League Express editor MARTYN SADLER recommends the matches you should go out of your way to watch in July.
July is the month when summer is at its height, at least in the northern hemisphere, and the Rugby League season has progressed beyond the half-way stage.
With the final part of the season fast approaching, results become more crucial and the clubs are playing against opponents who they have already faced earlier in the season.
And this month there is one game that will be truly historic, although if you want to see it and you aren’t already there, you’d better switch your TV on.
Saturday 1st July
Telstra Premiership
Brisbane Broncos v The Dolphins
The Gabba, Brisbane (10.35am BST)
With the arrival of the FIFA Women’s World Cup during July and August, some of the NRL’s biggest clubs have had to secure new venues for some of their home matches.
The first club to be affected is Brisbane Broncos, who will move out of Suncorp Stadium on the first Saturday of July to take up residence at the Gabba, which is the home of cricket in Queensland as well as being the home of the Brisbane Lions AFL club. They will face their new city rivals The Dolphins, coached by Wayne Bennett.
It means that rugby league will return to the Gabba for the first time in 67 years. The venue last hosted rugby league in 1956, when Australia played New Zealand, but it has never previously hosted an NRL fixture.
Despite that, rugby league holds the attendance record at the ground, with 47,096 people attending a 1954 Test Match between Australia and Great Britain. The highest cricket crowd is 39,874 for a one day international between Australia and South Africa in 2006, while the highest AFL crowd is 37,478 for a 2019 Finals game between the Brisbane Lions and Richmond.
While the stadium’s capacity is officially 41,974 according to the venue, it has been reduced due to a number of factors including a temporary deck area behind the goals. The current capacity is approximately 36,000, which just so happens to be the same number as the total membership of the Broncos. So good luck to you if you can get a ticket.
Sunday 9th July
Betfred Super League
Hull KR v Hull FC
Sewell Group Craven Park, Hull (12.00, Sky)
It’s not often that a Hull derby is held at midday on a Sunday, but one thing that can be guaranteed is that this derby will be as keenly contested as any other derby between these two sides.
Having said that, the clash between the two sides earlier this year was something of a damp squib, at least for those on the western side of the city. The Robins travelled to the MKM Stadium on Good Friday, 7th April, and ran up 40 points without reply, with veteran wingman Ryan Hall scoring three tries.
The star of the show, however, was halfback Jordan Abdull and he is likely to be missing with injury when the two sides come together to do battle this month.
The previous game came when the Airlie Birds were going through a horrendous run of seven straight defeats. But their fortunes have improved since then under Tony Smith and they are likely to give the Robins a much tighter game in July than they did in April. Tickets are almost sold out, so get one while you still can.
Thursday 13th July
Betfred Super League
St Helens v Catalans Dragons
Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens (8.00pm, Sky)
If St Helens are not going to win their fifth successive Grand Final this season, most neutrals would bet on the Catalans Dragons as being the club that is most likely to take that honour away from them.
The Dragons moved to the top of the Super League table after Round 14, the Magic Round at Newcastle, when they defeated Wigan and Warrington lost to Hull FC and they will see this game as a perfect opportunity to put the current Champions in their place.
The Dragons have already beaten St Helens this season, having triumphed 24-12 at the Stade Gilbert Brutus on the 5th of May. No doubt Saints fullback Jack Welsby will remember that game and the break and sidestep by his opposite number Arthur Mourgue that left him stranded as Mourgue scored from 40 metres.
Saints have improved since then, however, and, still with a game in hand, they are heading up the Super League table. It will be a surprise if the Catalans can beat them, but with both teams having eyes on Old Trafford, they will both be keen to put down a marker.
Saturday 22nd July
Telstra Women’s Premiership
Gold Coast Titans v North Queensland Cowboys
Cbus Super Stadium (3.50am BST)
The new season of the Telstra Women’s Premiership gets underway with the opening match being a Queensland derby between the Titans and the Cowboys on the Gold Coast.
This season the competition has expanded to ten teams from the six that contested it in 2022.
The Women’s competition in 2023 will be fully professional and in this, the first game of the new season, we are likely to see two former Leeds Rhinos players competing against each other, with Georgia Hale (the partner of Leeds men’s star Sam Lisone) turning out for the Titans and England international Fran Goldthorp playing for the Cowboys, who will be playing their first ever game in the Women’s Premiership.
This game will be another historic event and it is expected to draw a significant crowd to see this developing rivalry between two Queensland powerhouses.
Saturday 29th July
Betfred Super League
Wigan Warriors v Leigh Leopards
DW Stadium, Wigan (1.00pm, Channel 4)
Earlier this season, on the 30th of March, Wigan travelled to the Leigh Sports Village and came away with a convincing 34-6 victory in a match that was labelled ‘The Battle of the Borough’, with both teams located within the boundaries of the Wigan Metropolitan Borough.
Leigh had gone into that game buoyed by a victory over St Helens, but after their defeat to their local rivals, many observers suggested that their bubble had burst and the newly-named Leopards would be candidates in this season’s Super League relegation battle.
However, that assessment couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Instead, as we came up towards the end of June, Leigh defeated Hull KR to go second in the Super League table, with Wigan in third, and they are through to the semi-finals of the Betfred Challenge Cup.
Wigan will be desperate once again to put their close neighbours back in their place, but with Leigh coach Adrian Lam leading a team at the DW Stadium for the first time since he departed Wigan at the end of 2021, this game will be one of the most hotly contested derbies of the season.
It’s a great clash for Channel 4 to select as one of their ten games to be broadcast this season.
This article, modified and updated, is taken from the July edition of Rugby League World magazine. To take out a subscription, go to https://www.totalrl.com/rugby-league-world/
