Episode 23 Super League Show

Good evening. The race to bd champions of Super League is

possibly as open as it has dver been part of the competitors still in

with a shout. Tonight we chdck on the form of the runners and riders.

Local rivals neck and neck. The Rhinos and the Tigers have the

winning line in sight. After a slow start, Warrington Wolves art on the

charge. Will be faltering Vhking stay with them? And can last year's

leaders prevail? The Giants could be handily placed. I am joined by Josh

Hodgson and Jamie Peacock, both involved in the play`off push. We

will start this week at the wrong end of the Super League table and

with games running out this season, Sunday with D`Day for Bradford. 14

left to play for, so defeat at Huddersfield what renegade the

Bradford Bulls for the first time in 40 years.

Good defence from the Huddersfield Giants. Luke George is on the wing

to score. He touches down against his former club to port Bradford in

front. Touchdown for the Huddersfield Giants. A lovely

sidestep. Add a mo Brian. If the Bulls are going to go down, they

will go down fighting. McGillivray lost the ball. It is a nightmare for

Brett Carney. Gaskell with dgg trick towards the corner. George gets it

down. A second try for Luke George. `` Gaskell with a kick towards the

corner. Could Joe is over h`lfway. Robinson on the inside. `` Cudjoe.

Chris Bailey gives the Hudddrsfield Giants believe the first thhs

afternoon. A high kick for the Huddersfield Giants. Cudjoe onto the

ball. McGilvray makes the most of it.

Carney is looking to chase this one down. Luke George Hicks it tp. What

all has stripped the ball. `` Luke George picks it up. That cotld be it

for the Bradford balls and the Super League survival.

This is far too easy for thd Huddersfield Giants. McGilvray goes

in at the corner. He is there with a hat`trick try. Carney picks it up to

score. It is a consolation for the travelling Bradford supportdrs.

Bradford have been relegated. Relegation was inevitable for

Bradford, but house sad havd you been to the then go? It is ` sad

feeling, but it has been coling for a while. I am not shocked bx it We

have had a lot of lies from management and the truth tells out

on the pitch. The squad havd not been good enough this year, but

going forward, there are sole positive signs. Huddersfield got

relegated and they came back. Bradford have got good foundations.

They have a good chairman and a great fan base, so they can come

back up. You look at the table and the fixtures and the results. Do

they deserve to go? They have not been good enough. You

Players have been wondering whether or they will be paid. And a quick

final thought, it will be tough for them next season. They will be a

scalp to be ticked off by pdople. It will be difficult for them. Every

team that plays Bradford next year will want to beat them. Thrde

successive wins for Castleford means Darryl Hunt is

An early test of this defence against Castleford, who are flowing

with confidence. A little khck that will test them and touchdown by

Shenton. The aerial battle apparently won by Justin Carney

They are looking to see if Briscoe is interfered with. It lookdd as

though it was a straightforward aerial battle between the two. And

early blow for the Castleford Tigers. The skipper with thd try.

That was a good kick and thhs time Briscoe wins it. This time, Briscoe

gets up highest and he scords himself. The kick was flighted to

perfection from McGuire. A standing start almost from the player and

Briscoe takes advantage. That was a decent effort by Bailey,

who is fresh on the field. Six tackles so it will be a kick by

Sinfield. Bailey with a charge to the line. He has his name on the

scoresheet. Three tries, resulting from three high kick. And it is

Leeds' turn to prosper again. Marc Sneyd, spinning it awax.

Shenton stretching the defence. He is having a super season.

Marc Sneyd, looking to keep it alive. Over the top it goes. Dixon,

looking for a way back down the middle and found it and he had

support. It was a quick response by Castleford to go in behind. They

score straightaway. The ball over the top by high Iraqi, who was in

support. Supplying the finishing touches `` Hauraki Chris Ablett to

straighten things out. I thhnk he touched it down.

The referee, you can hear from him, he has lost it. There, it is lost.

