year and I expect no less than normal in this quarter final game. He has made 22 appearances for St Helens in Super League this season and has run a massive 4430 metres; he has managed to give away 10 penalties but has a clean sheet with no cards at all this season. He is a certain hard worker in the Saints side with 880 tackles and 803 carries. There is no doubt he is the best player in red and white this year.
Michael Dobson
After a disaster with being de-registered for Willie Mason who barely lasted in Super League Michael has made 14 appearances and was certainly missed in the patch he was injured. He is Mr Kicker at Hull KR with 78 attacking kicks and 151 kicks in general play. He has also kicked 3 drop goals including one in last week’s win against Salford, but I highly doubt drop goals will be necessary in this game. I am quite happy to be proven wrong though if Hull KR come out with a shock performance.
My money is on Hull KR, who have you got your eyes on?

Challenge Cup Quarters- Hull FC v Leeds

We’re now onto the third match of my previews with the second televised game of the weekend on BBC Two. It’s Hull FC v Leeds. The Challenge Cup brings together 7 and 8 in the Super League which should be an interesting match. With them playing each other last weekend can Hull come back from the 20-0 loss on Friday. In my opinion: no.
At the weekend Hull were quite boring and it seemed there was no game plan or it was lost in transaction. Both teams were below their usual standard and I’m sure both will have been looking how to dramatically improve during the week. I think Leeds can be very dangerous down the left wing especially with Danny McGuire being the key man in the movement generally resulting in a try from Ryan Hall who has a total of 17 tries in 21 games in the Super League this season. Will Hull be able to stop the movement this week? The home team found it very easy in the second half to break through the defence in patches. Leeds seem to have greatly improved in their defensive line even when Hull came on the attack they were unable to grasp any points. So who do I feel are most instrumental for the 2 teams?
Tom Briscoe
The main man you see scoring is Tom Briscoe who currently has a tally of 16 tries in 22 appearances. It is no surprise that the 21-year-old winger is in the England Elite squad. He certainly has talent but for him to work his magic he needs his team to be helping him shift the ball down field in the forward so he can get near enough to the try line to worm his way to 4 points in usual fashion.
Danny McGuire
Unfortunately for Leeds they have only has Danny McGuire for 9 games this season and it still seems he is not at full fitness yet. It is a shame but he has kicked on since he returned from injury to try and save Leeds’ season. I think they have to get far in the Challenge Cup again after an awful slip in form in the table in 2011. If Danny can get his inch perfect kicks and passes in I think they will fly through to the next round with ease. I’m not saying it is all on him though because if they manage to have Rob Burrow on form then they can see themselves in the hat for the semis. Sorry Hull.
Will Leeds be able to make it to the final for the second year in a row? The only way to find out is to get to the KC stadium or switch to BBC 2 for 15.30 kick off.