Rugby League / George Riley / 10 July 2009 / Leave a comment

George Riley makes his picks from what should be another magnificent weekend of Super League action...

Leeds have the incentive of pulling level at the top of the table when they make the short trip to Wakefield for Friday night's televised Super League derby.

St Helens' defeat at home to Salford last weekend was the biggest shock of the season so far. Absolutely no-one saw it coming and Saints have been scratching their heads ever since.

That remarkable slip-up gives champions Leeds the momentum but they will face a Wildcats side with play-off aspirations of their own. Sixth placed Wakefield trade at [6.8] to grab a crucial two points at Bellevue, and after defeat at Huddersfield last week, coach John Kear will have his side well primed for a response. Expect a big performance from centre Ryan Atkins against a team I am sure he will end up playing for in the near future.

However, the Rhinos ran in seven tries at Hull last weekend and I get the sense that the champions are finding form at just the right time ahead of the playoffs. At [1.2] there is no value, but I have seen enough of Leeds this season to expect them to come through a West Yorkshire bruiser and really turn up the heat on leaders St Helens.

Just two points separate Wigan, in the eighth and final berth, and Catalans Dragons below them. These two meet at the JJB in the night's other fixture with the French side providing value at [3.05]. Last weekend's win over high-flying Hull KR will boost the Dragons who are more than capable of beating any of the teams above them. Wigan are in decent nick and have run in 15 tries in their last two victories - eight at home to Quins last week, seven away at Hull the previous week. Brian Noble likes the taste of the business end of the season and I fancy the Cherry and Whites to withstand the fierce French barrage tonight to oblige Betfair punters at [1.53].

Of Saturday's three games I'm heading to see if Huddersfield can find another victory at Harlequins. Quins were hung out to dry by their centre David Howell at Wigan last week and were very much in the contest until he became the first player in the competition to be red-carded this season. His subsequent ban will hit his side too. I'm looking forward to this fixture. At full-strength I'd take Quins every time but they are clearly suffering in the absence of injured playmakers Luke Dorn and Rob Purdham. The home side trade - available around [2.26] - are unusually underdogs in this two-horse race which tells you how they miss those two players. Huddersfield should find another win at [1.75], but this is very much a game that will split punters down the middle.

Salford look to make the most of that unbelievable St Helens win, with another away triumph at Celtic Crusaders. They should oblige at [1.48].

Warrington versus St Helens is Saturday's televised game and this is a real, real test of Saints resolve at the top. The Wolves, re-energised since the arrival of England coach Tony Smith, will fancy handing Saints their first back-to-back defeats of the season. A champion side usually responds to a shock defeat in style, so this game will tell us a lot about St Helens' title aspirations. I'd expect a Saints win. Mind you, I expected one last weekend. But with early market moves showing Saints trading around [2.0], I'd certainly be snapping that up.

I like Hull KR to get back to winning ways after a dodgy patch on Sunday. Bradford are the visitors to Craven Park, and I lean to Rovers at [1.55]. Castleford would be my marginal call to record a home win of their own against Hull FC at [1.51].

This could be a really good weekend - my three tips would be Saints to win at Warrington, a home win for Wigan over the Catalans Dragons and Salford to record another good away win at the Celtic Crusaders.