- 2 weeks ago
In episode three of The Serious About Rugby league Show, Will Jackson, Sam Cook, Sam Brocksom and Peter Smith dissect round 26, assess whether Leeds Rhinos are a one man team, pick St Helens' best spine, debate whether Hull KR are running out of steam and make their Grand Final predictions a month out.
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00:00Hello and welcome to the Serious Sport Rugby League show. This is our third episode and
00:10we're building nicely so if you could give this video a like and subscribe to the channel that
00:15would be much appreciated. I'm Will Jackson, joining me today is Peter Smith, lead writer
00:21reporter for the Yorkshire Evening Post and we've got Sam Broxham and Sam Cook who are writers for
00:28the Serious Sport Rugby League. We've just had the penultimate round of Super League fixtures
00:34and there were a couple of surprise results really, wasn't there? Obviously, Catalans went
00:40to Headingley and won. Wakefield stunned Hull Kayara at Bellevue. Elsewhere, Wigan flumped Cass.
00:49Full FC beat a, I must say, really poor Warrington team. Lee were, I mean, they're absolutely battered
00:57St. Helens really. And Huddersfield beat Salford so, Pete, we'll start with you. Obviously,
01:05tell us about Leeds and what went wrong for you there then.
01:10Do we have to, Will? Yeah, Leeds just had an off day and I don't know what everyone's going
01:15to say. Well, they're a one-man team. They can't play without Jake Connor and on the evidence
01:21of last Thursday. That's right. I don't actually think they are a one-man team but they've certainly
01:27played like it this week. No con and no, no bite in attack. Defended okay, conceded two
01:35pretty soft tries really. Won a missed tackle from acting half and the other way the ball hit
01:41the metalwork and bounced back to an attacker when Catalans had tried for a drop goal. But
01:48Leeds didn't get over the line until the last 15 minutes, never got their attacking game into gear,
01:56were very flat compared with the recent performances. It looked very much like the way they were playing
02:03in the opening few games of the season or even last season. Really disappointing performance for a
02:11Thursday night in front of a big crowd, 15,000 in, in the last home league game. Fortunately,
02:17from Leeds' point of view, it didn't matter when Leeds did them a favour by beating Saints
02:23the following night. But they're going to have to improve considerably, I think, to do anything
02:29in the playoffs. But having said that, people were beginning to talk Leeds up when the hype
02:34was starting to, the hype train was starting to run and I think maybe it'll just be a little
02:39bit of a reality check to show where they still are. They're still not quite at the level probably
02:45of Wigan and Hull KR in terms of consistency. Brad Arthur said after the game that all Leeds'
02:52defeats are the same and he's exactly right. All the games they've lost this year have looked
02:58the same. Leeds lacking patience and composure with the ball and that was the case again on
03:05Thursday, sadly. Yeah, is there anything to take out of the fact that it came two weeks
03:10to go before the playoffs and you get that bad result out of the way? Well, maybe, but
03:15you're better off, I think you're better off going into the playoffs on a good winning run.
03:22They'd won five on the trot before that. Six would have been the best sequence for quite
03:28some time. They've lost a little bit of momentum. So I think it was just a bad night all around
03:35for Leeds and Catalans. They're not a pretty team to watch. The spoiling tactics were effective
03:43though and they deserved the win on balance of play. I mean, it was two tries each, but
03:49Catalan just seemed more up for it for some reason.
03:54Yeah, Sam, I mean, I know you both watch this, both Sams, but I mean, just how badly was Jake
04:01kind of missed and what's the latest with his injury?
04:07Yeah, I'll go. Yeah, I mean, they did miss Jake, you know, they missed Jake Sibley. They
04:16put Jackson Field in the house and he's just not got that ability yet to control the team
04:22like Jake does. I do think he was not helped by Brodie Croft after another off game.
04:28You know, when Jake plays well, Brodie plays well, but I don't think Brodie has that instinct
04:37to take a game by the scruff of the neck and, you know, win it for his team like Jake does.
