Two sides separated by just over twenty miles down the M62, but by a gulf in difference in recent achievement, met at the AJ Bell Stadium as Salford Red Devils took on St Helens in the final game of an incredible round twenty-one of Super League 2022.

St Helens were the bookies favourites, but comfortably in top position and playing the side in eighth, they perhaps might have expected more than a ten-point deficit on the handicap coupon.

A win for Saints would move them within a point of securing the minor premiership, but a victory for the home side would lift them up two places and into the play-offs.

The final game of the Summer Bash at Headingley faw first take on second in a game billed as 'the main event' – a match that had neutrals salivating with Leigh having come into their own after an early season which saw Featherstone dominate the league.

Rovers coach Brian McDermott had no doubts about the game he was facing, naming four forwards on his interchange bench.

The Catalans Dragons were intent on taking back their third spot, lost earlier in the afternoon to the Huddersfield Giants, as they welcomed the Leeds Rhinos to a hostile Stade Gilbert Brutus under the still hot, but waning, south of France summer sun.

A win for Leeds would lift them to seventh in the table, just a single point behind Hull FC inside the play-off places, but with the Rhinos getting a six-point start in the handicap coupon, the bookies were leaning towards a win for the home side.

It was a strong looking side named by Steve McNamara but Rohan Smith´s side were without Blake Austin and David Fusitu´a.

It was a famous old name from the glory days of Super League's start taking on an also-ran from those days who dropped out in disarray back in 2003.

But at the the Championship's Summer Bash in 2022, it was Bradford Bulls who are the club in disarray while Halifax Panthers entered the game as a top-four club in everyone's sights

Two sides looking to make amends after losses last weekend came together for a Saturday afternoon clash as fourth placed Huddersfield Giants took on a Warrington Wolves side who were defying the early season optimism and lying in in a most Warrington-unlike third from bottom.

A Giants win would lift them up to third spot, at least for a few hours, but while a win for the visitors would help alleviate their relegation worries it would not improve their league position.

The bookies were erring on the side of a Giants win, having given the Wolves a six-point start on the coupon, but they were far from convinced that this would be a bad afternoon for the Cheshire side and while it might not be their year in 2022, this might be their week.

There was simply no option for Willie Poching´s Wakefield Trinity, they had to beat the Castleford Tigers in tonight’s round twenty-one game.

But Lee Radford also needed the win for his side who were looking to consolidate their position in the top six and pull further clear of the chasing pack.

The Tigers were strong favourites with the bookies, Wakefield getting a fourteen-point start on the handicap coupon but sometimes surprises are borne out of desperation and the Trinity fans came into the game hoping that this might be one as they made the short journey to the Jungle looking for their first victory over the Tigers since 2015.

In a game of vital importance for both sides, a severely wounded Hull FC travelled to the south of France to take on a Toulouse Olympique XIII side who are showing signs that they might perform the Super League equivalent of a Houdini escape and avoid relegation to the Championship.

FC took a mauling at the hands of the Castleford Tigers last time out but last nights heavy defeat for arch-rivals Hull KR at the hands of the Wigan Warriors saw them move up to seventh spot in the table, and with a chance to make the top six with a win in the early evening kick off.

The bookies were struggling to split the two sides for what promised to be a classic, Toulouse slight favourites with FC getting a two-point start on the coupon.

Hull KR faced a daunting trip to Wigan to take on a Warriors side who are still in second place despite being taken apart by the Leeds Rhinos last Thursday.

KR picked up a win over a struggling Warrington Wolves side last time out which was a big confidence boost for the side under the temporary stewardship of Danny McGuire.

The bookies couldn´t see beyond a bounce back win for the Warriors and they game the Robins a twenty-four-point start in the handicap coupon, but as we push towards settling the end of season play-off places there have been some strange results across the Super League.

Would this be one of the strange ones, the usual hordes making the journey from Hull hoped so.

Round Twenty of the Betfred Championship saw a few shocks as the sides continued to jockey for play-off spots and to avoid relegation to League One.

The weekend started on Saturday evening as Newcastle Thunder faced Dewsbury Rams.

The remainder of the games were on Sunday afternoon, a delayed kick off at Sheffield after the Workington team were delayed on the journey down to South Yorkshire.

The remainder were three o´clock kick offs as Barrow hosted Bradford, Widnes travelled to Batley, London faced High flying Halifax, Leigh were at strugglers Whitehaven, and Featherstone at home to the York City Knights.

With Toulouse Olympique XIII going down in a close game with the Salford Red Devils on Saturday, Willie Poching´s Wakefield Trinity side had the ideal opportunity to lift themselves off the bottom of the table.

The only snag was that they had to get a win against the most dominant side in Super League, defending Champions and Champions elect St Helens.

It was top against bottom.

Optimism was in short supply amongst the Wakefield supporters, and the bookies agreed as they gave the home side a fourteen-point start on the coupon, all expectations were that Trinity´s position at the bottom would continue and they would see a worsening of their points difference.

The sides took the field in miserable conditions as the rain fell.

Two sides looking anxiously over their shoulders at the chasing pack met to see who would further their claim for a play-off spot, and who would be vulnerable to being caught, as Hull FC took on their former coach as Castleford Tigers made the trip east.

A victory by more than thirty-six points would lift the home side above the visitors and into fifth in the league table, but a loss for the Airlie Birds would see them potentially dropping out of the six, depending on results elsewhere.

The bookies could barely split the two sides, making the Tigers the slight favourites, but only with a two-point difference on the handicap coupon.

