The Super League XXVIII season comes to a close on Saturday evening when the top two in the regular season head to Old Trafford to battle it out in the Grand Final as Wigan Warriors take on the Catalans Dragons.
These two teams have had exceptional seasons and will be looking to head to the Theatre of Dreams to cap it all off. They have been the best sides in the competition so everything is geared up towards a cracking season finale.
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 at Old Trafford beginning at 5pm ahead of the big showdown kicking off at 6pm.
Wigan Warriors
The Wigan Warriors have already landed silverware this term having picked up the shield for topping the table in the regular season but that will count for nothing if they are not collecting the major prize at the end of this Grand Final. This will be the first Grand Final the Warriors have been to since 2020 and they will be looking for their first title since 2018 so this is a big deal for Matt Peet and his men after a bit of a barren spell in the domestic competition.
Wigan certainly couldn’t be making the short trip to Old Trafford in better form. They have won their last 10 Super League matches but if there is a concern it might be that the majority of those wins were very comfortable and lacked the intensity of a final. Wigan have been the best attacking side in the competition over the last few months and you have to go back to July for the last time they conceded more than a dozen points so Wigan are entitled to be hard to beat.
Catalans Dragons
The Catalans Dragons are back at the Grand Final two years after losing out to St Helens in a very tight match. The French outfit are looking to be the first team not named St Helens, Bradford Bulls, Wigan Warriors or Leeds Rhinos to get their hands on this big prize and you sense it would be huge for the sport were they to triumph here. There has been a feeling of a fairy tale about this late run since Sam Tomkins announced he will retire at the end of the season. This is a fitting stage for his career to end.
The Dragons head to Old Trafford off the back of four successive wins, victories in which they have only conceded 24 points and that might be significant because there is no doubt their defence is going to have to be at its very best to contain this dynamite Wigan attack. Should they do that though we know that Catalans have enough on offense to make an impression themselves, be that in wide areas or through the middle.
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Team News
Wigan Warriors have made just the one change to their squad for this Grand Final. That sees a return to the party for Ethan Havard who has been missing since July. Cade Cust is the unfortunate man to miss out on the Old Trafford showpiece.
Catalans Dragons coach Steve McNamara has had the luxury of being able to name the same 21-man squad for the Grand Final as he had at his disposal in the semi-final last week. Sam Tomkins ends his career here while Mitchell Pearce will pull on the Dragons jersey for the final time.
Betting
I think we are all set up for a cracking Grand Final here and to my eyes this looks a lot closer than the odds would suggest. The consensus is that the Catalans Dragons are not as good on their travels as they are at home. I wouldn’t suggest otherwise but I don’t think the difference is anything like as vast as it once was and it might therefore be significant that in both meetings between these two in England this season, the Dragons have come out on top on both occasions, winning 18-10 at the DW Stadium and then 46-22 at the Magic Weekend. I’m always a little uneasy backing Wigan as favourites in these big matches. Last season they fluffed their lines in the playoffs against Leeds Rhinos and this term Hull KR got the better of them in the Challenge Cup final. They did win last week but Hull KR threw in a shocker at the wrong time. In contrast, St Helens provided Catalans with the perfect prep for this final and with the fuel of sending Sam Tomkins out on a high I think the Dragons are significantly overpriced here.
I won’t bet in the man of the match market because if the Catalans Dragons do win then the nostalgic pick will be for Sam Tomkins to receive that but a couple of players from the French side interest me in the first try scorer market. Matt Whitley bagged two tries against the Warriors at the Magic Weekend and with Abbas Miski and Tom Johnstone potentially cancelling each other out down the Dragons’ left, it might be that the player two inside the winger makes the difference against the Wigan edge players. That Magic Weekend was played on a big pitch like this so the extra space Whitley will receive could prove the difference. I do expect Catalans to use their spine up the middle in this final though so the fact that Manu Ma’u scored twice at the DW Stadium earlier in the season could be significant. He’ll come off the bench but in a final I expect to be very tight initially I don’t think that is the negative it could be, but he’ll be going up against forwards who might just be feeling the pinch and I’ll pay to see if the big man powers his way over the line first here.
Tips
Back Catalans Dragons to beat Wigan Warriors for a 3/10 stake at 2.70 with Boylesports
Back them here:
Back M.Whitley First Try Scorer for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Bet365
Back M.Ma’u First Try Scorer for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with Unibet
