It’s the final countdown, and with three days to go until the big Super League kick-off, in reverse order, here are my top-three tips, and the reasons behind my reckoning.
3 LEEDS RHINOS
It’s a step up for the Rhinos, both in terms of their halfbacks and their final position following last season’s fifth.
Leeds haven’t really had a fully-firing combination at six and seven since Danny McGuire and Rob Burrow.
They’ve tried Richie Myler, Tui Lolohea, Rob Lui and Luke Gale at
various times, but none of them have been an out-and-out success.
Now with Lui going back to Australia and Gale over at Hull, new signings Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer are the main men.
Richie Agar will have been working hard to ensure they complement each other, and he will be looking for consistency from the pair of them.
They will have a solid pack, boosted by the arrival of James Bentley, laying the foundations and an array of exciting backs like Jack Walker, David Fusitu’a, Harry Newman and Jack Broadbent to benefit from what they create.
2 CATALANS DRAGONS
As I said last week, the Dragons have done a great bit of business by agreeing a two-year contract extension with Steve McNamara.
He’s done a top job by sorting out the issues which were preventing the Perpignan side making any progress.
Their discipline is much better and, having ensured they shed the tag of being a club where players went for a decent pay cheque and a pleasant way of life, Steve has guided Catalans to a Challenge Cup victory, the League Leaders’ Shield and a Grand Final.
The likes of Micky McIlorum, Sam Tomkins and James Maloney have set a high bar in terms of professionalism as well as the way they play.
Mitchell Pearce from Newcastle Knights is a fine replacement for
Maloney; I can’t wait to see him in action.
Dylan Napa from Canterbury Bulldogs and Tyrone May from Penrith Panthers are also experienced additions who, like Mitchell, have played in NRL Grand Finals.
Catalans will be firmly in the frame for all three trophies up for grabs.
1 ST HELENS
As I have just said, Catalans have a great chance of playing in two finals, but to win either of the major trophies, they’ll have to get past last year’s double winners.
And that will take some doing, because there’s no sign that standards have dropped in any way along the East Lancs Road. Other sides might have strengthened, but so have Saints, and you get the feeling they are a side that responds to being hunted down.
They can create history by becoming the first team to win four
successive Super League titles; and for serial winners, that’s a major motivation.
Joey Lussick should dovetail nicely with James Roby and I’ll be keeping a close eye on former Manly second rower Curtis Sironen, son of my old Balmain team-mate and good friend Paul.
Young guns Jack Welsby and Lewis Dodd have another year under their belts. And while there were times last year when Saints seemed to think they could turn the tap on and off, Kristian Woolf doesn’t seem one to rest on his laurels and will have worked on getting even more out of an already fine team.
Prediction time
It’s great that the competition starts with a Grand Final repeat between St Helens and Catalans on Thursday; hopefully we’ll be treated to a cracker which will set the tone for the whole campaign.
I foresee another tight contest, with Saints taking the spoils by eight points.
On Friday, we’ve got Castleford, who I’ve tipped to finish eighth, taking on Salford (eleventh), and I can see Lee Radford getting his first Tigers triumph by 18.
Over on Humberside, I’m going for Hull KR (sixth) to topple Wigan (fifth) by ten.
On Saturday, I think Leeds will deny Daryl Powell and Warrington (my tip for fourth) and seal a ten-point win, while Huddersfield (ninth) will be victors by 14 at troubled Toulouse (twelfth).
On Sunday, I fancy Wakefield (tenth) by ten against Hull, who, while I think they will finish seventh, could take some time to get going.
Channel 4 looking good
While the Super League season, with its various forms of television coverage, has still to start, in my book, it’s already 1-0 to Channel 4 in their own big match against Sky.
Channel 4 have confirmed Leon Pryce and Kevin Sinfield as their pundits for Saturday lunchtime matches, and I’m looking forward to watching Leeds against Warrington in person at Headingley, then later looking at the recording back at home.
Leon was impressive on Premier Sports when working alongside Kevin Brown on York versus Featherstone and I’ve always liked Kevin Sinfield when on the BBC. He has interesting points to make and puts them across well.
Sky have added Jon Wilkin and Jamie-Jones Buchanan, and while it is two new faces for them, from what I’ve seen of the pair previously, it will be the same old sugar-coating, with the negatives kicked into touch.
A lot of the punters I talk to tell me they want a different candle to light up the coverage, a Roy Keane of Rugby League, if you like.
As someone who tells it like it is, I’m putting myself forward, although I very much doubt I’ll get a response.
Farewell, my good mate Des
Des Drummond was one of Rugby League’s true Superstars because his appearance on the famous television programme put our game in the national spotlight.
I’d like to add my own tribute to the many paid to my former Great Britain team-mate since the heartbreaking announcement of his death at the age of only 63.
Amazingly, when he appeared on Superstars, which tested elite athletes over a variety of sports, in 1983, the year after he won the league title with Leigh, Dessie amazingly chalked up a 100m time of 10.85 seconds.
That would have qualified him for the 1984 Olympics, but thankfully, he remained a Rugby League player, and was among my Lions team-mates when we toured Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea that year.
We soon hit it off, both socially, because he was a friendly bloke who enjoyed a laugh with the lads, and on the field, and our combination in the backs worked really well.
After setting me up for a try in the first Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Dessie was key to the best I ever got, a long-range score which came in the second Test at Lang Park in Brisbane.
As I’ve said, he was really fast, but there was a lot more to his game, because he had great footwork, while he wasn’t built like some of today’s wingers, he was powerful, and he was brave.
He had an unusual tackling technique, jumping head-first into a
challenge. He might have missed the odd one, but if Dessie hit you, you knew you’d been hit!
To hear of his death was particularly shocking because he was an active man and into martial arts and always looked like he took care of himself.
I’m told the funeral details are still to be confirmed. Whenever it takes place, hopefully many of his old team-mates, whether from Leigh, Warrington, Workington, Chorley, Prescot, Barrow or the Lions, will turn out, and we can pay him the respect he deserves.
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