The race to Old Trafford gets underway on Friday night when the Super League XXVIII play-offs begin and they do so at Craven Park where we have a repeat of the Challenge Cup final as Hull KR host the Leigh Leopards.
These two are familiar foes this season and they meet for what will probably be a date with Wigan Warriors in the semi-final next weekend. The Challenge Cup final was a classic and if this is half as good we are in for a treat.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Arena channels with the build-up beginning at 7.30pm ahead of the 8pm kick off.
Hull KR
Hull KR booked their place in the play-offs relatively early but it was only last week that they were able to secure home advantage in what is effectively a quarter final so that would have been a real boost to them. Craven Park is not an easy place to go so the Robins are entitled to think they have a big advantage. They also have a few players who are leaving the club at the end of the season, and in some cases retiring from the game, so they will want to depart with a bang.
We saw in the Challenge Cup that Hull KR can win tight matches and we also saw that they can win shootouts too. You would imagine this will be the former though so their defence will need to step up to the plate. We know that Hull KR have the playmakers through the middle of the park to open up any side so if their defence comes up to the plate then they are going to be a very tough nut to crack, especially with the crowd on their side.
Leigh Leopards
There will be a school of thought that having won the Challenge Cup and reached the play-offs in their first season back in the Super League that the Leigh Leopards are on a bit of a free roll in this postseason campaign. I don’t really subscribe to that because they are not one of the established clubs in the competition yet so who knows when an opportunity like this will come around again. The one thing you can say is their season certainly isn’t a disappointing one if they do lose this which might take some pressure off.
Leigh have shown that they can blow teams away when their attack clicks and they showed in pulsating matches with St Helens and Wigan in recent times that their defence can repel the best attacks. The one concern for the Leopards comes in the fact that their squad is just beginning to creek at the edges with injuries starting to come along readily. That is understandable when you consider they haven’t had any breaks in their season.
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Team News
Hull KR are going to be without Dean Hadley for this match as he picked up a knock in the warm-up ahead of the win over Wakefield last weekend and hasn’t recovered. Shaun Kenny-Dowall plays his final home game for the club here.
Leigh Leopards will be without Zak Hardaker who has been ruled out for however long remains in their season having suffered a hand injury. John Asiata has been named in the squad for this match but it remains to be seen whether he features or not.
Betting
I expect this to be played to a real intensity, especially in the early parts of the contest, and so as in any big knockout match I’m lured towards the penalty to be the first scoring play. When these two met at Wembley it was a Leigh penalty which got the scoring up and running and they have played a regular Super League game since then which Hull KR won 52-10 but incredibly it was a Hull KR penalty which opened the floodgates that night.
We are now at that stage of the season where the win and progressing to next week is the only aim so if there is a chance to kick a goal and get out in front teams will take it. Leigh aren’t the most disciplined side in the world so a penalty before a point is scored wouldn’t be a surprise. Hull KR can lose their rag a bit too. Importantly when betting on the penalty, both teams have a goal kicker who can be relied upon so a point on each team to open the scoring via a penalty will do for me.
Tips
Back Hull KR Penalty first scoring play for a 1/10 stake at 7.50 with Bet365
Back Leigh Leopards Penalty first scoring play for a 1/10 stake at 9.00 with Bet365
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