Was there a Castleford handle this? It does not look like it. The

touchdown is completed. And Carl Ablett is given the score that gives

Leeds the lead again. That was a lovely offload. Picking

up from dummy half. Nathan Lassey. He is over. The Leeds' defence went

to sleep. Massey showed excdptional sharpness. The offload in the first

instance racking up a few ddfenders. Massey spotted a huge gap in the

defence. I think Carl Ablett tried to get back but the damage had been

done. A look around. A surghng effort from Massey. That takes three

Leeds defenders. Castleford have the numbers. It is a chance. Carney is

into score. They are looking for the obstruction, inevitably. Dods

Michael Shenton cause an obstruction, when he runs. They are

letting it play on, no they are not. No try because of obstruction. It

does not go down well with the Castleford coaching team. Trying to

find a way through. It was tntidy, but Leeds keep possession and keep

it alive. Sinfield. Kevin Shnfield is driving it in. Within striking

range. Still all square in the game. Moon with the chip back and

Carl Ablett with the grubber kick. Has he got spare? Carl Ablett is

claiming it. The referee wants to have another look. Remember, you can

score with any part of your upper body. It looked like his fotr arm

was across that. It was tight, but it is a try. Leeds have the lead

again. It is down to determhnation to keep the opportunity going. Carl

Ablett has got their just in time. That pass bounced off the chest of

Carl Ablett and the referee said to play on. That was a good offload.

Luke Dorn. Sinfield just about dragging him down. Oh, Kevin

Sinfield! Puts the head into Luke Dorn. My word! We will have a look

at this. It is a rare moment of Kevin Sinfield is losing his rag.

There will be trouble for this. The look of surprise on the facd of Luke

Dorn. It is a red card. Kevhn Sinfield is sent off. The vdry first

time in his career. Kevin Shnfield sees red. What an extraordinary

moment, absolutely extraordhnary. There is an element of disbdlief

around here. Castleford are looking to take advantage of the extra man,

if they can. That was lost. It is a penalty. Interference. It is a

penalty for Castleford and they will get another set. Millington. Grant

Millington is over. Minutes left in the game. Millington scores.

Castleford have a chance to draw level. Leeds are unsettled by the

sending off of their skipper and Castleford are back in it. Larc

Sneyd with a chance to bring the scores level again. And as the sun

sets, Marc Sneyd scores and it is all square with moments left to

play. Maybe one last chance. Danny McGuire will be the obvious man He

was in position for the drop goal and it goes back to Jamie Pdacock,

who pulls it wide. The game has had so much incident. How remarkable if

Peacock had scored but it w`s clearly McGuire who was the intended

target. The dummy half faildd to pick him out. It remains all square.

What a game that was. That hs what derby games are about. You want to

beat your rivals and it went down to the final minutes. Probably one of

the most tiring games I havd played in. It was draining. Leeds light

have won it if the last minttes had gone differently, and Castldford

would have thought they could win it if this try had been awarded.

Carney. Obstruction again. Common`sense said it is a try, but

technically, it cannot be a try Calum Watkins was impeded for a

second. Possibly he could h`ve got Carney if Shenton had not btmped

into him. This is the way the game is run and it is black and white. A

lot of people were angry about that, and it is not the referee's fault.

We have to get on with it. Ht needs looking at at the end of thd season.

Going back to it, you cannot look at a tries scored at 30 minutes from

the end of time and said, wd would have won. It would not mean you

would go on and win the gamd. Castleford, where is the improvement

coming from under Daryl Powdll? He has a good team ethos and a group of

players who are willing to work hard for each other. They are a team that

works hard for each other and does the little things well. Thex are a

brilliant team. I want to t`lk about composure. There were two moments

featuring yourself, Jamie, `nd the captain. The headlines were about

the sending off of Kevin Sinfield. What did he say to you? He

apologised afterwards. He s`id it cost us the game. We said it did

not. There are 1000 other incidents that get one. In rugby, people put

heads together and I think that is what happened. He was sent off. He

served his punishment and hd has a two match ban. We have this moment.

This was sublime. It was ridiculous. It shows a lack of composurd from

ourselves at the end. I am glad he hit the ball to be honest. H thought

it was going over. Everybodx else was in front. I thought I h`d to

have a go and it was not to be. Kevin Sinfield, a two match ban Is

that about right, a bit lenhent I do not think it was an intentional

head`butt. I think he went to put his head in, like stags do, so to

speak, and Luke Dorn did not do that. It made it look worse. The

reigning champions Wigan ard doing their bit. They have the ch`nce to

leapfrog everybody on Fridax. Hull FC. Fielding a depleted sidd. They

showed plenty of strength in depth. I am a fan of how Wigan plax.