04:42In terms of injury, obviously, the rib injury he got last week, he missed, he might miss
04:52next week, especially given the fact that Leeds have guaranteed a home playoff. But yeah,
05:00I think if he misses Wigan next week, I don't see him Wigan. I don't see Leeds winning that
05:05next week.
05:07Sam, see, would you, I mean, with Leeds more than likely looking at fourth now, would you
05:12rest players going into that final game if you were Brad Arthur or would you try and go
05:16in there with some sort of momentum?
05:18I think Brad Arthur strikes me as the sort of coach who probably wants his immediate response.
05:24I'm not sure that he'll rest players. I don't think he's going to take unnecessary risks either.
05:29I don't think necessarily we're going to see Jake Connor, but I don't think he's going to
05:33make wholesale changes. I mean, I think probably Leeds and Hulke are probably two of the teams
05:38have used the fewest number of players. They don't really vary that much, despite Leeds
05:42having a lot of injuries this season. I think he kind of knows what he likes and likes
05:47what he knows. And I think that's probably how I'll approach it. I think regardless of
05:53whether the win or lose against Wigan, all he's really going to bother about is performance
05:58because, like you said, the result doesn't really, it's not really going to impact it
06:02because we expect Leeds will win. But I think he just needs a performance because Thursday
06:07night was shocking, really.
06:10Yeah, Pete, you were shaking your head there.
06:13Yeah, I don't think he'll rest people. When Leeds played West Warriors in the Challenge
06:19Cup way back in February, first game of the season, he played his strongest team against
06:24an amateur team. I just don't think that's in Brad Arthur's make-up and I don't think
06:29it'd be the right thing to do anyway. They need to get last week's performance put behind
06:34them and go into the playoffs on the back of a good result and a good performance. I don't
06:40think resting people will achieve anything, really. Players can get injured in training,
06:45can't they? That's always a risk. I don't think it's the right approach to be scared of playing
06:55your best players against Wigan and I think he'll go as strong as he can. There's another,
07:01I don't think this will be a decisive factor, but there's another factor to considering that
07:06Rhinos' reserves play in their grand final on Saturday, the day after the Wigan game.
07:11And I don't think it would be fair to pull players out of that game, to throw them into
07:16the Wigan game just to rest first-team players. I think Leeds should give the second string
07:24the best opportunity to win their competition. Obviously, he's not going to risk anyone who's
07:30half-fit, Ash Hanley or Conor, if they're not 100%. But I can't see him making big changes
07:39and I don't think it'd be the right thing to do if he did.
07:41But, yeah, I mean, if Leeds do finish fourth, which now looks fairly likely, they'll play
07:46St. Helens after they were beaten convincingly by Lee in the end. I mean, that was a 10th
07:53different half-back combination picked by Paul Wellens. Jack Wells being Moses then buying
07:59there. I don't think it worked. You know, Johnny Lomax came on towards the end, but the game
08:06was slipping from that point. I think Paul Broly said it really well in that.
08:11at the start of the Sky Sports show about you just have to be physical to beat St. Helens
08:17and with the greatest respect, the Dots throw that much shape at you. And I think we saw
08:21that play out in effect on Friday night. Look, is that a fair reflection, Sam C?
