It’s just over a fortnight since St Helens stepped on the gas in the second half to complete a 22-4 win over Wigan in their Super League showdown at the Totally Wicked Stadium.
Kristian Woolf’s team won’t have home advantage when they meet again on neutral territory at Elland Road, Leeds in the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup on Saturday.
But unless Wigan coach Matty Peet can come up with a Plan B – and against a side as strong as Saints, that’s not going to be straightforward – it’s hard to predict a significantly different outcome, even allowing for a bit of a below-par performance by the Cup holders in their Super League win over Salford on Friday.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the job Matty has done so far and I like the way he has got Wigan playing. They saw off Warrington efficiently on Friday.
It’s far more open and attractive than the stuff the fans have had to put up with previously, and I think we should also credit Lee Briers and Sean O’Loughlin for their input on the training pitch.
But when they hit their straps, as they did in that second 40 on Good Friday, Saints just look so strong.
They have that powerful yet mobile pack, with James Roby so effective at hooker, all-action creative halves (and hopefully Jonny Lomax’s bicep injury isn’t too bad), Jack Welsby lively at fullback and able to slot in as a second stand-off, and centres and wingers who have pace and can finish chances.
I’m looking forward to the game (it’s just a shame they weren’t kept apart in the last four, but that’s the luck, or bad luck, of the draw).
And I don’t think Saints will have everything their own way, but I reckon they’ll deny Wigan a first final appearance since 2017 by winning with a 14-point margin and so booking their place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the end of the month.
Two years before Hull clinched their second successive Challenge Cup success by beating Wigan at Wembley in 2017 (and look how barren things have been for the Black and Whites since then), Hull KR were taken apart by Leeds, who won 50-0 at the national stadium.
Getting the chance to make amends for the heaviest-ever defeat in a final will be one of the driving forces for Rovers when they take on Huddersfield.
So will booking a big-match appearance to mark the achievements on Humberside of Tony Smith, who is, of course, due to step down as Rovers coach at the end of the season.
Backrower Kane Linnett, ruled out by his bicep injury, will be a big miss for Rovers, and Huddersfield can be decent on their day, even if standards have slipped a bit in recent weeks.
But I believe Rovers will bounce back from their dire display at Leeds on Friday and win by ten to deny Huddersfield a first final appearance since 2009, when Tony guided Warrington to a Wembley win over the club that gave him his coaching break all those years ago.
And how much would the red and white faithful relish a trip down to London to see their club try to lift the famous old trophy for only the second time and the first since that memorable all-Hull final of 1980?
Trinity troubles
I must admit, I worry for Wakefield – and feel for their chief executive Michael Carter.
From what I can see, he has worked his socks off in a bid to develop Trinity as a club and attract more fans.
I know the facilities at Belle Vue aren’t the best, although that is finally being addressed, with redevelopment of the ground due to start soon.
And their most recent game against Huddersfield, which was low on entertainment and a hard watch, was on a Thursday night and live on Sky at a time when many people are feeling the pinch and having to limit their spending.
But an attendance of just 3,166 for a Super League match in what is a traditional Rugby League city must have set the alarm bells ringing even more loudly.
As for several clubs, it’s a classic Catch 22, because you need a successful side to attract new spectators, but it’s hard to build one without the help of income through the turnstiles.
Wakefield have produced a few good performances this season, but overall, they have been poor, as shown by a record eight defeats in eleven league games, the latest, albeit narrowly, by a Huddersfield side who have gone off the boil.
I like Tom Johnstone and the youngster Lewis Murphy, but the squad lacks depth and real quality, and it’s fair to say Wakefield are in a survival battle with crucial trips to Toulouse, which is their next match after a blank weekend, Leeds and Salford still to come.
They will clearly be desperate to escape the lower reaches of the table, and that visit to France on Sunday, May 15 is a big one.
As I brushed on earlier, Friday’s Leeds-Hull KR clash was also dismal.
Leeds might have won two in a row, but I’m not getting carried away, and judging by those I spoke to at Headingley on Friday, I don’t think the fans are either.
Beating Toulouse and a distinctly out-of-sorts Rovers has simply papered over the cracks, and Rohan Smith has a big job on his hands.
Leeds looked far too open, and Rovers had more than enough chances to have won the game at a canter. On their previous form this season, they would have done just that, but this was very much a performance to forget.
And while Leeds picked up the two points, their two-try haul reflected their meagre average tally this season.
If they don’t score getting more points, picking up further victories will prove tough.
I thought the forwards were fair, and deserved seven out of ten, but it was just five for the backs. Rovers’ pack get five, their backs just three.
Who now for Widnes and Bradford?
The desperation of Championship clubs to make the play-offs was well illustrated as both Bradford and Widnes parted company with their respective coaches John Kear and Simon Finnigan on the same day.
Both the Bulls and the Vikings have been in Super League in the not-too-distant past but have a big job on if they are to get back there.
I’ve seen Widnes being linked with former Leigh coach John Duffy, while if I was running Bradford, I’d have three names at the top of my wanted lost – Paul Crarey, Craig Lingard and James Ford.
It would probably be hard to persuade Paul to leave Barrow, where he seems well established and popular within a progressive set-up, while many would argue York coach James is already at a better-appointed club.
Craig has done a cracking job at Batley, and has a huge affinity with the Bulldogs, who are a well-run operation, but can they realistically go any further?
I’ve no doubt he’s ambitious, and perhaps he’d fancy the admittedly tough challenge of resurrecting the former world champions.
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