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.

It was the Magic Weekend which continued to fascinate with the opening fixture on Sunday pitting the fourth placed Huddersfield Giants with their eye on third place against a Salford side who started the game in eighth spot but for whom a win could propel them into the top six.

Some pundits were billing it as Giants coach Ian Watson against his previous side, but the Huddersfield supremo was more concerned about the two points to move his side up the table ahead of the Catalans game against Warrington later in the afternoon.

The bookies had gone with league position and installed the Giants as favourites but only given the Red Devils a six-point start on the coupon, they thought it would be close.

It was 9th v 5th in the final match of Magic Weekend Saturday in Newcastle, as Leeds sought to continue their climb into the play-offs and Castleford looked to secure their place in the post-season clashes which decide the title.

After a shakey start to the season, when both teams looked like they would be struggling with the opponents in the day's opening match and looking fearfully at the bottom of the table and possible relegation.

But the Tigers and the Rhinos had both started putting a winning run together in recent weeks and the question at St James's Park was who would continue that run and who would stutter to another loss.

Magic Weekend´s game two on Saturday saw a top of the table clash between St Helens and Wigan Warriors in a game which could go a long way to deciding who lifts the Minor Premiership at the end of the season.

A win for Saints would lift them four points clear of the chasers and into poll position to end the season on top of the pile.

Saints were slight favourites with the bookies, Wigan being given a two-point start on the handicap coupon, mainly due to the omission from the Saints side including Walmsley and Makinson while Wigan looked strong on paper.

It promised to be another close one to entertain the ever-increasing crowd.

Most opening games of the Magic Weekend are dour mid-table affairs, put on for a handful of spectators while those of clubs not involved make the most of the many hostelries which Newcastle has to offer.

But this season is an exception with the bottom two clubs in the competition being thrown together in a massive tussle for two points which could prove decisive at the end of the season and was guaranteed to get the neutrals into the stadium early.

A win for Trinity would put them six points clear of Toulouse in the relegation spot, the French side with a near impossible mountain to climb, but should Toulouse overcome the slight odds against them and get their fourth win of the season, then the gap between the two sides would be down to just two points and all to play for.

The bookies nor pundits could really split them, neither could their two encounters so far this season, the St James Park pitch was all set for a match of epic significance.

The Magic Weekend starts here with a Championship curtain raiser in the form of Newcastle Thunder against the Bradford Bulls, the latter having played a memorable part in many previous Magic Weekends.

Thunder were taking full advantage of this weekend being staged in their city at St James Park and hoping for a bumper crowd for what had been dubbed as Magic Friday at Kingston Park as they looked to reduce the six point deficit that they currently have to their West Yorkshire opponents.

A victory for the Bulls wouldn´t improve their league position but it would edge them closer on points to the current top six.

The Bulls were clear favourites for the win but this was Newcastle´s special night.

All of the round seventeen matches in the 2022 Betfred Championship took place over Saturday and Sunday with the game between Featherstone Rovers and Newcastle Thunder taking place on Saturday evening, the rest of the games being traditional Sunday afternoon kick-offs.

Those Sunday games included, Widnes at Workington, Barrow at York, Whitehaven at Batley, table topping Leigh at Bradford, Halifax against Dewsbury and Sheffield making the trip to London to face the Broncos.

With two sides at opposite ends of the table, there was much to play for between Wakefield Trinity and Wigan Warriors with very different aspirations.

Wigan wanted the two points to get within two points of St Helens at the top of the table after they lost to the Dragons last night while Trinity were getting dragged closer to the relegation spot after Toulouse surprised Hull KR yesterday.

The bookies couldn´t see past a big Wigan win with Trinity getting a fourteen-point start on the handicap coupon, mainly because they were walloped by the Salford Red Devils last time out in a humiliating 74-10 defeat.

Wigan were looking for a fifth consecutive win and most pundits believed that they wouldn´t have an issue.

Catalans Dragons coach Steve McNamara made a myriad of changes to the side which lost to Castleford by golden point last week.

Saints were without Konrad Hurrell as they also made changes while looking to draw further clear at the top of the table.

The sun was ´cracking the flags´ as last season´s Grand Finalists took to the field with the home side having their work cut out to try and half a seven-game winning run for the Saints, having only won one in the last three themselves.

Saints won both previous meetings between the two sides in 2022 and were favourites to take the two points again tonight in the south of France.

A win for Hull FC would see them move back ahead of the Castleford Tigers and into fifth spot in the table, whilst today’s visitors, the Leeds Rhinos are still in all sorts of trouble at the wrong end of the table and still looking to secure their Super League position for next season.

Someone wise soul once said ´if the Rhinos can keep thirteen on the field for eighty minutes´ they could be dangerous´, but it´s been a long time since they´ve not been well represented at the disciplinary panel on a weekly basis.

Perhaps today would be the day.

The bookies certainly thought so and had given the home side a four-point start on the handicap coupon.

Making the Rhinos the favourites to pick up the points and lift themselves into eighth position ahead of the Magic Weekend.

The Huddersfield Giants had second place on their mind as they travelled the short distance to Castleford to take on a Tigers side who were looking to move into fifth place, but the Giants would be wary in the knowledge that the Tigers took the scalp of the Dragons last time out.

There were numerous changes to both sides, Paul McShane notably on the bench for the Tigers where he is usually in the starting thirteen.