08:29Yeah, I think Saints are just such a strange team in terms of they don't... I think I look
08:38back to the game against Wigan and the moment where Bevan French, like, claims the ball on
08:43his line and then offloads it all in, like, one motion. And that's such a risky thing to
08:49do because if it goes wrong, it's basically giving St. Helens a try there. But Wigan have
08:54the confidence in their own ability to do it and then also the confidence that their defence
08:58can back themselves up if they make an error. And I think they're the sort of things that
09:03win games, whereas Saints aren't... they don't necessarily have the confidence to go and try
09:08and win a game. They just want to stay in a game for as long as possible. And then they'll
09:12take what opportunity they can get and they just don't have any sort of conviction. And
09:16that obviously comes from the fact that they don't have a settled spine. And also as players,
09:22if you're getting moved around every single week, like, you're not going to be at full
09:26confidence because you maybe even start doubting yourself where your best position is. Jack
09:31Wellsby clearly knows that he's going to be England's full-backer in the Ashes and he's
09:35probably level with maybe the likes of Lockie Miller and Jarfield. He's probably the best
09:39full-back in the Super League. Yeah, he's getting pulled here, there and everywhere. I know
09:44the Lewis forward thing was because obviously Morgan Mills was out, but putting him in the
09:48halves just diminishes all his talents at full-back. And then you're kind of looking
09:53at what else he's got in the halves. Moses Mbye is a hooker who's heading to the Queensland
09:58Cup next year, I think. So you're playing second grade Australian player. You've got
10:04George Whitby Whitten in the wings who offers the kicking game, which is the only reason
10:08why Mbye is effectively in the team. Mbye offers a good kicking game, but Whitby's got
10:12that and he's got plenty more. And when he's coming in games early this season, playing
10:18the Good Friday derby on two games notice, it was fine. Got a good run of games and he's
10:24been effectively left on the sidelines and it just doesn't really make any sense. I
10:29think Paul Wellens doesn't know what his best spine is and he's almost too scared to
10:33make the call because they know that if they can just stick in games, they might have a
10:38chance. But when a team goes ahead of you, if you go in front against St Helens, you rarely
10:43get caught. And I think when you look at the fact they might play Leeds, Leeds are big,
10:48physical and move the ball. I think that's an easy win for Leeds. And I think most of
10:53the playoff teams will fancy themselves against St Helens. And I think Friday night as well
10:58showed that. Lee, you know, they've just got the nose in front and then from then on
11:02it was pretty much plain sailing for them.
11:06Yeah. I mean, Paul Wellens was asked after the game what he felt his best spine was and
11:10he just said, I've preferred to keep that in-house. But I think I agree with it. I don't think
11:15he knows. The 10th combination in the halves was pretty telling. And with George Whitby sat
11:20on the sidelines, you're just sort of thinking, I don't think he knows which way to go. And
11:25you know, penultimate round of the season that was. That's pretty alarming, isn't it?
11:31It's worth noting as well, there are 10 combinations, but they've not necessarily, it's not been
11:35through injuries. They've not had like, you look at Huddersfield, they've had like half
11:40of their spine out all season and then they'll get one back and then they'll lose it. And
11:44that, they've had to make changes because of that. Since, obviously, yeah, Wellesby was
11:48out for a period, but they haven't had like loads of injuries in there. It's just kind
11:53of been just, just changing up almost for the sake of, well, this might work this week,
11:58it might not work. I think it's, it does look a bit directionless, which feels quite
12:05harsh to say, but I think it's probably true.
12:08Yeah, for me, you mentioned M. By going to the Q Cup as well. I think he might be the
12:13man to come out this week. You throw George Whitby in just to play that, just to play more
12:18of that scrum half row. You know, personally, I'd put Jack Wellesby back to fullback. I'd
12:24play Welles, I'd play Whitby and Lomax in the halves and Clark at nine and I'd bring Tristan
12:30Saylor off the bench. As I've said before, I really like him coming off the bench as that
12:34impact player, but also he's played it a couple of times this season, playing hooker.
12:40Yeah, Saylor off the bench reminds me a little bit of when Mikey Lewis came off the bench in
12:45the series, international series at the end of last year. Obviously, Mitty, I'm not
12:51sure, it might have been 2023, but Lewis kind of, he came on at hooker and he did have a
12:55lot of impact and he's kind of that X factor. Saylor does that, he brings the running threat
12:59and I think you can't, you can't play him a fullback because Wellesby's the better player
13:04and he's not a half. You also can't really put him on the wing. So I think if you want
13:09to use him, you've got to use him in that impact role. And when Wellesby came back from
13:14his injury against Huddersfield, that was where they played him. And yeah, it's Huddersfield.
13:18They were already losing by 30, 40 points, but he looked really sharp there. And I think
13:24you've got a game against a team that you should beat. I mean, Castleford looked defeated.
13:28Their grand final was against Wakefield. They won that. And then last week on Friday, they
13:33were terrible. And I think they're probably going to be terrible again. I think Chris Chester
13:37knows that so many players leaving that team and you can't really get a tune out of it.
