The omens didn´t look perfect for, the soon to be departed, Kristian Wolf as his Saints side sought their fourth consecutive Grand Final and a trip to Old Trafford to face their season finale nemesis, the Leeds Rhinos, next weekend.

The Salford Red Devils came into the game on a fantastic run of form, having clinically despatched the Huddersfield Giants last weekend after humiliating them on their own ground.

Paul Rowley´s side were looking for their second trip to a Grand Final, having lost out to today’s opposition in 2019, but would have to do it without the services of star man Brodie Croft.

Despite the loss of Alex Walmsley, the bookies still fancied Saints for the win and had given the Red Devils an eight point start on the handicap coupon, but most supporters and pundits were struggling to call the result for what had all the hallmarks of a classic battle.

Fifth-placed Leeds continued their march through the play-offs with a semi-final visit to second-placed Wigan on Friday night, with a berth in the Betfred Super Legue Grand Final itself at stake.

The Rhinos have made a tradition of sneaking into the play-offs from unpromising positions, and this year has been no different, winning their spot by beating fellow early season relegation contenders Castleford in the last regular round.

But could they do it again, or would the Warriors put an end to their hopes?

It was third against sixth as the Huddersfield Giants took on the Salford Red Devils for a place in the semi finals against either St Helens (should Salford win) or the Wigan Warriors (should the Giants end the game in the box seat).

With Salford´s current excellent form the bookies were struggling to choose between the two sides with the home side made slight favourites for the win.

Salford won easily, by 33-16, the last time the two sides met just over a month ago, but the Giants won the encounter in July by 30-18, the game really was wide open.

It was again billed as Ian Watson against his former side, he would have spent the week telling his side that they were the focus, not him.

The scene was set for a classic.

As a nation mourned the passing of Her Majesty the Queen, the Catalans Dragons and Leeds Rhinos donned their black armbands, observed a minute’s silence, and took to the field in a subdued south of France for the first of the 2022 Super League playoff series games as fourth played fifth.

The Dragons were back at full strength after resting their entire squad last weekend against Wigan, and notably had Sam Tomkins back in their side at full back, their talisman returning.

Leeds were without the suspended Rhyse Martin and Harry Newman wasn´t fit enough to make the seventeen, despite being named in the squad of twenty-one.

The Dragons were the clear favourites with the bookies but with the Rhinos only given an eight point start on the handicap coupon they thought it would be closer than many pundits as well as the more pessimistic Rhinos fans.

The two best sides in the women’s game over recent years were forced into a semi-final battle at Emerald Headingley as Leeds Rhinos took on St Helens for a place against York City Knights in the Grand Final in a fortnights time.

A place in the flagship event in the women’s game was up for grabs in a final which will be played at the Totally Wicked Stadium in St Helens on the 18^th September.

The two sides have met three times this season, Saints taking the honours on two occasions and the Rhinos with one win.

The last meeting was at the start of last month when Saints ran out as 30/22 winners.

Saints finished two points ahead of Leeds in the final league table and were favourites to pick up the win and make progress.

A twenty-seven game 2022 Super League season came down to a single game for the Leeds Rhinos and Castleford Tigers as they met in a play off for the play offs as sixth placed hosted seventh at the Emerald Headingley Stadium with a victory prolonging the season for the winners and most likely sending them to the south of France next weekend.

The bookies fancied the Rhinos to get the points against a Castleford side decimated by injuries and on a downward spiral of form after they were ´sitting pretty´ earlier on in the season.

The bookies gave the visitors a fourteen point start on the handicap coupon despite Castleford having won two out of the three previous meetings this season, including giving the Rhinos an early exit from the Challenge Cup.

Just one of Steve McNamara´s seventeen-man side which travelled to Wigan to take on the Warriors had a squad number under seventeen and ten players were given their debut, an indication that the Dragons were happy with their fourth-place finish in Super League 2022 and that their priority was to give their first team squad a week off to prepare for the play offs.

Wigan, already guaranteed a weekend off next week, named a strong side who were expected to record a massive victory, the bookies giving the visitors a massive forty-six point start on the handicap coupon.