Hull were level until about 25 minutes. It is embarrassing. George

Williamson stepped up though. Wigan pride themselves on working hard and

having players that can slot in effortlessly. They have an `bundance

of talent at the club. No m`tter who is injured, there will be someone to

replace them. This is the h`t`trick try for Williams. He had a really

good night for Wigan. You mdntioned Lee Radford. One or two of his

players will be personally embarrassed. He said there were some

unbelievably average perforlances. He is right. In this countrx we get

rid of the coach to quickly. When you take over a squad, you haven't

got all the players you want. Some players are on too much mondy for

their position. It needs to be sorted out and back can takd time.

Six points of the play`off place. It will be hard for them to cl`im this

back. Some of the errors, it's down to the players. It is reallx

disappointing to see. We want everyone striving week in wdek out.

Wigan must be doing something right. 153 points in three games.

Absolutely. This should havd been stopped on the ten metre line. He

still manages to score. What Lee Radford said about being

embarrassed, you have seen ht right there. That is three games done but

there is plenty more to comd. Could the Dragons breathe ndw life

into their play`off push? Brett Ferres takes time to reflect on a

giant 12 months. And will bd Robins be rocked by the resurgent Red

Devils? Super League's clubs leave few stones unturned and Warrington

have been looking at a couple of Serbian international 's who have

been training with that club for the last couple of weeks. Our agent

spoke to Warrington about a trial and they were happy to see ts here.

This is like a dream come true. When you sit in Serbia and watch Super

League, you can only imagind playing and training with these guys. It is

an honour for me to be here training with these players. They have been a

pleasure to be around from day one and it has been a great expdrience.

It is our way of supporting developing countries in terls of

rugby league. As you can sed, they are weak, physical human behngs

They like the rough and tough aspect of rugby league and that suhts us.

It suits our sport. A lot of players deserve a chance to come here and

maybe play in some lower le`gues because that can help the Sdrbian

national team to go up. Our national team cannot compare to any Super

League club. It might be a sad story, but it is true. I will put

them at championship one level. I have told them where we are at. The

larger one said, not Super League? I said not yet. I have said to

everyone I could stay here for a lifetime trial because it is really

good. It is the best 20 days of my life. It is a dream come trte and I

hope that we will come back here and stay longer than this. A grdat

story. Good luck to them. W`rrington were involved in another local derby

on Friday night. They locked horns with Widnes. Dave awards watched and

emotional evening unfolds. Added emotion to night after the

death of the Warrington supdr fan Pat Price.

What a wonderful tribute by both sets of supporters. It is a Widnes

type tonight who need to win to keep hold of that top eight placd. They

have only picked up eight points from their last three games. They

need to turn the momentum around. Warrington on the back of tdn

straight wins. They have moved into the semifinals of the Champhons

League. Clark at a dummy half. Tickle testing the Warrington

defence. It has been a good opening so far to this game. The angle is

excellent. Has he got over here He just held it up. They will have to

go back ten metres and play the game again. Widnes took it quickly here.

An opportunity if they move it. It's in the corner! It did not t`ke them

long to respond to their inhtial disappointment. Widnes rest`rting

and moving it out. It is a very good finish.

They are in a good position again. That was a knock`on, was it? The

referee has set, play on. C`hill will spin it left. They want another

look. Was there and knock`on from John Clark? That scene to go

backwards. Try is confirmed and what a time to score. Witness's second

try for minutes before the break. They should have a two scord

have kept it alive, although it has have kept it alive, although it has

been a little bit scrappy. Steve O'Connor is a happy man. Thdre might

still be an opportunity herd. Where on the stroke of half`time. Clark is

looking to organise things `gain. Two horrific hands! A brillhant

finish by Flynn. Atkins was all over him, but Flynn managed to gdt into

the corner. There was a wonderful flick pass in the middle of that.

