If I were Shaun Wane, I know how I’d be spending the next few days – camped outside James Roby’s house.
It’s crucial Shaun persuades the St Helens hooker to do a U-turn on his decision to retire from the international game.
And I wouldn’t just play him in the World Cup side – I’d make him captain, and perhaps the chance of leading his country in a World Cup on home turf would persuade him to give England one last go.
It’s not a sentimental thing; it’s a reflection of James’ experience and form – he’s the best hooker in Super League and among the best in the world – and the situation regarding the other candidates.
Josh Hodgson is struggling fitness wise at Canberra Raiders, Daryl Clark and Paul McShane are struggling for form at Warrington and Castleford respectively, and I don’t think Leeds’ Kruise Leeming is ready to step up from the England Knights side just yet.
He might be 36 and approaching the end of his career, but James Roby is the obvious choice, because he’s bang in form and still in prime physical condition.
He’s not the sort of player who would cheat anyone, he’s a total professional, and if he wasn’t up to it physically, he wouldn’t still be playing for Saints, because he’d have taken himself out of contention for selection by Kristian Woolf.
How amazing would it be if he were to end his career by leading England in the World Cup, hopefully all the way to the final?
Saints, with James to the fore, produced another impressive display to beat Catalans in Perpignan and ease into the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup.
I thought it was a nine out of ten performance throughout the side, while Catalans were a mixture of sixes and sevens with Michael McIlorum getting eight.
In my day, the Great Britain team was dominated by Wigan players, because they were the stand-out club.
Shaun’s side has to be dominated by Saints players, and I’d say you could have nine – Jack Welsby (I’m not sure about Sam Tomkins’ fitness and Shaun doesn’t seem to rate Jake Connor), Tommy Makinson, Mark Percival, Jonny Lomax, Lewis Dodd, Alex Walmsley, James Roby, Joe Batchelor and Morgan Knowles – in the starting 13, and Matty Lees on the bench.
Giants making progress
Congratulations to Huddersfield on making the Challenge Cup semi-finals, and well done Ian Watson, who is now getting closer to the lofty targets he set on taking over the reins last season.
But commiserations to the Hull fans, who turned out in their numbers on Saturday only to witness another disappointing defeat.
They pushed Wigan so close in the previous game, and consistency is a real problem for Brett Hodgson, undermining hopes of a genuine bid to win some silverware.
To rub salt into the wounds, the Black and White faithful will now have to look on as Hull KR play in the last four after that convincing win over Castleford.
I seem to remember saying I fancied Rovers for the Challenge Cup this season and I’m delighted for everyone involved that they are one win from the final.
Of course it’s the first Hull derby of the season on Friday, and I reckon it could go to the wire, with the Black and Whites winning by a point.
Talking of Wire, Warrington are desperate for a win after five defeats on the spin in league and Challenge Cup.
Salford have picked up just one win in six, but I think they’ll get another on Thursday – by eight points.
There’s an historic first all-French Super League clash, which I think hosts Catalans will win by 16.
And I can see Huddersfield following up their Challenge Cup triumph by winning by ten at struggling Leeds.
It’s high time Wakefield got the better of Castleford, and I think that with home advantage, they will do it by seven.
Wigan do well to keep hold of Field
Keeping hold of Jai Field is a smart bit of business by Wigan – and another sign of the stabilising influence Matty Peet is having at the club.
The difficulties of last season, when the Warriors limped into the play-offs and then fell at the first hurdle as they were beaten at home by Leeds, seem a long time ago.
Now it is Leeds who are in turmoil, while Wigan go into their big Good Friday clash at St Helens on the back of six wins in their first seven Super League games.
Saints remain the team to be beat – they top the table and with 202, have scored 42 more points than their arch-rivals while conceding a miserly 50, which is 50 less than Huddersfield, who are the next best defensively.
But the ‘new’ Wigan appear much more of a threat, and what a story it would be if Matty could mark his first season as coach by leading the club to first title since 2018, so denying Saints a fourth running.
The fresh coaching set-up of Matty, Lee Briers and Wigan legend Sean O’Loughlin seems nicely balanced, with each making their own important contribution, and the players seem to be enjoying themselves.
That’s shown by Jai’s decision to sign a contract extension through to 2024, with the possibility of a further year, because let’s face it, he can’t have been short of options.
We spoke last week about his sensational start to the season, and clubs back in his native Australia are sure to have been taking close notice.
After the injury nightmare he had last year, he has certainly started to fulfil the potential he showed in the NRL, and with Bevan French back, Wigan have two real crowd-pleasers.
Jai clearly likes being at the club and that’s a thumbs up for Matty.
Friday’s clash should be a belter, but I think Saints will still have that bit too much for their old rivals and win by 14.
Championship battle hotting up
Featherstone’s acquisition of Mark Kheirallah is eye-catching and provides further evidence of how much their Chairman Mark Campbell wants to get his club into Super League.
The France international fullback or halfback seemed to be part of the furniture at Toulouse, so it was a big surprise when he left.
His departure, along with that of Johnathon Ford, was a big blow for them as they geared up for their first-ever top-flight campaign.
We could yet see Kheirallah in Super League, although Derek Beaumont over at Leigh will undoubtedly have something to say about that!
After seven rounds of Championship action, those two are not unexpectedly leading the way, justifying the predictions that they will contest the Million Pound Game.
There has been a big change-around of players at Leigh, who have themselves just signed an Australian forward, Kai O’Donnell, who has NRL experience.
Their trip to Featherstone, where they were beaten 28-6, came early in the campaign, when Adrian Lam’s men were still gelling.
Like Featherstone, they have some quality performers, such as Caleb Aekins and Nene Macdonald, and by the time it gets to the business end of the season, they will have had plenty of time to develop as a team.
Of course there are other contenders, and York, another club with ambition and some experienced players, have caught my eye.
Batley keep taking some impressive scalps, Halifax will surely find their feet as the campaign continues, and Bradford, Barrow and Widnes will all have designs on making the play-offs.
But it’s hard to look beyond Featherstone or Leigh for the MPG.
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