13:41So yeah, like you said, throw in Whitby, give him some confidence because you're probably
13:45going to have to call him in the playoffs because he may well be the answer. And Saylor playing
13:51at nine against a tired Castleford when he comes off the bench, I think that spells points
13:55for me. So I'd agree with what you're saying.
13:59Yeah, Pete, Sam said Leeds beat Saints easy in the playoffs. Is that something you agree with?
14:05I don't know. Have some of you watched Leeds against St Helens in the past like seven years?
14:12I think they're the only team that Saints can beat out of there at the moment.
14:16Yeah, yeah.
14:19They do it routinely under any circumstances. Saints beat Leeds. Saints are in good form.
14:26Saints are in bad form. Saints have a load of injuries. Saints are full strength.
14:29Leeds are full strength. Whatever happens, Leeds can't beat Saints. They just can't.
14:34They just go away from everything that's good about them when they play Saints. And, you
14:40know, maybe they'll end that this week, but I wouldn't put a great deal of money on it.
14:45I think Saints would be delighted to be travelling to Leeds in the playoff, or at least playing
14:50Leeds in the playoffs. I think they'll go into it confident and knowing how to win that game.
14:58It's just the question is, can Leeds find the form that they've shown for most of this season
15:03when it really matters against a team who know how to beat them? It's going to be a really
15:09interesting game. But one thing I don't think it's going to be is an easy Leeds win.
15:16Yeah, Sam, you covered Hull KR Wakefield for us. I know Willie Peters was absolutely raging
15:23after the game, but tell us about it. Was it an uncharacteristic Hull KR performance or
15:29did Wakefield deserve a lot of credit?
15:31I think a bit of both. I mean, the 18-0 scoreline at half-time, I think everybody was stunned.
15:40Wakefield was just brilliant in that first half. Mason Leno was just absolutely class.
15:46Yeah, Hull KR just had no attacking threat. The pack was dominated by McMeekin and
15:52Kaya Svartili was just too strong for him. And yeah, Wakefield do deserve the credit.
16:00Dowell Powell has transformed that side. But yeah, it was an off day for Hull KR and one that
16:08you could see coming, I think. The last few weeks have not been as great as they have been
16:14across the season. And I think it just kind of capitulated on Saturday afternoon.
16:20Yeah, Pete, how do you describe this Wakefield team? Because, you know, they've gone from
16:28being beaten handily by Castleford to beating the league leaders the week after. I just,
16:34how do you, what word can you describe that other than inconsistent?
16:40Well, they haven't really been that inconsistent, have they? They've generally, they've been
16:45pretty good all season, whether they've won or lost. They've had problems against Saints
16:52over the course of the season. Saints have been a team that they've struggled against. But
16:57everybody else they've competed with. And they've got that sort of performance in them,
17:01haven't they? They showed against Leeds a few weeks ago that, especially at home, they can
17:05be a dangerous team. I think they had, they went out and approached it like a, like a cup
17:14tie, didn't they? They knew that they needed to win it to, to secure or to be favourites
17:19for that last playoff spot going into the, into the last round. And I thought they just
17:25got everything right. They just played really, really well. And, and Hull KR had an off day.
17:29And as Sam says, that's, that's maybe been, been coming. I think it's a worrying result
17:35for all KR. Playing like that two weeks out, out from the playoffs starting, you'd still
17:43think with, they've got to win one game at home against the lowest ranked team in the,
17:48in the playoffs, surviving in the playoffs. And you'd still fancy them to do that. But
17:54I think there'll, there'll be some soul searching going on in their camp this week. Just, they
18:00were so utterly outclassed. And in the second half, when, when Wakefield obviously sat back
18:05a little bit, they, they never really looked like pulling the game from, from the fire,
18:09did they? So, you know, I think it's a great result for Wakefield. Highlights just, just
18:17what a good job Daryl Powell's done with them this season. And they're not going to be easy
18:23beats in the, in the playoffs. That's for sure. It's quite remarkable to think that we could
18:29well have Lee versus Wakefield in a playoff eliminator in a couple of weeks time, which
18:34is when you consider they would, they've both been relegated from Super League and had a
18:39spell in the championship. It's, you know, say it's good for the competition.
