As dead rubber games go, this one wasn’t going to bounce very high.

The only thing that it had going for it was that it was the dress rehearsal for the playoff semi-final in a fortnights time as fourth placed Warrington Wolves played hosts to Minor Premiers St Helens in a game which neither coach wanted to loose, but more importantly, didn’t want to give any clues as to their thoughts for the upcoming crucial encounter.

Warrington had been made slight favourites for the win as Saints announced a pack line-up with a different look to it compared to the regular season.

Saints won the last meeting by just 14-12 after a much larger 30-12 win in March.

What we didn’t expect was two fully committed sides slogging it out for the pride of the win.

It was top against second in game of the weekend in the Super League Super Eights as the Wigan Warriors visited the Totally Wicked Stadium with the hopes and intentions of denying St Helens the opportunity to lift the Minor Premiership title against their oldest rivals.

Saints have emerged victors from both previous meetings in 2018, but on both occasions the margin was narrow.

The last meeting was six weeks ago at the DW Stadium when Saints won by 14-6 thanks to tries from Peyroux and Knowles with Richardson kicking three from three goal attempts.

A Saints victory tonight would seal top spot and the post warm-up withdrawal of Sam Tomkins, due to a training injury, was not the ideal preparation for Wigan.

With two poor performances in as many weeks, St Helens were looking for a return to the form whcih saw them spend the season sitting atop the league table, sweeping aside almost all before them.

But stood in their way were a Wakefield Trinity side who have been playing with abandon, safe in Super League for 2019 and enjoying a gentle end to their season.

Saints won the last meeting between the two sides, however, it was only by four points in a close game.

The last time that the sides met in Wakefield it was Trinity who picked up the two points with a 24-20 win.

  All indications were that it would be a close game.

The Challenge Cup semi-final at the University of Bolton Stadium got underway with the cup favourites St Helens against an ever improving underdog, the Catalans Dragons.

Both sides looked strong on paper as the two sides took a week off at the end of the regular Super League season, both having qualified for the Super Eights, albeit at opposite ends of the top flight table.

But this was the cup, a one off game, and anything could happen with a large neutral support in the form of Leeds and Warrington fans cheering on the Dragons.

It was first against third in the final regular round of Super League as St Helens welcomed near neighbours the Warrington Wolves to the Totally Wicked Stadium.

With Saints having lost on only two occasions in 2018 they are the side to beat and were looking for a continuation of form before going into next weekends Challenge Cup semi-final.

The Wolves themselves are still in the hunt for a top two finish, and a home game in the play-offs, but after tonight they will still have seven long games to overhaul Wigan Warriors and the Castleford Tigers in the race for second, which could go down to round thirty before it is decided.

 

The Wigan Warriors were seeking to put a momentary halt on the Saints charge to the Minor Premiership and to try and prevent them from opening up a ten point overnight lead in the Super League with one round of the regular season remaining.

Dan Sarginson, Joe Greenwood and new signing from the Swinton Lions, Chris Hankinson, were all in the seventeen named by Sean Wane.

Justin Holbrook made just one change to his side with Jack Ashworth being named on the bench.

St Helens won the game between the two sides on Good Friday by a slender three points and Wigan went into the game keen to level the 2018 score between the two favourites to make the Grand Final in October.

Once again, Saints had the luxury of naming an unchanged side to take on the quiet men of Super League, Wakefield Trinity.

The visitors are methodically going about their business of ensuring a middle eights finish and knew that although a win at the Totally Wicked Stadium would be a surprise, it would almost guarantee their place in the Super Eights.

Wakefield were the victors when the two sides met back in round eleven, by 24-20, and after three wins in their last four outings they were high on confidence.

Saints progress at the top of the table seems relentless and they came into the game unbeaten since that loss to Trinity in mid-April.

Despite being one of the few sides to have put a speed bump into Saints relentless march to the 2018 minor premiership, few gave the Leeds Rhinos a snowball in hell’s chance of causing an upset and taking the two points as the sides met at Headingley.

An injury list resembling a ‘who’s who’ of Leeds rugby meant that they were missing key playmakers, free scorers and and experience across the park, giving a debut to Tom Holroyd against the best drilled and performing outfit in the league.

But Saints were in no mood to show any sympathy and went into the game hoping to rack up the points against a Leesd side who have thwarted their Grand Final ambitions on so many occasions in the past.

It was the Cup holders against the Champions elect in the last quarter final on Sunday afternoon, as the Totally Wicked Stadium was the venue for St Helens against Hull FC.

There are currently ten points separating the two sides in the the league table and with home advantage it was Saints who were the hot favourites.

Saints were unchanged from the side which comfortably beat the Castleford Tigers last weekend while Hull had Bureta Faraimo, Carlos Tuimavave, Albert Kelly, Scott Taylor and Dean Hadley back in their starting thirteen but were still without Marc Sneyd.

The question on everyones lips was whether Hull could halt the Saints juggernaut.

Two sides who had great Magic Weekends came together at the Mend-a-Hose Jungle as fifth placed Castleford Tigers took on the almost unstoppable league leaders, St Helens.

The sides were meeting for the third time this season with Saints recording comprehensive victories in a 46-6 home win in the opening round in February and a 36-18 win in the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup a fortnight ago.

A big enough win could lift the Tigers into third but the smart money was on Saints extending their lead at the top to four points, a nice cushion protecting them from the chasing pack.

St Helens added weight to their title claims with a 38-18 victory over basement Super League club Widnes Vikings as the Dacia Magic Weekend proper got under way in Newcastle.

The Saints looked below par and Widnes put in a good performance that belied their league position – but the team who have led the league since round one were good value for the score, and the 20 point gap on the day.

