Super League Betting: Wigan to come out on top in the battle of the Ws

Rugby League / Graham Cunningham / 16 July 2010 / Leave a Comment

Wigan will be out to give Lee Briers a hard time if he recovers in time for this match

"If he (Lee Briers) doesn't line up then Wire will be without their main playmaker. If he does play Wigan will give him no peace whatsoever and I'm backing the Warriors to win outright and to cover a small start in what should be a humdinger."

If you see a silver VW hurtling down the M6 this Friday you won't need to guess who is in it. Our resident Super League blogger Graham Cunningham is swapping St Andrews for the DW Stadium in double quick time and hoping for a home success as Wigan and Warrington lock horns in what promises to be the game of the season so far.

There aren't many things in life that would drag me away from a day watching Tiger, Phil, Ernie and company battling it out at St Andrews earlier than expected.

But this Friday is special. It's Wigan against Warrington at the DW Stadium for an 8pm kickoff which will go a long way to deciding who finishes top of the shop this season.

I don't ask for too much in life, but I am hoping for a clear run down the M74 and M6 in order to see the two most potent attacking units in Super League go head-to-head.

The equation is simple enough. If Wigan win to go six points clear at the top of the table with just five games left they will almost certainly finish the regular season top, while a win for Wire would halve the gap to just two points and send an ominous message to anyone harbouring Grand Final hopes.

However, two factors sway me in favour of the home team here.

First, Wigan have a slightly better defensive record than Warrington and also have the discipline to change their style and lock things up very tightly when the biggest games loom large.

And second, Warrington's record against the rest of the big four clubs this season reads played four lost four - including a 20-22 loss when Wigan visited the Halliwell Jones Stadium back in February.

Put simply, Wigan will line up in top form with very few injury concerns and the vast majority of a massive crowd roaring them on.

Warrington have too many bigtime players to be unnerved, but Lee Briers has been struggling to make the game after missing last week's emphatic win over Castleford.

If he doesn't line up then Wire will be without their main playmaker. If he does play Wigan will give him no peace whatsoever and I'm backing the Warriors to win outright and to cover a small start in what should be a humdinger.

Finding a pub in Dundee showing Thursday night's single city derby between Hull and Hull KR at the KC Stadium (21.45) on Sky rather than replays of the golf could be tricky.

However, a little persistence might pay off and splitting these two bitter rivals is far from easy.

Hull were one of the form teams in the competition until going down rather tamely at Wakefield last week, while Rovers will be full of confidence after crowning an unbeaten run of four with a commanding defeat of Leeds last week.

Make no mistake, this is tough to call. However, Rovers looked very good last week. I reckon they can nick this. And if they are getting a small start then so much the better.

Any Wigan fan will testify that one of the sweetest sounds in rugby league is that of St Helens fans barracking their own players when things haven't gone well.

The boo boys were out in force after Saints went down at home to Catalans last week and a return to more normal service against Harlequins this Sunday (15.00) depends to a large extent on whether star players like Leon Pryce and Kyle Eastmond are fit enough to return to the fray.

Biding your time and watching the team news is the key to finding the right bet here. I'm not saying the boo brigade will be out in force again.

But I do feel Harlequins have the potential to stay within a double figure handicap if messrs Pryce and Eastmond are still on the treatment table.