The latest weekend of Super League XXVIII matches concludes on Sunday when two teams who were beaten at the Magic Weekend look for a valuable win ahead of the break for the Challenge Cup quarter finals next week as Wakefield Trinity host the Leeds Rhinos.
Wakefield remain winless this season and while Leeds are faring better than that, they are nowhere near where they want to be so this is a big game for both. Unfortunately there is no TV coverage so it will be radio commentaries and social media in order to stay up to date with this one.
Wakefield Trinity
This has been a terrible season for Wakefield Trinity. There were fears that they were going to be out of their depth this term and unfortunately for them that is exactly how it has played out so far and something pretty drastic is going to need to happen over the second part of the campaign if they are not to finish bottom of the pile. To struggle and be the weakest team in the league is one thing but to not win any of 14 league matches simply isn’t good enough.
The big problem for Trinity is there is no real sign that a win is coming. They might not get a better chance of winning a match than they had last week when Leigh Leopards were down to 12 men for near enough an hour and despite that there was no real conviction that Wakefield were going to take advantage of that. They have sent an SOS call out to David Fifita but the great escape might even be beyond his physical powers.
Leeds Rhinos
There is a touch of déjà vu about the Leeds Rhinos this season because they are near enough in exactly the same position that they were in 12 months ago in that they have not been able to find any consistency and are clearly flattering to deceive, but yet if they can click things into the right gear soon they are not cut adrift and could yet make the top six and as we saw last term from there anything can be achieved.
The Rhinos were beaten by the Castleford Tigers last week in a result which really doesn’t look good. They have creditable claims that injuries are not helping them and they can’t seem to get their best team on the park, but even so they should be offering more than what they have with the personnel they have available. You would imagine this is a must-win match for the Rhinos given that nobody has yet beaten Wakefield and the Headingley outfit would be losing two points to the field if they come up dry here.
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Team News
Wakefield Trinity could give a debut to Luke Gale after he joined the side last month. Romain Franco and Hugo Salabio could also appear for the home side for the first time. Jack Croft is available despite ending Magic Weekend in hospital.
Leeds Rhinos are without seven first-team players for the short trip to Wakefield. Harry Newman, Aidan Sezer, Zane Tetevano, Sam Lisone and Morgan Gannon are some of the players who will be missing. Ash Handley is expected to continue at full-back.
Betting
This is probably the hardest match of the weekend to bet on. There is no way I could trust Wakefield Trinity right now but the Leeds Rhinos are missing so many players that guaranteeing that they can cover a 16 point handicap isn’t an enticing prospect either. If I had a gun to my head and had to back something then I might chance the Rhinos because if they get on a roll they could run riot but the lack of cohesion with all the changes is an issue.
If there is a way into this match from a betting point of view it could come in the form of Derrell Olpherts to score a try. Wakefield continually concede down their right side where the defensive skills of Tom Lineham seem to have gone missing and Olpherts looks a nice price to take advantage. It isn’t very often that a team is 16 point favourites and one of their wingers is odds against to score a try but that is the case here. I’ll back him to score.
Tips
Back DOlpherts Anytime Tryscorer for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Bet365
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