18:44Yeah. Sam, see, with your Hull KR hat on, are they running out of steam?
18:49Um, I think Hull KR, if you look at, Hull KR was by far the best team sort of rounds
18:57eight through 16, maybe like that, the mid season. And they just seem to have peaked
19:02too early, really. And I, um, if you look back, I'm not sure how you avoid it. Cause
19:08you can't, you can't go out there and say, oh, don't, don't put a hundred percent in
19:11because that's nonsensical. You, you go and you go full, full tilt on every game.
19:15Um, but I think if you look at it, like the way Wigan have sort of tapered their season,
19:19yeah, obviously I don't think they'll have been happy to be losing or putting in shoddy
19:23performances, but they're really coming in with a head of, head of steam now. Whereas
19:27Hull KR just, they just seem to have completely, um, dropped off. And I think there's the,
19:33there's the long season element in terms of the went to the challenge club final, but
19:36I think the, you can't, you can only use that excuse so often, like Wigan have had a,
19:41a Vegas trip in there as well. I don't, I'm not sure the challenge cups that relevant sort
19:47of this far on down the line. Um, they obviously had, they've had the break as well, uh, which
19:52everyone else had, but I think, um, they're just kind of, they've really tapered off. And
19:57Jesse Sue has been a massive miss recently. I think you look at what Hull Kau's games built
20:02on its physical and it's getting on top early and him not being there has had, just had
20:09a massive impact. But again, that's, that's one player. Um, and then you look at Mikey
20:15Lewis, I think he's got three assists in his last six. And before that, he was, I think
20:20on about 35 try contributions in 20 or something like that. So you, there's a massive drop off
20:27there and it just seems that it's all kind of, maybe it's, maybe it's the pressure of being
20:33league leaders and everyone now is taking up a notch to play them or maybe they have just
20:38fatigued. And I think that they really need this week off, but they'll want to go into this week
20:44off having beaten Warrington. If you put in another similar performance like that against
20:48Warrington, it may well be enough to beat, win because Warrington are even worse, but you,
20:54you, they just want a performance so that they can kind of have that first week off in
20:57the playoffs and like really refocus. Cause I think whoever travels to Craven Park in
21:03the playoffs will fancy it because the form guide will probably favor the away side at
21:09the moment.
21:11Yeah. I watched Hull FC Warrington on Saturday and, and trust me, there's no way this Warrington
21:17team goes and rolls over Hull Kau on, on, on Thursday night, whatever Rother side turns up.
21:23But in terms of the grand final, you know, Pete, Sam, who's, who's, who's your favorite?
21:32Cause I mean, personally, I think I'm back in Wigan now. As Sam said, Bevan French, that,
21:36that factor he brings, Wigan just turned on at the right time, looking imperious now.
21:41They're just growing extra leg at this time of the year. Who are you back in?
21:45I think Wigan as well. I think I'm really interested to see what happens this week against
21:51Leeds. And I think there's probably going to be a pinch of salt in terms of the team
21:55lineups, like you say, what, what have Leeds got to play for? But we've both kind of said
22:00that we think Brad Arthur is going to go strong cause he wants that performance. Um, but I think
22:05Wigan look incredible. Then they've got that home semi-final. Um, and if it, if it was me
22:12making a pick at the moment, I'd say it's Wigan-Leeds and I think Wigan win it. I think
22:15Leeds can go to Craven Park and win on, if you're looking at what Hulk are doing at the moment.