The game was a dead rubber, treated as such by the French side, and all credit to those who could be bothered to both attend and tune in to watch on SKY.

 

With Salford Red Devils having taken the Castleford Tigers to the cleaners earlier in the afternoon, the Leeds Rhinos knew that a win in the south of France against the Catalans Dragons would ensure that they would be experiencing play off football in 2022.

A loss would make next Saturday´s final round clash with the Castleford Tigers a play off for the play offs, with a winner takes all scenario.

But Leeds coach Rohan Smith went into the game hoping to get the job done a week early and leave the last weekend as a tussle for places inside the six rather than in the six.

The Dragons have win just once in their last three outings while the Rhinos went into the game on the back of six successive wins, including a 36-32 win in Perpignan.

But Steve McNamara wasn´t going to make it easy for Leeds and named a strong side for the game, the bookies giving the Rhinos an eight point start on the handicap coupon.

 

Games don´t get any bigger than the round twenty-six match between the Castleford Tigers and Salford Red Devils with the winners becoming favourites to make the play-offs, the losers looking increasingly unlikely to make it into the top six.

The sides came into the game level on points and in sixth and seventh, Salford with a massive points advantage.

The winner would go up to fifth, before the Rhinos game against the Dragons in the evening kick-off.

Nerves were jangling, there was plenty at stake.

The bookies had a slight favouring for the away side, giving the Tigers a two point start in the handicap coupon, and with Salford´s recent stunning record in their charge for the top six, who could blame them.

 

This was the night that St Helens, who´ve led from the front all season, would seal the minor premiership and where better to do it than on the home ground of their arch-rivals the Wigan Warriors.

Wigan needed the win to push the presentation of the trophy on to round twenty-six.

The bookies went with home advantage but favoured Wigan by the narrowest of margins, giving the Saints a narrow two point start in the coupon.

Only two points have separated the two sides on their last two meetings, Saints winning the league game at the Magic weekend by 20-18 while Wigan won the Challenge Cup Semi-final by the same score line in May.

Saints were without Will Hopoate and Tommy Makinson, seeding some doubt in the Saints supporters’ minds, but they had sold out their crowd allocation as their fans believed they would see their side sew up the top spot and end Wigans unbeaten home record in 2022.

Toulouse Olympique XIII´s Super League light was burning dimly and a loss in tonight’s ´Le Derby´ to the Catalans Dragons would finally extinguish it, regardless of the results for Warrington and Wakefield.

The Dragons themselves needed a win to keep up the pressure on Huddersfield in third spot, but more importantly to re-open the three-point margin over the Leeds Rhinos who are now breathing down their necks for fourth spot and who they face on Monday night in Perpignan.

The bookies favoured the Dragons despite their recent lack of form at the crucial end of the season, but it was indicative of the strength of Toulouse that they only gave the competitions fourth placed side an eight-point handicap on the coupon.

This was likely to be the last competitive French derby for some time and bragging rights were up for grabs as Catalans made the two-hundred-kilometre trip north, determined to bring back the points and end a run which has seen them lose on their last two outings, and only win two out of their last seven.

A bumper six days of bank holiday rugby league started on Wednesday night with a game between the Leeds Rhinos and Huddersfield Giants with plenty at stake.

A win for the Rhinos would move them one step closer to ensuring a top six finish, while a Giants victory would move them back to within a point of second spot, the Wigan Warriors back in the crosshairs.

The Rhinos came into the game on the back of a five-game winning run while Huddersfield had a convincing win over the Tigers last week after a small hiccup the round before against the Castleford Tigers.

The bookies had gone with home advantage, but by the narrowest of margins, giving the Giants a two point start in the handicap coupon.

Few could choose between the sides and a cracking contest in front of the SKY TV cameras was promised.

With three Super League 2022 games left in the regular season all attention is now focussed on who will end round 27 in the top six and hence make the play-offs.

While St Helens are a draw away from securing the Minor Premiership, they have games against Wigan, Wakefield and Toulouse in which to get it.

