The first spot at Old Trafford for the Super League Grand Final will be filled on Thursday night when the Catalans Dragons host Hull KR in the opening semi-final of the competition with a place in the title showdown next weekend the reward for the winner.
We are well into elimination footy now and the equation is a very simple one. The winners here progress to Old Trafford while the losers will be watching the Grand Final with their season done. The stakes are very high here.
Where to watch
The match will be screened live and in full on the Sky Sports Main Event and the Sky Sports Arena channels. The build-up to the semi-final begins at 7pm and it is a 7.45pm kick off UK time over in France.
Catalans Dragons
The winners of the League Leaders’ Shield have certainly earned the right to host a semi-final and having tasted their first piece of silverware when they lifted that trophy, the Catalans Dragons will now be looking for a place in their first Grand Final. The French outfit have been to the final of the Challenge Cup but have never got further than this in Super League. The one thing they will be out to do is avoid a repeat of last season, when having made the last four they never turned up in the semi-final and got blown away.
Things are a little different for the Dragons this time around though. Obviously they have home advantage this time. They are also not playing a rampant St Helens side and they have more depth to their squad this term I think it is fair to say. The biggest difference of all though is the fact that the Catalans have had last week off. At the end of a campaign where the schedule went bonkers at times, to have their feet up for a week will have been a godsend.
Hull KR
What Hull KR have already achieved this season is quite remarkable but what they could yet do would be incredible. When you think this is a team who were bottom of the table last season, and had that have been this season they would have been relegated, the improvement in them has been incredible. Just making the playoffs was a massive achievement for the Robins let alone going to Warrington and winning last week without conceding a single point.
Hull KR will be looking for a place in their first Grand Final here but they only need to go back a couple of seasons for when Salford Red Devils made it all the way to the last dance to know that underdogs can get to Old Trafford. Hull KR are here on merit and shouldn’t be slept on but you do wonder if injuries are going to catch up with them and whether the schedule might also get the better of them given that they haven’t had the luxury of a week off.
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Team News
Catalans Dragons have named Sam Tomkins in their squad for this match but he was said to have damaged knee ligaments in the last regular season game at Wigan so if that is true he surely can’t feature here. Albert Mourgue could slot in at full-back if Tomkins is out.
Hull KR have their own extraordinary injury issue for this match. After looking like he was going to be out for the season with a torn bicep, Tony Smith has named Ryan Hall in his squad and is considering playing the England international even though the muscle is still torn. Albert Vete, George Lawler and Korbin Sims all face fitness tests.
Betting
Although these two sides have met three times this season and the Catalans Dragons have only won via golden point, by two points and then by seven points, I do think they will win this one by a lot more than that. In recent seasons the semi-finals of Super League haven’t been close. Last year they were won 29-2 and 48-2 while the season before the one semi-final was won 28-4. I suspect a lot of that is down to the week off, especially last year where Covid messed the schedule up as it has done this year.
With that in mind I fear for Hull KR a little bit here. They have played seven times in the last 39 days and were fighting hard to make the top six so they haven’t even had the luxury of rotating their squad. They have had injuries to deal with too. Catalans had their feet up last week and France is never an easy place to go at the best of times. Unless nerves and the pressure of expectation get to the Dragons then I fully expect them to book their place at Old Trafford in some style.
Tips
Back Catalans Dragons (-10) to beat Hull KR for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with William Hill
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