22:21I know Leeds have had their off game, but it seems to be Leeds having one off game, whereas
22:26Hulk are having a string of off game. So I'd be going Wigan to beat Leeds as I was making
22:31a pick at the moment. Yeah, I think, I think Wigan will be in the grand final and I think
22:39they'll be very hard to beat our Old Trafford having been there and, and done it in such
22:44convincing fashion the last couple of years. They've not, I don't think they've conceded
22:50a try, have they in, uh, in the last two grand finals. I think they'll be very difficult
22:54to beat our Old Trafford. And like Sam says, Hulk are the better team over, over the course
23:00of the season as a whole, but our Hulk are a better team than Wigan when we're going to
23:05have got Bevan French in the side and I don't think they are. Um, and Wigan have just looked
23:13so good since French came back. I, I, I can't see any, any reason for betting against them
23:21as to who they'll play. I don't know. It could, Hulk are at home. They've got to win one game,
23:27haven't they, to get to the, um, to the grand final. You'd have to say home advantage would,
23:32would make them favourites, but Leeds have been there and won already this year. I think
23:37they're capable of doing it. And I think if, if Leeds can build some momentum, they, they
23:46just seem to know how to, um, how to frustrate Hulk AR and how to, um, how to play against
23:55them. A bit like Saints do against, against Leeds. So I think if, if it was Hulk AR versus
24:00Leeds, I think that'd be a very interesting semi-final. But over the course of the season,
24:07you'd say it still looks like probably a Wigan, a Wigan Hulk AR final. But I don't know. I'm
24:14not a hundred percent sure that Hulk AR are going to get there.
24:17Yeah. Yeah. Sam, do you agree with that? Uh, yeah. Uh, apologies there. Um, yeah, I
24:24think Wigan is Wigan's to lose. Um, and even if, um, you know, I mean, Jack Farrowman this
24:30week, absolutely class against Cass. Um, if one of the key men do go down, they've got a
24:36brilliant backup in, uh, Farrowman. Um, I think they're just too strong overall. Um, like
24:43you say, Hulk AR just have to win one game, but then it's that winning that final, uh,
24:48on the biggest stage and they'll have last year, uh, in the heads and they will use it
24:54as a momentum and confidence boost that they can, or sorry, motivation that they can get
24:59the win. But yeah, I think Wigan are just too strong.
25:04Yeah. I mean, one team that's not been mentioned there at all, but have beaten every team at
25:08the top of there is, is Lee Leopards. Look, are they the dark horses? Can you see, can
25:13anyone see them reaching that showpiece at Old Trafford?
25:17Well, that, their problem is that they're going to have to go to Wigan, aren't they? In
25:22the, the semi-final. I know they've won there, um, already this season. I'll be in
25:29golden point one nil. Um, but you know, if, if we're all tipping Wigan to win it, then
25:35obviously Lee probably won't, um, won't get to the final. I think if Lee did get to the
25:42final, they'd give a good account of themselves, but it's, it's, you know, it's hard, it's
25:49hard to win as the grand final. We've seen since Leeds won it in 2004, we haven't seen
25:54a, a new winner on the, winner's name on the trophy and various teams have, have tried
26:01Catalans a couple of times, Salford, Hull, Castleford, Hull KR. They've all come up short
26:06on the, um, on the big day. It's a very difficult thing to win. Um, and especially
26:12when it's your first, your first taste of it. So I, I, I don't see, I think Lee have
26:18been great this year, but I don't, I don't see them as, um, as grand final winners.
26:23Sam C, just give us a word on, on the job Adrian Lam has done, just consistently this
26:30team turn up. Just, just explain how good a job he's done.