Hanbury just gets it away, `lthough it took some finishing. At the break

they have a healthy leaves, the Widnes Vikings. `` healthy lead

Well taken by Ormesby. A wonderful pass. Russell dropped it and now

Flynn can pick it up. Widnes are going back the other way. Flynn is

making easy meat of the defdnce Phelps will finish it off. Ht

started as an attacking kick. It became a counter attack and now

Widnes have the last laugh. This looked as if it was turning into

something special from Ormesby, but he let himself down by forchng the

past, which does not hit thd hands of Russell. Instead, Flynn provides

the return and Phelps with the speed to finish

the return and Phelps with the things off. Widnes had another.

A slip in defence from Stef`n Marsh. Away goes Atkins to score the try

that gives Warrington a little bit of hope. For scores back, they

were, but this moment of magic from Ryan Atkins with a wonderful turn of

pace has given them a glimmdr. Currie those it back to the middle.

`` Currie throws it back to the middle. It goes. It is going to be

another try! Chris Bridge c`nnot celebrate just yet. The refdree one

is to know if there was an obstruction. `` the referee wants to

know if there was an obstruction. It is two tries in two minutes.

Warrington suddenly have a decent chance of a fight back. Thex will

want to keep the momentum going having scored those two trids in the

blink of an eye. At good effort comfort a little higher for Widnes.

He has taken it superbly well. read. Did he lose possession there?

One tackle left in this set. There is still time for a Warrington

comeback, but the question hs is there the will? Another school with

magical handling. They are looking at the original knock`on. Dhd

Ormesby tapped that forward? It is not a try. Ratchford has bedn

denied. It was sensational bone `` it was sensational, even though it

was disallowed. A tackle on O Brien. Warrington pick up and carrx on

Currie with a finish. Warrington have not given up yet. Therd is

still ten minutes to go, but they have to have this judged in their

favour in the first instancd. Did a Fort go in touch? It is a try. He'll

is very another set of six. Stefan Larch

bringing it back. Right through the centre of the Warrington defence to

make sure of victory. Here we go again. It will be passed our

bedtimes at the time we havd finished tonight. Another vhdeo

reverie. `` video referee. It will surely still be Widnes'

night to night and a happy night for their owner. Another of those

decisions to finish the match. What a result, you would not havd called

that? I do not think anyone would have called that. Two points the

Widnes, that is massive thel to keep spot in the eighth. It was `lmost

two different games. Tony Slith s body language, he did not enjoy

that. He called his team boring You would not associate that with

Warrington. Not with team is coached by Tony Smith. Take your ch`nces and

have the skill to take the chances. I do not think Warrington dhd that.

He does not like to see fivd drives and a kick. Widnes, their ddfence,

in the first half particularly, it was immense. They showed re`l

determination. This was a kdy point in the game. Warrington got a bit of

form and momentum. They looked like they would come back. Some drrors

from Warrington, some of thdm forced by defence and some of them on

forced. That was the story `t the beginning of the year. On forced

errors, they will upset Tonx. Credit to Widnes. They had to play three

games in eight days. They h`ve come through that. Look at that hs

running for Warrington. That is really tough. That is a plax`off

before the play`offs. That kind of run, you will be ready for the

play`offs by the time you h`ve got through those fixtures.

Wigan's victory over Hull FC saw St Helens knocked off top spot,

but their trip to London offered them the opportunity to reg`in that

position and Jamie they had little trouble in doing so

That is all you expected ag`inst the London side, average age 21. Average

age of 20. They are re`building already. You cannot judge any thing

by this performance against London. You have to get up there and show

you are motivated. That was a great run, from Alex Walmsley. Wh`t have

you made of St Helens? They started the season on a flyer. I thhnk a lot

of people, St Helens fans, would admit they built`up expectations.

They have been hot and cold since. A couple of games they have ldt

themselves down. You hammerdd them. They will be disappointed. Xou

should not... You will be disappointed with that. But an

average age of 20 and is looking to rebuild the next season. Thd problem

with St Helens, they beat us, Wigan and Huddersfield, but they have had

big losses. If you are beatdn as a top side, it should be one, two

tries. They were hammered bx Warrington, Catalan and Hull KR You

say you do not fancy then? H do fancy them. We were beaten by them

in a tough game. They beat Wigan in the Derby and they beat us hn those

games where it feels like it is more than two points in the leagte. They

have the team to do it but that is the worrying thing, those ddfeats.

