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 A date with Hull KR at Wembley in early June awaited the victors
in the second semi-final between the Warrington Wolves and Leigh Leopards as
the two sides clashed at the Totally Wicked Stadium in St Helens.
The Wolves were handicapped by two points on the coupon
despite being five points and six places behind their opponents on the current
Super League table, Leigh having won the league meeting between the two sides back
in April 2025.
The Wolves were looking for their second consecutive final
appearance, and to go one better than last year and lift the trophy, the
Leopards for their second appearance in three seasons after famously lifting
the trophy in 2023 when they beat Hull KR thanks to that Gareth O’Brien golden
point drop goal.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Sun 11th May 2025 6:14 PM | Views : 901 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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 Hull KR were the red-hot favourites to eliminate the Catalans
Dragons from the Challenge Cup at the semi-final stage and march on to Wembley
in a month’s time to face either the Warrington Wolves or Leigh Leopards for a
chance to finally end forty-five years of hurt and lift the famous old trophy.
It was the first meeting between the two sides in 2025, the most
recent game being the round twenty-two clash back in August 2024 which the
Robins won by the comprehensive margin of 36-4.
The bookies gave the Dragons a twelve point start on the
coupon, expecting that Hull KR would fulfil their favourites tag and make the
trip down to London in a month’s time, in front of a bumper crowd made up
mostly of KR fans.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Sat 10th May 2025 4:27 PM | Views : 2140 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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 It was only two rounds ago when a dramatic Mason Lino drop
goal sealed the win for Wakefield Trinity and broke the hearts of the
Castleford Tigers, and in the final game at the Magic Weekend in Newcastle the
two were again pitched against one another with all the pre-match speculation that it could be a classic on a day of classics.
The Tigers were given a six-point start on the coupon as
Wakefield looked for the victory that would lift them into eighth spot in the
table above the Warrington Wolves side who had just lost out to Wigan in a
thrilling encounter.
It was a classic encounter in Rivals round, but the Tigers
won both preceding encounters in 2023, the year that a very different Wakefield
were relegated from Super League,
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Sun 4th May 2025 7:32 PM | Views : 6430 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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 On a day of three mouthwatering Magic games, one stood out
as likely to be a little bit special was the champions Wigan Warriors faced the
Warrington Wolves, Wigan looking to narrow the gap on top placed Hull KR while
Warrington had their eyes on a top six spot.
The bookies could only see one winner as the Wolves were
devastated by injuries which meant that they fielded a side without a
recognised half-back, Wigan being handicapped by sixteen points on the coupon.
Wigan comfortably won the round three game in Las Vegas by 48-24
but roles were reversed in the last meeting between the two sides in 2024 when
Warrington won by 40-4 but most thought that the volume of injuries in the
primrose and blue would gift the game to Wigan.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Sun 4th May 2025 5:18 PM | Views : 6886 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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 Day two, game four, of the Magic Weekend in Newcastle
delivered a lop-sided, on paper at least, match up between fifth placed Hull FC
and a Huddersfield Giants side who had so far not delivered a single point in
Super League 2025.
The Giants had been given a fourteen-point start on the
handicap coupon with everyone backing a win for Hull FC which would lift them
above the Rhinos and back into fourth place in the table, however, a much-needed
win for the Giants would lift them above Salford on points difference and could
kick-start what has so far been an awful season.
FC won the meeting between the two sides in round three by a
single point having lost the previous five encounters, and the Giants have a
track record of performing well at the Magic Weekend.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Sun 4th May 2025 3:01 PM | Views : 6020 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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 The final game of the opening day of Magic was the most mouth-watering
fixture of the afternoon as St Helens took on the Leeds Rhinos with fourth
place up for grabs for the victor, the two sides starting the game separated by
just points difference on the league table.
Saints were slight favourites with the bookies, but this was
a different Rhinos side to the one which St Helens knocked out of the Challenge
Cup by 22-14 a couple of months ago, but the Rhinos were seeking their
first win over Saints in two years.
St Helens brought back skipper Jonny Lomax after he was left
out of the side for the last three games.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Sat 3rd May 2025 9:27 PM | Views : 6334 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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On paper the most one-sided fixture at the Magic weekend
pitted the lead leaders Hull KR against the side struggling against adversity in
the embattled Salford Red Devils who are just keeping their nose ahead of
fellow strugglers the Huddersfield Giants.
