Trent Barrett will be hoping to extend his stay in English Rugby League by at least another week as the Wigan Warriors head to France to tackle the Catalans Dragons in the Engage Superleague playoffs on Saturday. Wigan had a convincing win over Bradford last weekend, while Catalans destroyed Warrington Wolves, so both teams must be in confident mood.
Wigan were not fazed by Dave Whelan’s refusal to let them play their home tie at the JJB Stadium, and in fact that adversity seemed to work in their favour; Barrett and Thomas Leuluai combined forcefully and the return of Gareth Hock after a five match ban was a boost to Wigan, who eventually proved too strong for Bradford after a slow start. The Catalans played strongly from the beginning, and the combination of Tomas Bosc, Adam Mogg and Casey Maguire was very effective and bemused the Wolves.
Catalans have known for some weeks that they would finish third in the table, and this knowledge seemed to coincide with a dip in form. Now they are in playoff mode and look to be back to their best. In this, their third year in Superleague, they have reached the playoffs for the first time, but so far they don’t seem to be intimidated by this. As far as Wigan are concerned, Brian Noble of course knows better than anyone how to get his team to perform well when it matters, and Wigan certainly also seem to be on the up.
Wigan have chartered a plane for supporters as scheduled flights filling up so fast, so although the Catalans have home advantage in what is seen as a daunting stadium for visitors to come to, at least Wigan will also have plenty of support. Wigan also held Catalans to a thrilling draw at the Stade Gilbert Brutus earlier in the season, so a home win is by no means a foregone conclusion.
Whoever wins on Saturday night will know who their semi-final opponents will be. St Helens play Leeds at Knowsley Road on Friday night, and as they have not lost in 22 matches they must be favourites to win and thus go straight to Old Trafford. Leeds have stuttered a bit in recent weeks, but have begun to play attacking rugby again and will not lie down quietly. St Helens have named Jason Cayless in their squad of 19, returning after four weeks out with a knee injury, and Leon Pryce also returns after hamstring problems. Leeds have named Ryan Hall in their squad, while Luke Burgess drops out.
Whatever the results this weekend, it looks as if there will be two close and exciting matches in prospect!