The foot injury, the player had been key? Yes. You wonder if it will play

a little bit, the couple of defeats, they should have won.

Having his best spell of rugby since he came over. Alex Walmsley again.

Sia Soliola. You dream of these tries. He pulls away from the

defence. It was wonderful. He is flowing. It was a great try.

Disappointing from London to concede that of a kick`off. It reminded me

of one McDonald's scored ag`inst St Helens at Knowsley Road. Thd crowd

love it. We like to get out in the clear, as well. It will be ` big

finish to the season. We talked about the Warrington running, Saints

have a tough one. They have. I am sure they will look to go into the

play`offs in form. If you play those games and pick up momentum, you are

in business. It gives you momentum. With it being five teams, wd have

won from fifth, but you do not want to finish outside the top four.

Wakefield's resurgence under James Webster has been nothhng short

Four wins and a draw since his appointment have seen the

Those five games have all bden at home though, so a trip to

Perpignon at the weekend was a real test of their play`off creddntials.

The Catalan Dragon, stopped by Wakefield players. The Dragons look

to get first blood in this latch. Sam Williams putting the crossfield

kick in. They failed to catch it. The stars and scores in the left

corner for Catalan. `` he does. Morgan Escare. Does he have the feet

to go all the way? He does. It is hard to stop him when he gets on a

run. He is on fine form this season, the French fullback. Catalan attack

down the right`hand side. Whitehead powered his way over the line.

Elliott Whitehead is showing to be one of the top forwards this season.

Williams. That was caught l`te. It goes to the left side and Ghllard

with the grubber kick. Zeb Taia gets it down. Inventive play frol the

Catalan Dragons. Zeb Taia crosses over. Whitehead, he spotted a gap.

He strolls through to score to the right of the sticks. That w`s far

too easy for Elliott Whitehdad. James Webster is furious. W`kefield

looking for their first points of the afternoon. That was dropped and

Morgan Escare has picked it up and will run away for Catalan Dragons.

You do not let Morgan Escard breakthrough. It is almost

impossible to catch him when he is in full flow, and that was his 0th

try of the season. What a t`lent. Matt Ryan. Looking to crash over the

line but caught by two Catalan defenders. The referee is not sure

about this and will send it upstairs. He wants to check the

grounding. Ryan dropped the ball. It was great defending by Whitdhead.

The try is chalked off. Ellhott Whitehead! He has charged through

Paul Sykes like he was not there. That is a hat`trick for Ellhott

Whitehead. Sam Williams. Morgan Escare dropped

the ball and it was picked tp by the Wildcats will stop Rhys Lynn, he's

scores underneath the posts. It is nothing more than a consolation for

the Wildcats. The Catalan Dragons breathing fire. They had problems

with discipline on the pitch, but they seemed to get it right with

controlled aggression. They did get it right. In policing you look at a

thin blue line between rugbx league, it is the thin Red Line. Yot have to

tiptoe down the line and get it right. Against Wigan, it was too far

the other way, but they got it right against Wakefield and that hs why

they won easily. When you whn like that, it allows players likd

Whitehead to flourish. He dhd that again with a hat`trick. He has been

their best player this season. He has bought into the French culture.

He is loving his time in Fr`nce He is on 17, which is outstandhng for a

forward. 17 tries, fourth in the Super League try scorers list.

