St Helens captain Jon Wilkin has admitted the prospect of moving to within two points of fourth-placed Catalans Dragons by the end of this weekend could force a few people to change their mind about their title prospects.
The Saints have been criticised on numerous occasions this year, and were six points adrift of the top four before last weekend’s games.
But the Dragons’ loss to Wigan, coupled with the Saints’ win at Wakefield, has reduced the gap to just four – and Wilkin admits the Saints now have Catalans in their crosshairs.
“The win means we are now just four points behind fourth-placed Catalans Dragons in the Super League table,” he wrote in his column for the Liverpool Echo.
“The Dragons have a tricky game at Castleford this weekend while we’re at home against Widnes.
“We could be right on their heels after this round of fixtures and I’m sure many of those people who were saying we had no chance of making the play-offs this year will start to change their tune.”
And Wilkin believes the unpredictable nature of Super League this year makes it simply impossible to write anyone or anything off heading into the second half of the year.
He said: “This has been one of the most unpredictable seasons I can remember in terms of results and I’m not sure you can say anything is nailed down yet.
“Those at the top have shown they’re vulnerable at times and those at the bottom have sometimes been inspirational.
“We’re still in there fighting and both reality and perceptions can change very quickly.”