The bookies thought that there could only be one winner and
there was the chance for any risk-taking Salford fan to make a small fortune at 80/1 if
they backed their own side to upset the Champions elect.
The Robins won the round three game between the two sides by
a massive 42-0, and you have to back to round three in 2024, four games ago, to
find the last time that Salford picked up the points.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Sat 3rd May 2025 7:11 PM | Views : 6336 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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 A magical weekend was promised as the great and the good of
rugby league decamped to Newcastle for a jamboree of Super League which started
with an intriguing match-up between Leigh Leopards and the Catalans Dragons.
Leigh were slight favourites with the bookies but were only
handicapped by two points on the coupon as the bookies struggled to pick a
winner.
The Leopards won both meetings between the two sides last
season, and the round three game in Super League XXX by a big 34-06 scoreline,
a win for Leigh would lift them into second, a win for the Dragons would put
them fourth, just a league point behind their opponents.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Sat 3rd May 2025 4:55 PM | Views : 6282 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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The final game of round nine of Super league XXX saw what
was, on paper, the game of the round as fourth placed Hull FC took on the
champions Wigan Warriors for the chance to finish the weekend in second spot in
the league table.
A win for Wigan would be enough to take them second and
leave them just two league points behind Hull KR, FC needed to win by
thirty-seven points to lift them above the Leigh Leopards on points difference,
but they knew that a win of any description in front of their vociferous fans, would lift them above the Warriors and into third.
The bookies thought that it would be a win for the visitors
and had given the Black and Whites a twelve-point start on the handicap coupon.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Sun 27th Apr 2025 5:06 PM | Views : 7472 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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 Eighth played ninth for a chance at seventh spot as
Wakefield Trinity got on the plane to the south of France to face the Catalans
Dragons in round nine of Super League.
The bookies were tipping a home win having given Trinity an eight-point
start on the handicap coupon and without a win at the Stade Gilbert Brutus in
the last seven years, history was on the side of Steve McNamara’s men.
Coming into the game the sides were separated on the table by only by points
difference, barring a massive score for one of the sides, the winner would
replace Warrington Wolves in seventh place in the table and be on the same
league points as Leeds and St Helens ahead of them.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Sat 26th Apr 2025 7:41 PM | Views : 10428 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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 Two of the bottom three sides had a Saturday afternoon
meeting as the Huddersfield Giants hosted the Castleford Tigers, the former
looking for their first win of the season to lift them off the bottom, the
latter for their second to lift them four points clear of their opponents.
The Giants were slight favourites with the bookies and were
handicapped by two points on the coupon but there was little to chose between
the two sides who have both had a tortured start to the 2025 season and neither
of whom had fired in any way.
The Giants have won the last seven meetings between the two
sides, and it is almost two years since the Tigers recorded a victory against their near
neighbours, what the home fans would give to see their side register their
first points of 2025.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Sat 26th Apr 2025 4:55 PM | Views : 8104 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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Round 9 of Super League XXX meant that it was the Leeds
Rhinos turn to try and displace the league leaders Hull KR as the Robins looked
to ensure that they stayed at the top of the pile, whatever happened elsewhere
in the round.
A win for the Rhinos would put them up to third in the table
and open the door to Wigan to finish the round above Hull KR, but should the
points go back to East Hull then the Red & White’s would be four points
clear of the Warriors in top spot.
Hull KR were the favourites for the win, but they had only
been handicapped by four points on the coupon against the continually improving
Rhinos, the bookmakers and pundits alike were not sure that the league leaders
would have it all their own way.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Fri 25th Apr 2025 10:05 PM | Views : 8214 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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It’s not often that a clash between Warrington Wolves and St
Helens is referred to as a ‘mid table battle’ but in round nine of Super league
XXX, that is exactly what it was as fifth played ninth in a Thursday night
encounter.
Warrington were slight favourites on the coupon with a two-point
handicap, indicating that even the bookies were struggling to decide which way
it would go, and who would emerge with the crucial two points at the end of the
night.
A win for the home side would lift them into seventh spot,
while a win would put Saints into third, and a win by thirty-seven or more
would see them into second, at least overnight.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Thu 24th Apr 2025 10:03 PM | Views : 8724 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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 The record-breaking start to the 30th Super League season has hit new peaks with bumper attendances across the Easter weekend.
An aggregate of 86,080 across the six fixtures from Thursday to Saturday was a new record for a single six-match round of matches since the Super League was launched in 1996, beating the previous best of 83,357 which was set over Easter two years ago.
