THE three Super League clubs that have previously won the Super League title – Wigan, St Helens and Leeds Rhinos – all had impressive wins in Round 21 of Super League against play-off rivals, suggesting that they are all upping their games as we get ever nearer to the start of the play-offs.

Leigh coach Adrian Lam looked thoroughly annoyed as his team failed to secure victory against Leeds last Thursday night after they had come out for the first quarter of the game with almost demonic energy but had run out of steam later in the game as Leeds overtook them just before the interval and then held on for victory, helped by an unfortunate dropped ball by Josh Charnley when he failed to catch a Lachlan Lam kick over the defence that, if taken, would probably have led to a Leigh victory.

St Helens had a comfortable victory at Wakefield that was unaffected by the controversy attaching to the yellow card for George Delaney, which saw him despatched to the sinbin for ten minutes for a shoulder to the head of Lachlan Walmsley.

The referee Liam Moore suggested that there was mitigation that prevented him showing a red card, but he didn’t explain what the mitigating factors were. On the face of it, Delaney jumped into the tackle and Walmsley wasn’t falling. I’m glad the incident wasn’t crucial to the outcome of the game.

Warrington’s season looks to be almost over after the weekend’s results leaves them five points outside the top six with just six games to play.

It’s coming to the point at which it would need a miracle for them to qualify, although their next three fixtures are against the Dragons, Giants and Red Devils, while they also have a potential four-pointer against the current sixth team Hull FC.

So perhaps they still have a chance, however remote.

But it’s still difficult to understand how a team with so much talent that always spends to the limit of the salary cap can have such a disappointing season.

Their problem seems to be that they are unable to win tight matches, as we saw against Wigan.

Incidentally, it was good to see both Warrington and Wigan playing in their long-established colours of primrose and blue and cherry and white respectively in Friday night’s match.

For too many clubs these days turn out for away matches in shirts that bear no relationship at all to their club colours.

It doesn’t strike me as an obvious way to build brand value.