It promised to be an entertaining battle.

Round twenty of Super League means that there are just eight more games to the play-offs, eight more games for new Rhinos coach Rohan Smith to pull his side out of the bottom half of the table in what is looking like an increasingly unlikely scenario.

It also means eight games for Wigan Warriors to try and chase down a St Helens side who are in danger of edging out of sight at the top of the pile.

There were two changes for Matt Peets Warriors as Joe Shorrocks and Mike Cooper replaced Mago and O´Neill, the Rhinos had Zak Hardaker, Liam Sutcliffe, Harry Newman, Muizz Mustapha and debutant Yusef Aydin in their seventeen after losing last time out in Toulouse.

The bookies couldn´t see past a Warriors win, and neither could the pundits, or for that matter most Rhinos fans.

It was York City Knights and Batley Bulldogs who braved the heat that had brought public transport and much else in the country to a halt, to conclude the round 19 of the Betfred Championship.

The teams started the game lying fourth and fifth in the table, both on 26 points but with the hosts having played one more game – so everything was to play for.

Neither the Bulldogs nor the City Knights looked likely to take third place off Halifax Panthers, with their impressive score difference, but both could take or secure fourth.

And a win for Batley would do nothing to to dampen the talk of them being outside contenders for a top two place.

Round 19 of the 2022 Betfred Championship took place over three days on a warm July weekend with the Bradford Bulls and London Broncos starting off proceedings on Saturday evening.

Sunday afternoon saw an early kick-off between Sheffield and Barrow with the remainder of the games kicking off at three o´clock.

Dewsbury hosted Leigh, Halifax took on Workington, Whitehaven were up against Featherstone and Widnes welcomed Newcastle.

The final game, live on Premier Sports, was scheduled for Monday evening as York faced Batley.

After Toulouse Olympique XIII beat the Leeds Rhinos last night in the south of France, Wakefield Trinity found themselves bottom of the table and staring into the abyss as they travelled to Hull to face a Hull KR side who themselves were looking to avoid getting drawn into what could be a nerve-racking dogfight to avoid the drop.

Hull KR were big favourites pre-match, the bookies giving the visitors an eighth point start on the handicap coupon but both sides came into the game on the back of soul-destroying losses at the Magic Weekend, the Robins to cross city rivals FC and Wakefield to their main rivals for relegation, Toulouse.

It was a game which neither side could afford to lose.

After their Magical win over Wakefield Trinity last weekend the smell of Super League survival was strong in the nostrils of Toulouse Olympique XIII as they welcomed a Leeds Rhinos side missing a few of their stars and dreamed what extra pressure another two points would put on the sides above them.

Toulouse were unchanged from their victorious side of a week ago whereas the Rhinos were without the services of Zak Hardaker, Aidan Sezer, Matt Prior and late withdrawal through illness who all added to an increasing list of unavailable Leeds personnel.

The bookies had made the Rhinos slight favourites to take the points but only gave the home side a four-point start on the handicap coupon.

This was the fourth meeting between the two sides, but the first on French soil, the Rhinos having win the previous three.

Top against third, St Helens versus Huddersfield Giants, was clearly the game of round nineteen as the Giants looked to close the gap on the league leaders and continue their rebirth under coach Ian Watson as they continue to aim high and show a positive attitude.

Both sides have lost just once in their last eight outings and came into the weekend on the back of good win last weekend at the Magic Weekend.

The side with home advantage were the bookies favourites as they gave away ten points on the handicap coupon to their visitors.

Alex Walmsley was back for the Saints with Agnatius Paasi on the bench after starting last time out against Wigan while the Giants had Will Pryce at full back in place of Tui Lolohea alongside a couple of other changes.

With the series neatly tied at one game apiece the scene was set for the mother of all State of Origin deciders Queensland´s Maroons took on the Blues of New South Wales for the 2022 bragging rights.

The Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane was a sell-out in advance of kick-off as a nation held it´s collective breath.

After demolishing the Maroons by 44-12 the last time out, New South Wales were the clear favourites for the series win, despite the game being played in front of a partisan Queensland crowd.

Both Brad Fittler and Billy Slater made a few changes to their sides, most notably the Maroons losing the services of Cameron Munster and Felise Kaufusi.

The final game of the Magic Weekend was the Hull derby as two sides struggling for form did battle with the Robins taking on the Airlie Birds for local bragging rights.

A KR win by more than twenty-seven points would lift them above FC and into sixth place, a win of any description would see then seventh.

If FC could get the points, then they would be up to fifth, providing that the win was by four or more points.

Both sides were in dour form, struggling for points, and many supporters were arriving wondering whether it was possible for both sides to lose.

The last time that either side won was over a month ago, it didn´t bode well for the game that was bringing down the curtain on an excellent weekend.

The bookies were struggling to distinguish between the two sides, giving FC a two-point start on the coupon and showing KR as slight favourites despite them sacking their coach after last weekend´s loss to Toulouse and lots of changes to both sides.

It was a tough Magic Weekend tie for a Warrington Wolves side in freefall as they were drawn to take the field against a Catalans Dragons who had just been pushed into fourth spot by the Huddersfield Giants and who were looking to regain their third spot, or if they could pile on the misery, then possibly make it up to second on points difference.

The Dragons were favourites with the bookies, Warrington getting an eight-point start on the handicap coupon, and most pundits believed that this would be another loss to add to the catalogue of Wolves losses so far in 2022.

The sides have met twice so far this season, the Dragons victors on both occasions, but this time the French side were missing a few key players due to injury and suspension.