26:36I think the thing with Lee as well, like, you look at the, like, the amount of turnover
26:40they had at the start of the season, like, not just in terms of, like, the players going
26:44on, but, like, they've signed so many players this year and, like, they're not signing them
26:49just to sit on the bench and, like, bulk out the squad. Like, they've been, like, really
26:53big players. Ethan O'Neill, I mean, he's had a few injuries, but he's got to be among,
26:57he'll be, he'll be a contender. I don't think he will be in the team this season, but he's
27:01got to be up there. Joffa Hangawi, middle of the season signing, he's been massive for
27:05them. Um, and I think he kind of arrived at the point where the rest of the signings
27:11have kind of gelled. Ethan, uh, Adrian, I'm sorry, was saying more or less for the first
27:1510 weeks, he was like, oh, just, just kind of wait. Like, he's gonna, once it clicks,
27:20it'll click. And he got to the point where he said, he turned up in press conference,
27:25he says it and you're like, oh, there's that line again. And he's
27:27I reckon, I probably was doubting him. I kind of thought, well, you know, you can
27:32only say it so many times, but then it has clicked and everything's kind of come
27:35together. Lachie Lamb, I think, is leading the assist chart by a mile. Um, yeah, that's
27:41probably because he's the creative half and O'Brien's the, the kicking half, but
27:45it's not, just everything sort of works. Um, Bailey Hodgson as a signing, you've
27:51obviously signed him in his depth, but he's ended up having to play the fullback
27:54role. I think he was a bit shaky on Friday night, but he's been exceptional
27:58as well. And I think Lamb just manages to get the best out of players. Look at
28:02Amaila Hanley, like Wigan kind of had him on the scrap heap and he's come in
28:08at Lee and he's been one of the best centers. He's getting England shouts at the
28:11moment, whether he actually gets in the squad's another question, but he's, he's
28:14certainly in the frame. Keenan Brand is a player who seemingly had given up on
28:19rugby league. He'd gone down the Love Island route and he wasn't really, you kind of
28:24thought, well, that's him, him done. And all of a sudden he's sort of sick from
28:29the try scoring streak. I think he's got 15 or 16 this season. Just everything
28:33that is, I think there's a few coaches that can just get the best out of
28:38players. I think Adrian Lamb is one of those that every player he takes, he
28:42takes them to a new level. Owen Trout is, looks to be in the England squad and he
28:47can play second or four or in the prop. Every just, he just enhances players so
28:52much and they are really hard to beat. But like, like Pete's mentioned, the
28:56problem is they're going to have to go to Wigan in all likelihood, but they've
29:00done that and they have won. I think the one thing that Lee would have to be
29:04beating them home and away as well. Yeah. And I think Lee, Lee on both those
29:08occasions have been perfect. And I think they would have to be perfect again. I
29:12think even though they kind of quite easily beat Saints on Friday, there was a
29:16lot of handling errors and that wouldn't, I don't think that would cut it against
29:20this current Wigan. But I think they're definitely a live shout. I expect
29:26they'll go for it all this weekend and is it Huddersfield to play? That should be
29:32meat and drink for them. And I think they'll go into the playoffs in one of the
29:35form teams. Yeah, let's just look ahead to this, to this final round then. And I feel
29:40like I need to qualify that, that Warrington comment earlier on. Just look, they were just
29:46so, so poor against Hull FC. Just, just really poor. I was shocked by how poor they were.
29:52Yeah. I mean, I hadn't seen them for the last few weeks, but like some, some, some
29:57bear just contested this after the game, this notion, but I really did feel like they gave
30:00up at points. Just when, when Lachlan Fitzgibbon got sin binned for a high shot on Sam
30:06Essay, Hull scored three tries in that 10 minute period. Two, I think two were back to back.
30:12And you could just see, I really just felt like at times were throwing a towel in the
30:17effort areas where the, like the scramble wasn't there. Aidan Caesar's try was just as
30:23easy as you like. I really just don't see how Warrington motivate themselves to come back
30:30to East Yorkshire again on Thursday night and play the league leaders. That's, I mean,
30:35that's going to be a simple one-fold KR, is it?
30:37Fitzgibbon's probably going to be banned as well, isn't he? I think we've not had
30:42disciplinary yet, but Essay left the field. So that's automatically three points. So I
30:47think they're going to be missing him and he probably has been one of their better
30:50players. So yeah. Yeah. I think it's, it's almost like throw the kids in time.
30:56Guy Taylor Ray was one of the, the only ones who stood out on Saturday, but how many
31:03like young players can you throw in and like not be harmful? Cause even though this whole
31:09care team's out of form, they have, we've seen them put on some huge scores. So if they
31:13are in that notion of giving up and you've got maybe one too many kids in there, then
31:18it could be another blowout and that's not helpful to them at all. We've also got, wonder
31:23whether he plays George Williams as well. I think, I think the notion is that he's going
31:29to be fine for the Ashes and that he's kind of, all right, he was named in the squad, but
31:33you just try and get him a game to get some form and like, almost as if you want your
31:38captain just to come and take some accountability. I think he, him being on the field would be
31:43somewhat of a statement, but they're just, they're just limping over the line out there.
