Another weekend of thrills and spills has marked the end of the regular season. The intensity was maintained up to the end, with Bradford getting a last gasp two points to ensure a proper shakeup of the teams in 4th, 5th and 6th position. So on Friday it was Warrington, Wigan, Bradford, and now it’s Wigan, Bradford, Warrington. Wigan thoroughly deserved their point, after a real battle at Knowsley Road ended in a draw, but Warrington looked like a team on the way out. By all accounts Bradford were pretty uninspiring too.
It’s also true to say that the lack of relegation has not made the end of the season in any way dull or disappointing. Obviously Castleford and Huddersfield had pride to play for, as was the case in the local derby of Hull against Hull KR yesterday. And Harlequins also showed that they wanted to end the season with a flourish, with a win over Catalans. Have the French team peaked too soon? Bradford may feel that some euqilibrium has been restored with a finish in fifth, but they could have had a better chance heading to France than to Wigan. They haven’t beaten Wigan away since Februray 2005, and last season’s humiliation at Odsal in the first round of the playoffs will take some forgetting. One crumb of comfort for Bradford will be that the match will be played on neutral ground as the JJB stadium is unavailable next Friday. Warrington will be lucky to progress any further after travelling to France on Saturday.
So my predictions for next week’s eliminator are Catalans v Wigan. I think St Helens will beat Leeds next week, but that in the end it will be another Leeds v St Helens final. This year though, St Helens look set to win, and to complete the treble again, as they show no signs of flagging at the end of the season as they did last year.
In my blog of 31 August the only two placings I got right were Bradford and Warrington, so I will wait to see if my predictions for the final four and the eventual winner are correct. Let’s hope Bradford can confound everyone and make a surge for the top! My dream would be: Bradford beat Wigan, Catalans beat Warrington, St Helens beat Leeds, Bradford beat Catalans, Bradford beat Leeds, Bradford beat St Helens. I’m definitely daydreaming!!