Morgan Escare in the top as well. Steve Menzies scored a lot of tries,

and he has been as good as that The England back row, there is no

shoo`in. That was a big movd for him. A bold move. It was. Hd might

have seen it as a risk. He could have not bought into their dthos and

what have seen it as a risk. He could

have not bought into their dthos and what they are looking to be, but he

is playing well. What did wd learn about Wakefield? I think thdy will

struggle to make the eighth. They had a great run at home, but looking

at their fixtures, it might be too much, but they can always btild for

next year. It's been an eventful 12 months

in the life of Brett Ferres, who helped Huddersfield finhsh top

of the table last season and went on to play in all of England's

games in the World Cup. He's returned to

the Giants team after a fivd`match ban for a dangerous tackle on Jonny

Lomax earlier in the season and the former Bradford, Wakefidld and

Castleford forward is looking to A piece of silverware at last the

Huddersfield. What a moment for Ken Davy and Huddersfield. Getthng that

at the end of the season was fantastic. A contrast this season,

we have been up and down and not playing too great. We have learned

from last year. We will probably raise the standards where wd want to

be this year and probably h`ve not reached them. There is a long way to

go but we have two pick up the victories and keep the foregoing

week in, week out. Waddle rtns to the line. What about the pl`y from

Brett Ferres? I have big hands, I am lucky, I can hold the ball ` little

bit. We practice a lot and practice with our grip and work hard in those

areas. That pass came off. Ht gets us an important try. I like

off`loading, I like that aspect of the game, when you create something

out of nothing. Sometimes it does not come off and I will not be

happy, but when they do, yot get nice moments like that, where you

create something from nothing, which is difficult in a game with two good

defences. Brett Ferres with support. That was a clever kick. Brett Ferres

will follow it up. I think H have kicked on quite a lot since I moved

to Huddersfield. It was a good opportunity and charms coming here

and working with the club `` chance. I like what he does, he cre`tes an

aura around him. He is good within the squad and that keeps people on

their toes. We are striving for that perfection, which is hard, but we

will get it in the end. A rdally hard time. There was no intdntion in

the tackle. I did not want to put anyone in a position where they

could get hurt, and it was potentially career threatenhng. I

served my time and took my punishment. I am sorry for what I

did, and I do not want to do anything like that again stop there

are only a few things up for grabs and that is the Grand Final. We are

out of the Challenge Cup but we want to pick something up. We tasted

success last year, so we hope we can get some this year. One of those

players who rarely grabs thd headlines. An unsung hero, how good

is he? He is very good. He came through the ranks of Bradford. He

was a tough kid, who have the attributes. He has taken a while to

find himself. He is aggresshve, skilful and has a huge engine. He is

integral to any success Huddersfield will have. He will be a plus for

them when he rejoined the tdam. There was a real four`pointdr

on Sunday afternoon as both Salford and Hull KR looked to take `dvantage

of Wakefield's defeat and edge closer to the coveted eighth spot

currently occupied by Widnes. Josh, it was your team. It started

well. A trademark try. We started well. It was a story of two halves.

Poor defence! I thought we were good first half, but second half we did

not seem to turn up, which hs disappointing for the team. Widnes

hat to win so we knew how ilportant the two points were. It was a

massive game and so it is disappointing for us and wh`t we are

trying to achieve, getting ` defeat like this and what happened in the

second half. We saw another try for Kate Brown for Salford, an `stute

signing. `` Caton`Brown. Thdy signed Kevin Locke, they signed hilself. He

has slotted in, he is a wonderful athlete. There was no Kevin Locke

and no Gareth Hock for Salford. This is a good example. Mistakes cost

you. Talk me through this one. This

looked as if it was your second try. It looked as if it will turn the

tide, but they did not happdn. I did not get it down. I thought xou did.

You can put it on my tally. There were a couple who were sent to the

sin`bin. That is classed as a shoulder charge. If we are going to

play everything black`and`white that is classed as a shoulddr

charge, so it should have bden a penalty. Salford took control. When

anything of the back of that and anything of the back of that and

Salford total advantage. Salford, three out of three. They ard a

different team. They are a great team. It will take them a while to

gel. People expect them to come out and be a world`class team. That will

not happen when you have buhlt a new squad from scratch. They ard your

next opponents on Friday. The way Salford are going, three out of

three, that will be interesting They have performed with excellence.

Salford are a very attack mhnded team. Can they get in the ehght It

will be tough but them to do that. Maybe next you, look out for them.

What about your boys? It will be tough. The key game will be Widnes

away. Looking forward to finding out who makes it. That is all sdven

fixtures. Let's have a look at the Super League table.

You can hear full commentarx of that game along with those they's visit.

We will be back at a slightly later time next week. The second hs to ask

you a man of still question. Throw out a couple of names. Darrdll

Clarke, Chris Hill and Elliott Wyatt. They have stood out, all for

different reasons. Jamie Pe`cock picking three forwards. Exactly

What do you reckon? I have the same three in my head. They have been

fantastic. Still a view gamds left to stake their claim. Thanks to Josh

and Jamie for the company. We will see you next time. Good night.