Nevertheless, it was the Vikings who opened the scoring when Matt Whitley crossed after just five minutes, with Stefan Marsh converting.

It was a short meeting at the BBC when they made the decision to pick the tie of the round as their Saturday game in the sixth round of the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup.

Castleford Tigers, the great pretenders, against a St Helens side who are making 2018 their own in the way that the Tigers had in 2017.

The two sides met in the season opener in early February when Saints demolished the Tigers by 46-6, a difficult lesson for last seasons Grand Finalists and one that they have tried to learn from as they have progresses to fifth in the table.

Both sides had some injuries but Castleford were suffering the most with the most telling being the loss of talisman Luke Gale and whether Paul McShane could step into his shoes at stand off.

Neither the pundits, the bookies, or the fans gave the Catalans Dragons a ‘snowball in hell’s’ chance of upsetting the form book and taking the points from St Helens in tonights game at the Totally Wicked Stadium.

The Saints demolished the Red Devils last week and despite the Dragons getting themselves a victory last week the expectation was that Saints would dispatch them with ease.

Saints were without 2018 sensation Ben Barba who was out injured, and injury which saw Jonny Lomax switch to full back from stand off where he was replaced by Theo Fages.

James Roby was back in the side with Matty Smith moving to the bench where he was joined by Luke Douglas in the side for the suspended Matthew Lees.

There were four changes to the Catalans Dragon side which beat Hull FC last weekend in France with Vincent Duport, Julien Bosquet and Louis Anderson all making the starting line-up and with Alrix Da Costa on the bench.

Salford Red Devils were seeking a third consecutive victory as they placed to the league leaders St Helens in the Thursday night televised clas in round thirteen of Super League.

The pundits and the bookies all pointed to a Saints win and a tough night at the office for the Devils at the AJ Bell Stadium.

After a stunning win over Wakefield Trinity last time out the home side had Jake Shorrocks in for the injured Rob Lui, Lee Mossop replacing Ben Nakumuwai in the front row and Lama Tasi on the bench.

Saints put sixty-six points on the Giants last weekend and welcomed back Mark Percival and Zeb Taia.

The neutrals were hoping for a close game.

After last weeks heroic fightback to beat the Leeds Rhinos the Wigan Warriors returned to home turf to take on a Castleford Tigers side who have so far failed to live up to pre-season expectations.

Ben Flower was in the run-on thirteen for the Warriors with Romaine Navarrete to the bench.

The visitors had big Papua New Guinean Garry Lo making his debut on the wing after being out on loan to the Sheffield Eagles since signing from them at the start of the season.

James Clare made way after picking up a late injury.

A Tigers win would take them level on points with the Warriors.

A Warriors win would keep them within two points of the leaders, should the leaders beat the Giants in one of tonights other games, with Wigan having a game in hand.

The seemingly unstoppable Saints were at home in round ten of Super League 2018 as they entertained Lee Radford’s Hull FC who, revitalised with a large number of returning senior players, were hoping that they would be able to inflict just the second loss on the Saints so far this season.

There was only one change for Saints with the return of Jonny Lomax at full back in the absence of Ben Barba who was ruled out with illness, but Hull made wholesale changes with Houghton, Shaul and Logan all back in the starting line up after missing out last week.

An extra incentive was that the Steve Prescott Cup was up for grabs as the great man was once again remembered by the two clubs he represented during his career.

Runaway league leaders Saints were on the road to Widnes for their round nine fixture as they looked to further extend their points lead.

But Dennis Betts side had different ideas, hoping that the derby against Wigan would have drained their opposition, and that  they could capitalise.

The home side saw Betts make a number of changes with Rhys Hanbury, Krisnan Inu, Ed Champberlain, and Joe Mellor all missing from the side which lost to Warrington on Good Friday.

Theo Fages was back for Saints, replacing Jonny Lomax, while Matty Smith had a place on the bench for Justin Holbrook’s side.

Conditions were awful, which side would cope best.

The top two had a date at the Totally Wicked Stadium for the latest chapter in the games oldest and original derby as St Helens took on the old enemy, the Wigan Warriors.

Wigan are currently sat in second place and knew that a fourteen point victory would see them end the opening set of Easter fixtures sat atop the table but Justin Holbrook knew that a victory for his side would see them four points clear at the top.

Wigan were without Sam Tomkins, a late withdrawal with a virus, who was replaced by Morgan Escare who wasn’t named in the original squad while Saints made just one change with Ryan Morgan replacing Adam Swift after missing the last six games.

The only unbeaten side in Super League, St Helens, were up against the defending Champions, the Leeds Rhinos, in what was arguably the game of round six.

Saints made just one change and had Jon Wilkin back in the starting line-up with McCarthy-Scarsbrook dropping to the bench to replace the injured Alex Walmsley.

Leeds promoted Anthony Mullally from the bench in for Mitch Garbutt (knee), with Cameron Smith and Mikolaj Oledzki in the bench.

The home side were strong favourites with the bookies and the pundits, but Justin Holbrook acknowledged during the week that this would be their sternest test of the season so far.

Leeds were still without a number of their stars as they looked to continue their 2018 campaign.

St Helens were looking to maintain their perfect start to the season as they travelled to a troubled Halliwell-Jones Stadium to take on the Warrington Wolves.

This is a fixture that the home crowd dread and the Wolves have an awful record against the Saints.

  Warrington were without the services of Bryson Goodwin and Declan Patton (starting a five game suspension), replaced by Toby King and Kevin Brown but St Helens had Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook in for Jon Wilkin (concussion), with Matthew Lees brought in on the bench.

It was a daunting task for Warrington, up against a Saints side who came into the game as the leading scorers and with the best defence in the competition, having scored twice and many as the Wolves while conceeding half their total.