The Giants had new loan signing Toby King in their side and Owen Trout in the front row.

The home side were given a two-point start in the coupon, the visitor’s slight favourites for the win.

This was as mid-table as you could get as fifth took on sixth in the televised Monday night game to complete the fixtures in round sixteen of the 2022 Betfred Championship.

Both sides needed the win to consolidate their place in the top six to have a shot at the play-offs, and whoever emerged victorious at the end of eighty minutes would finish the round in fifth spot.

The bookies fancied Halifax for the win and gave them a six-point handicap on the coupon and with the Batley Bulldogs showing yesterday that Featherstone Rovers are fallible, the sides in the lower play-off places will have a new enthusiasm for their chances of making the Million Pound game.

The two sides met a couple of months ago the Shay with the Panthers taking a 40-18 win, the Raiders looking to level the score tonight.

Round Sixteen of the 2022 Betfred Championship saw one game on Friday night as the Sheffield Eagles played Leigh Centurions, and five more on Sunday afternoon, with the game between Barrow and Halifax having been chosen by Premier Sports as the Monday night televised game.

Sunday saw a deluge of tries as; Bradford hosted Dewsbury, Featherstone were at home to Batley, Workington travelled east to Newcastle, Whitehaven were at home to York and London made the trip to Cheshire to face Widnes.

On paper an intriguing tussle between fourth placed Huddersfield Giants and a Hull KR side in seventh spot, was one of three rare Sunday afternoon fixtures in Super League as the home side looked for a spot in the top half of the table and the visitors had their eye on the top three, should the Dragons slip up at Castleford.

The Robins named Elliot Minchella in the starting thirteen and Greg Richards on the bench in the only two changes to the side which lost narrowly to Saints a fortnight ago, while Innes Senior and Matty Russell were both back in the starting line-up for the Giants The Giants were slight favourites with the bookies but there was very little to choose between the sides, the big betting money was going in the Giants favour but the punters seemed to have more faith in Huddersfield than the pundits.

New South Wales came into the second State of Origin game knowing that a loss would mean a humiliating series defeat, but that a win would put them level with Queensland going into the decider in two and a half weeks’ time.

After coming from behind to triumph by 16-10 in the first game, Queensland had been installed as slight bookies underdogs to get the win and take the series, after losing out last season, as the two sides met on neutral territory at a sold-out Optus Stadium in Perth.

The Blues made seven changes as they looked to overturn their fortunes while the Maroons had just two differences from game one´s victorious side, the anticipation was that this would be the night for Brad Fittlers´ charges as they levelled the series.

Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland was the venue for an international encounter between New Zealand and Tonga as the preparations for this seasons World Cup got underway in much anticipated encounter in front of a sell-out crowd.

This was the seventh meeting between the two rivals, but the first since June 2019, with New Zealand having won all but one of the past encounters, Tonga picking up their only win with a 28-22 victory in 2017.

The atmosphere was electric as dusk fell and the two sides performed their Haka´s before going into battle.

Ninth played host to fifth as an embattled Warrington Wolves looked to return to winning ways against a Hull FC side seeking to cement their top five spot and establish some breathing space ahead of the red side of the city.

The Wolves haven´t won a game since the 23^rd April, just over two months ago, when the beat the Huddersfield Giants having lost the previous week against tonight´s opposition but it was the home side who were favourites for the win with the bookies, the Airlie Birds getting a six point start on the coupon.

The most nervous man in the house was Wolves coach Daryl Powell who knew that he was living on borrowed time, if not with the board, then definitely with the disgruntled fans.

If there was one foregone conclusion from round sixteen of Super League 2022, it was that St Helens would defeat the Rhinos and extend their lead at the top of the table in the Thursday evening fixture broadcast live on Sky Sports.

Both sides made several changes from the sides which lined up a fortnight ago, Saints had a few missing and named Bennison at full back and Sironen in the second row, while Leeds notably had Sezer back in the halves and skipper Leeming at hooker.

The bookies had given the Rhinos a fourteen-point start on the handicap coupon, they had little chance of registering their sixth win of the campaign.

In a game which was dogged with apathy from some clubs, and degraded by player withdrawals, England took to the field to take on an International All-Stars side as they built up for their World Cup Campaign at the end of the current domestic season.

Shaun Wane got to pick the cream of the available fit players but sprang several surprises, mostly through omission, while plenty of withdrawals for All-Stars coach Ellery Hanley left him with a number of selection headaches, but he was still able to select a strong looking side who on paper, who should have given the English a good run for their money.

England were favourites with the bookies, but Wane would remember that his side were beaten by 26-24 in his first game in charge at this time last year.

The first game of a double-header from the Halliwell-Jones Stadium saw the England Ladies side take on the French side as both teams looked for positives in their build up to the World Cup in the Autumn.

England came into the game on the back of a commanding 32-6 win over Wales at Cross Keys last Sunday but it was the first outing for the French side since they lost to England by 40-4 last October at the Stade Gilbert Brutus in Perpignan.

Most eyes were on Courtney Winfield-Hill, the thirty-five year old Australian cricketer and Leeds Rhinos scrum half who was making her debut in an England jersey alongside fellow debutant Keara Bennett.

England Ladies have never lost to France and the strong expectation was that they would continue that winning run.