31:48You look at like teams like Salford have been begging for the season to end. I think
31:51Warrington probably want to end more. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. Look, legally at the
31:58Shield, I mean, I think it's fought to one points, not a points difference, which, you
32:03know, stranger things have happened, but you really can't see Hawkeye throwing that
32:06away. They're going to want to win this in style, are they not? Yeah, of course they
32:12are. Yeah. At home in front of their own, their own fans. I mean, they're not, as we've
32:18said, they're not in the best of form at the moment, but they'll be far too good for, for
32:24Warrington. They've got a week off coming up. I think they can throw everything at it.
32:29There is that little bit of jeopardy with Wigan still being more or less in touch, but I think
32:37it'll be a, I think it'll be a big Hawkeye win and a memorable night for them.
32:43Yeah. Hull FC, Catalan. Personally, I see Hull FC winning this, but I don't think it'll be
32:49enough to get in the six. I think Catalan's final, like final last hurrah was against
32:54Leeds Rhinos by the looks of it. So I don't know what sort of team we're going to see on
32:59Thursday night, but Wakefield are going to have too much for Salford, I think as well.
33:03Is that, would you agree with that, Sam? B?
33:07Yeah, I think Hull FC can put in the best performance of this season. I think it just depends on
33:13Wakefield and Salford. Wakefield are just not going to lose that. I think the six is already
33:21made up. But I mean, credit to Hull FC, they've had such a changing season. I mean, John Cartwright's
33:28done a great job there. You look at last year when, you know, they're what, second bottom
33:33and they're now pushing for playoffs. The change there has been positive and with the signings
33:39that they've made, you know, next year, they could be, they should be competing again.
33:46You know, the likes of Sam Lassoni and Jake Arthur, that's his name. You know, them additions
33:53will, you know, bolster that side. And I do think next year, they will be challenging once
33:58again.
33:59Yeah, we spoke a lot about Leeds Rhinos and Wigan, but how do you see it going, Pete, on Friday
34:04night? Well, we'll have to wait and see what team Leeds do put out, won't we? But I think
34:12it'll be an interesting game. Leeds have beaten Wigan earlier in the campaign. They have to
34:20improve massively from the performance against Castellans. Wigan might not have anything on
34:27the line, almost certainly won't have anything on the line with OKR playing the night before,
34:33which I think is a bit of an organisational mistake from Super League, really. They should
34:40be kicking off at the same time.
34:42Yeah, same for the top six battle as well. Hull FC playing the night before Wakefielders
34:46don't think makes any sense.
34:49No, it's strange, isn't it? I know they obviously have to announce the fixtures a certain amount
34:57of time in advance, but I think it was a poor decision, that one. It doesn't make any sense
35:02and that'll have a bearing on what happens at Wigan. I think if we can go full strength
35:08and play well, then obviously you'd fancy them to beat Leeds, but I think Leeds are capable
35:13of bouncing back. They haven't lost back-to-back league games this season. The response, as Brad
35:19Arthur said after Thursday's game, has been pretty good generally this year. And I think Leeds
35:24Leeds will give a decent account of themselves. But Wigan at home, you'd say they're the favourites,
35:32certainly.
35:33Yeah, look, we're starting to get a few deals announced now as we get towards the end of
35:40the season. We just had Joe Batchelor leave St Helens this morning. The expectation is
35:46that we're going to all FC, so you can stay across that on Serious Bad Rugby League. And
35:50obviously Yorkshire even in post will be carrying all the Leeds Rhinos, Cast Tigers and Wigan
35:55Hughes. So yeah, we'll bring this to a close. Thanks for watching, guys. And if you can like
36:02this video and subscribe to the channel, that would be much appreciated. Thank you.
36:05Thanks for joining us. Please like and share and we'll see you next week.
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