Toulouse are all but mathematically relegated after a brave fight and would need to win against the Catalans, Hull FC and St Helens while either Wakefield (Hull KR, St Helens, Huddersfield) or Warrington Wolves (Castleford, Huddersfield, Salford) lose all of their remaining games by some horrific points margin.

Attention really does switch to the middle of the table.

Rugby League supporters have been invited to contribute to the ‘reimagining Rugby League’ consultation currently being conducted by the sport’s strategic partner IMG.

A survey has been launched today through the RFL and Super League digital channels Rugby League Fan Survey (qualtrics.com), and will close at the end of August.

It covers a range of key areas such as viewing habits and preferences, competitions, and overseas clubs.

A win for the Leigh Centurions over the York City Knights at the Leigh Sports Village would move then a step closer to guaranteeing top spot in early September, but a win for the City Knights would guarantee their top six finish and their place in the play-offs.

Leigh were massive favourites against the sixth placed side with York getting a forty-eight point start on the handicap coupon, no one giving the City Knights even the sniff of a chance of win as the Centurions bandwagon was expected to roll straight over the top of them.

It looked like it would be an easy afternoon for the home side but nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to witness.

 

It´s round twenty-four and in 2022 the crucial games just keep on coming.

Tonight’s game at Emerald Headingley had the Leeds Rhinos needing a win to move above the Castleford Tigers into fifth spot, while Warrington Wolves came into the game knowing that a victory would guarantee their survival in the topflight after an awful season, so long as Wigan beat Toulouse.

Leeds coach Rohan Smith was relieved that he had Sezer, Bentley, Martin and Prior all back in his line up, softening the blow that the inspirational Harry Newman was out for the rest of the season.

Daryl Powell was without talisman Stefan Ratchford due to concussion protocols and was forced into giving debuts to Luke Thomas and Adam Holroyd, both on the bench, as he battled his own injury crisis.

The bookies thought that the points were the Rhinos, on the back of a four-game winning run, as they gave the Wolves a ten point start on the coupon after they had only registered one win in their last five outings, and that against the bottom side Toulouse Olympique XIII.

While still in fifth place, and strong favourites to make the play-offs, Castleford Tigers knew that a couple of untimely defeats could see the rest of the chasing pack narrowing the gap and make the change of missing on the end of season jamboree a distinct possibility.

A trip to third placed Huddersfield Giants was not what the doctor ordered to settle the nerves, especially after Ian Watson´s side suffered a heavy defeat against Salford last time out.

The smart money was on a Giants win, but with just a six point start in the coupon the Tigers were banking on upsetting the odds and taking home the points to lift themselves higher into the comfort zone, and three points clear of sixth placed Leeds Rhinos.

Monday night's midtable clash in the Betfred Championship saw sixth-placed York City Knights entertain Bradford Bulls, sitting in ninth place, with neither team having a stellar record in their recent games.

The Bulls had won only the latest of their last six games, a 48-18 home win over Workington Town.

In the same period, York had defeated Dewsbury and Newcastle in successive away trips.

It´s been one of those seasons for Hull FC where inconsistency has tarnished a good start and has seen them slip out of the play-off positions and into the bottom half of the table.

A win in Round 23 of Super League was now crucial to see them back within shooting distance of the top six, the bad news was that they were facing the Champions as St Helens came into town.

Hull FC had been given a ten point start on the handicap coupon as the bookies favoured St Helens to collect another win which would put them a step closer to sealing the minor premiership.

A win for FC wouldn´t alter their league position, but it would move them level with the Salford Red Devils and within a point of the Leeds Rhinos in sixth spot.

It would all come down to who was the hungriest for the win.

There were different agenda´s for the two sides brought together by Channel 4 for their Saturday lunchtime game as a Huddersfield Giants side, intent on a top two finish, went up against a Salford Red Devils outfit who needed the win to keep in touch with a top six finish.

The Giants were slight favourites with the bookies, but they were with the pundits in struggling to call the winners after a recent run of good performances from the Red Devils.

Ian Watson was up against his former employers, and this was a fixture which he loves to win.

But Red Devils coach Ian Rowley came into the game knowing the importance of the win, a loss making it very difficult for his side to make the six.

One thing was for sure, neither side could complain about the glorious playing conditions.