Who will catch Wayne Bennett’s eye?
Only one place to start this week, and that’s with the plethora of England hopefuls who will be looking to impress the watching coach, Wayne Bennett. The Australian is in the country for the rest of this week to cast an eye over some of his potential stars as he begins to prep a squad capable of winning the Four Nations later this year – and with plenty of hopefuls to pick from, there will be lots of Super League stars looking to show Bennett they’ve got what it takes to make his squad.
How will Huddersfield react to losing their coach?
Few would have predicted that last week’s defeat to Wakefield would be Paul Anderson’s swansong as Huddersfield coach, but following the shock news of his departure on Thursday morning, that has proven to be the case. Attention now turns to who will replace Anderson – but before that, the Giants have one last shot to keep any realistic hope of the top eight alive by beating Salford on Friday. Will Andy Kelly be able to get the Giants over the line?
Can Wakefield do the unthinkable and rubber-stamp Leeds’ bottom four spot?
Wakefield fans would be forgiven for waking up on Friday morning and thinking that it’s Christmas. Not only can they move a step closer to the top eight with a win against Leeds Rhinos this weekend, but they can also secure Leeds’ spot in the bottom four with victory at Belle Vue. If anything sums up the craziness of Super League this year, it’s that pair of permutations right there!
Who will play half-back for St Helens?
With Travis Burns now departed to Leigh, St Helens have got a few issues in the halves this weekend. Regular duo Luke Walsh and Theo Fages are injured, and it gives Keiron Cunningham more than a few headaches ahead of Friday’s clash against Hull KR. Captain Jon Wilkin seems a likely candidate to fill one of the spots – but who else is in the mix?
Will Hull FC rotate at Castleford?
With a comfortable cushion inside the top four as the Super 8s approaches, will Hull FC coach Lee Radford be tempted to rotate and rest ahead of this weekend’s trip to Castleford? That’s not to suggest he will – or he’s paying any disrespect to the Tigers – but with a Challenge Cup quarter-final next weekend to prepare for and a ten-point lead over fifth-placed St Helens, it might be the ideal opportunity to give a couple of stars with bumps and bruises a rest.
