The Super League season comes to a close on Saturday evening when the top two from the regular season meet at Old Trafford when the Catalans Dragons take on the current champions St Helens in a mouth-watering Grand Final.
St Helens are looking for a third straight success in the Grand Final while the Dragons are looking to claim the title for the first time in their history in what promises to be a pulsating contest if their clash at the Magic Weekend is anything to go by.
Where to watch
The Grand Final will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Main Event and the Sky Sports Arena channels. There is a lengthy build-up which begins at 4.30pm and the kick off at Old Trafford is 6pm.
Catalans Dragons
This has already been a breakthrough season for the Catalans Dragons having landed the League Leaders’ Shield and if they can add the Grand Final to their collection that would really do wonders for them as a club and for French rugby league. The days where the Dragons wouldn’t show up in the big matches or on the road trips have gone so at the very least they are expected to put up a strong display here regardless of whether it is good enough to claim the title.
There are reasons to be optimistic for the Dragons though. They have the newly crowned Man of Steel in their ranks in Sam Tomkins and when these two met at the Magic Weekend, Catalans came from the clouds to stun Saints on the line. They did that with the immaculate kicking of their halves so that combination will be hugely important here. The one thing the Dragons must do if they are to have any chance in this final is keep their discipline both in terms of the number of penalties they concede and keeping 13 men on the field at all times.
St Helens
Saints are in relatively routine territory now having not just made the previous two Grand Finals but won them both as well. They won a fairly high scoring Grand Final the last time it was at Old Trafford two years ago and then edged out the Wigan Warriors in that amazing last-gasp finish in Hull last season. On both occasions they played with an assuredness, especially in their defence which has been a hallmark of this side under Kristian Wolff.
There can be times when the Saints attack aren’t pulling up trees but that attack is heavily assisted by the reputation of their defence as teams know if they concede to St Helens they might not get the points back at the other end. There are a few St Helens players who are playing their final match for the club here so they will want to go out on a high. That is plenty of motivation for a side who will probably still be smarting from that Magic Weekend loss.
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Team News
Steve McNamara hasn’t yet confirmed whether the new Man of Steel, Sam Tomkins, will play in this final but he has named him in the squad and the former Wigan man is expected to start, in place of Arthur Mourgue in all likelihood.
St Helens have named an unchanged squad for the final which they picked from for the semi-final against the Leeds Rhinos last week. It would be something of a surprise if they do not name the same 17 too.
Betting
I think we’re in for a cracking final here because both teams can play with a relaxed attitude. Catalans Dragons have already made history for their club while St Helens have too having won that elusive Challenge Cup earlier in the season. If I was picking a result here then I would have to side with St Helens, although I’m 50:50 whether they will cover eight points or not. I just think the worst thing Catalans could have done was turn that match at Magic around because St Helens certainly won’t let lightning strike twice. That means Catalans have to be even better in the first hour of this final.
I don’t really want to stake too much on this final. I’m looking forward to watching it and enjoying it but I can’t not take the bet I take every year in the Grand Final which is a small play on the first scoring play to be a penalty for either side. You can get 5/1 on a Saints penalty and 11/2 on a Catalans penalty and with James Maloney and Lachlan Coote two of the best kickers in the competition, if there is an early penalty in kicking range a team will more often than not take the points on offer. This final might be tight and tense initially so one of them to pop a penalty over to open the scoring has every chance of landing.
Tips
Back First Scoring Play – Catalans Dragons Penalty for a 1/10 stake at 6.50 with Betfair
Back First Scoring Play – St Helens Penalty for a 1/10 stake at 6.00 with Betfair
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