It was the second best attended round of fixtures in those 30 seasons, behind only one seven-match round from the seasons when the competition consisted of 14 teams – Easter 2012, which had an aggregate gate of 88,455. |
Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Mon 21st Apr 2025 9:42 AM | Views : 36786 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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The final game of the Rivals round was a bottom of the table
affair as eleventh placed and embattled Salford red Devils travelled to the south
of France to face a Catalans Dragons who themselves were languishing in ninth
place after a poor start to the season, which has seen them with just three wins
in seven outings.
The Dragons were handicapped by sixteen points on the coupon
with the bookies and pundits alike, unable to see anything other than a decent
sized win for the home side.
The two sides had already met in 2025, the Dragons winning
by 20-12 to eliminate Salford from the Challenge Cup at the quarter finals
stage, the last two league meetings between the two sides in Perpignan saw
Salford leaving without scoring a single point.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Sat 19th Apr 2025 7:54 PM | Views : 8410 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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Two sides whose quarter year report reads ‘could do better’ met at the Leigh Sports Village on Easter Saturday as the Rivals round pitched
the Leigh Leopards against the Warrington Wolves as sixth hosted eighth.
A win would lift Leigh into fourth above St Helens and Leeds
Rhinos, a win for the Wolves would see them take Leigh’s sixth spot pushing the
Leopards out of the six.
Leigh were slight favourites with the bookies, handicapped
by two points on the coupon, but the promise was for a close match between two
sides both desperate for the points to keep them in touch with the sides at the
top of the table.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Sat 19th Apr 2025 3:30 PM | Views : 8895 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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The final game of the Good Friday Rivas round of Super
League XXX was the one that the bookies were tipping to be the most one-sides,
the Rhinos handicapped by twenty-four points on the coupon as they took on
bottom side and winless Huddersfield Giants who are in the depths of a chronic
injury crisis.
Honours were shared between the two sides in 2024, the
Giants winning the round eight encounter a day under a year ago by 30-24, Leeds
victorious in the last meeting between the two sides by 34-6 in July.
Leeds had new re-signing Kallum Watkins in their seventeen,
the Giants scraping the barrel for a functioning seventeen as their injury list
was longer than their fit player roster.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Fri 18th Apr 2025 7:26 PM | Views : 9314 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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The oldest derby in the game was sold-out as Wigan Warriors
faced St Helens as the teams in third and fourth spot, tied together on ten
league points, went into battle for the chance to go into second spot ahead of
Hull FC who lost out in the earlier Hull derby.
Wigan had been installed as favourites with the bookies, and
they were handicapped by ten points on the coupon but with the rain falling steadily
in front of a massive crowd, there was little to choose between the two sides
with the conditions as a leveller.
Wigan have been victorious in the last two games between the
sides, the last St Helens win was over a year ago in round six of 2024.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Fri 18th Apr 2025 5:00 PM | Views : 10393 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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The hottest ticket of the Good Friday Rivals Round was
undoubtedly for the Hull derby as the top two sides in Super League met in a
round eight encounter with the top position in the table up for grabs between the
fiercest of opponents.
The full house notices had been printed a week ago as the
MKM became a sea of black, red and white and a cacophony of sound welcomed the
gladiators to the arena.
The visitors were the favourites with the bookies and were
handicapped by ten points on the coupon as they looked to repeat their victory
of a fortnight ago when they eliminated the Black & Whites at the quarter
final stages of the Challenge Cup.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Fri 18th Apr 2025 2:38 PM | Views : 8982 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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The opening fixture of the Rivals round of Super League XXX
on Easter Thursday evening saw Wakefield Trinity play host to the struggling
Castleford Tigers as eighth faced tenth, the home side with one eye of
finishing the evening in sixth spot.
Pre-kick off Wakefield were strong favourites with the
bookies with a twelve-point handicap on the coupon most pundits believing that
it would take a minor Easter miracle for the Tigers to make the short nine-mile
journey home clutching the two points.
A win of any description would lift the Tigers two points clear
of Salford in eleventh, but a win of any description would see Castleford into
seventh, and a win by fifty-two points or more would se them up to sixth ahead of
the Leeds Rhinos.
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Posted by RLFANS News Hound on Thu 17th Apr 2025 9:55 PM | Views : 11179 | Replies : 0 | READ MORE |
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