I STILL love the Challenge Cup – and I think there’s plenty to be pleased about in the sixth-round draw.
All eight ties have genuine interest, but I reckon the top two picks are Leeds versus St Helens on Friday and Batley against Castleford on Saturday.
It’s a quick repeat of the Super League showdown at Headingley on Friday just gone, and that adds another dynamic to what is already an intriguing showdown.
I’m still not convinced about Saints’ attitude, because even in the days of ruling the roost amid four straight Super League titles, they were too prone to turning the tap on and off when they felt like it for my liking.
Leeds should be desperate to stay on course in a competition they have a realistic chance of winning and I think they will topple Saints by ten points.
There’s a cricket pitch next to Batley’s stronghold at Mount Pleasant, and this is a toss both captains will want to win, because the slope is a significant factor.
The home team obviously know the pitch, and how best to play it, very well, but then so does Castleford coach Craig Lingard after so many years of Batley involvement, first as a player, then on the coaching front.
His return adds some traditional cup romance to the tie, but Craig will also know it’s a really tricky test and that everyone involved with the Tigers will have to be totally tuned in if they are not to be made toothless kittens.
He has a big job on this season. I hope Castleford stick with him and give him time to turn things around, because he is a good coach, as is his assistant Danny McGuire.
But Batley have shown time after time that they are tough to get the better of, with Mark Moxon, a very loyal servant, carrying on where Craig left off.
While Craig will likely have a very good idea of how Batley will go about the game, Castleford are vulnerable at the moment, and I believe the Bulldogs will bite and get the better of them, by ten.
Elsewhere, Hull KR and Salford is a difficult one to predict, because both can be so good on their day, but I fancy the Red Devils by seven. And while Wigan might have been shocked by Sheffield back in the final of 1998, a match current Eagles coach Mark Aston will remember well, having starred for the South Yorkshire side and claimed the Lance Todd Trophy, the current Warriors will surely have too much for the Eagles, even if they are a decent Championship team. Wigan by 48.
Leigh won’t have things all their own way against Featherstone, fierce foes when they were in the Championship a few years ago, but even with some key players out injured, they should have too much. The Leopards by 16.
I’m going Warrington by 36 against London and Huddersfield by 16 against Hull FC while at Halifax, I see Catalans winning by 20. Enjoy the action – I will!