Super League Betting: On song, on time

Super League / Graham Cunningham / 19 August 2010 / Leave a Comment

Huddersfield are finding form at the right time of the season

"If the Giants get on top, a winning margin of 20 or more could be on the cards."

Two rounds to go before Super League hits playoff city and the stakes are high. Not all the news is good, but Graham Cunningham is looking on the bright side with five suggested bets on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Worrying noises in the world of Super League this week with the news that Brian McDermott is handing in his Harlequins coaching hat to join Leeds at the end of the season and expressing serious doubts as to whether the London club have a long term future.

McDermott is a strong man with firm views and the fact that he is concerned about how long Quins' major shareholder David Hughes can keep propping up the club financially sounds a forbidding note for fans of the game all over the country.

Granted, some northerners of a parochial bent would shed no tears to see the demise of the southerners, but an immense amount of work has gone into making Harlequins RL an integral part of the Super League setup and it would be a desperate shame if that energy and investment were to stall just at a time when the club is developing genuine home grown talent.

Morale can hardly be high as the Quins travel north to face Castleford on Sunday (15.30), but the best bets of the weekend probably lie elsewhere in the shape of Huddersfield, Wigan, Bradford, Warrington and St Helens.

It came as no great surprise to see Huddersfield turn Wigan over in a fiery encounter at the DW last week and their powerful all round performance left little room for doubt that they are right back on song as the playoffs loom.

Sadly, the handicappers haven't issued a quote at the time of writing, but I reckon this could be one way traffic if the Giants get on top and a winning margin of 20 or more could be on the cards.

Wigan's loss last week is probably bad news for this week's opponents Hull KR as it ensures there will be no easing off by the cherry and whites in Sunday's 15.00 kickoff as they continue to chase down the league leader's shield.

Add in the fact that Rovers are struggling with injuries and have had to send on-loan centre Josh Charnley back to Wigan and this looks set for an away win, probably by around 10 points.

Friday's live game on Sky sees Warrington host Hull (20.00)and this looks a question of whether the Wolves can cover a handicap of 14 or thereabouts. On balance, I suspect they can. Warrington are ending the season strongly with relatively few injury problems, while Hull struggled to beat Crusaders at home last week and seem unlikely to be at full strength.

After a wretched losing run of 12 you would need a very good reason to back Bradford this weekend. Fortunately, there is one. The Bulls are at home to Wakefield (Sun 15.00) and the Wildcats have looked demotivated and devoid of confidence of late. This scratch game looks a straight case of who wants it most. Step forward the Bulls, who can make it lucky 13 with home advantage.

Saturday's live game on Sky (19.15) sees St Helens cross the Welsh border to lock horns with a Crusaders side who are battling with Cas for that lucrative final playoff place. This is a tough one to call and much depends on the handicap. In short, if Saints are giving up 16 or more they could find it tough. Any less than 14 and they ought to get the job done.