James O’Brien discusses the Challenge Cup Final dress rehearsal between Hull Kingston Rovers and Warrington Wolves, the Yorkshire derby clash between Castleford Tigers and Leeds Rhinos and the future for Catalans Dragons Steve McNamara ...
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to the latest Rugby League podcast from the Yorkshire Post.
00:11As ever, we're joined by the Yorkshire Post's Rugby League correspondent James O'Brien
00:15as we look ahead to round 12 of Super League.
00:18Pretty much not a lot has changed in terms of positions.
00:23Hawkeye are still leading the way, while Huddersfield, Cass are still struggling down the bottom.
00:27Obviously, above Salford, who are still rooted there.
00:32Their ongoing problems never seeming to end at the moment.
00:36We're going to look ahead to some of the fixtures as well as a bit of the news that's knocking around
00:41in terms of possible coach movement.
00:43But we're going to start with perhaps, for us anyway, James, the biggest sort of game of the weekend.
00:48Dress rehearsal for the Challenge Cup final, Warrington versus Hawkeye are.
00:53I don't know if it's, obviously, we don't know how the coaches are going to go with line-ups and stuff
00:59because there'll be no doubt wanting to say their best for the actual big day down at Wembley.
01:04But how do you see this one playing out?
01:06Yes, certainly most interesting fixture at the weekend.
01:11Like I said, two weeks out from Wembley, dress rehearsal.
01:13Willie Peters has said he's going to go as strong as possible.
01:21Not sure about Sam Burgess.
01:22He's got a few injury problems.
01:24Matty Ashton's out for the season.
01:25It was announced last week.
01:27George Williams is missing as well.
01:28They've got a few others missing who might be back for Wembley.
01:32Peters is without Jared Ware.
01:34Highgreaves, he's suspended.
01:35I think that's quite a timely one for Hawkeye.
01:37Yeah, he gets two weeks off now before Wembley and he's, not that he's on the wrong side of 30,
01:44so it's no bad thing for him.
01:46In terms of the game itself, yeah, in terms of like showing your hand early,
01:53they've played each other so many times in recent years.
01:55It's his first meeting this year.
01:56So just depending on how you handle individuals and stuff like that,
02:02it'd be interesting to, in that respect.
02:06But yeah, I'm just expecting a full-blooded encounter.
02:10Hawkeye, I need the points for the league leader's shield.
02:13So the cap, as it showed last year, Hawkeye and Wigan didn't drop many points between them.
02:20It came down to a couple of points in the end.
02:22So if you lose this week or next week against Saints, or you lose both,
02:27and it comes down to a couple of points at the end of the season,
02:29you'd probably trace it back to this.
02:30So they need to go in hard on Friday and get the points and get out of there.
02:35Yeah, coming up against the Warrington team that's kind of misfiring at the moment
02:38and perhaps going into the game on what some would view as a surprise defeat,
02:42going down 40-10 to Wakefield last week.
02:46Yeah, I mean, it's a surprise to most people, but watching Wakefield this season,
02:50even though they have got a lot of injury problems themselves,
02:52they are capable of doing that to teams,
02:54and it's probably been coming from their perspective.
02:56But on Warrington, yeah, they're a funny old side.
03:00They beat Lee, obviously, in the semi-finals,
03:02then they turn up at Wakefield and get it before they put on them.
03:04So you don't know which side is going to turn up.
03:07But with the players they've got out at the moment,
03:10I'd suggest it's a good time for all K.R. to get them,
03:12especially with Wembley on the horizon,
03:14even though they have them themselves.
03:15I just think they're in a better place to go and win it on Friday night,
03:18like I say, Warrington.
03:20They could turn up at Wembley with players like Mark Snead
03:22and George Williams.
03:23If he is back, he should be.
03:25They are a dangerous side on a stage like that,
03:28but I just think Friday night it's all K.R.'s game to lose.
03:32Yeah.
03:33OK, obviously, going into it on the back of a,
03:35I think it was a 34-0 win over Huddersfield,
03:37who got off the mark the previous week.
03:42Just quickly on Huddersfield,
03:43they need to bounce back, obviously, as quickly as possible.
03:46It's going to be tough at home against Saints, isn't it?
03:49It is, yeah.
03:49Saints, they're having a real wobble themselves.
03:52It looked like Paul Wellens was on the brink
03:54and then they beat Catalan.
03:58I know we'll come on to it later,
03:59but it looks like Steve McNamara has paid the price with his job.
04:03But Saints, again, another funny side.
04:05They can do that to teams.
04:07They haven't threatened it too often this season,
04:09but they have got some quality players on their side.
04:11And maybe that's just what they needed
04:14to springboard them into the rest of the season.
04:17That thumping a Catalan last week for Huddersfield.
04:20I mean, they played a whole K.R. side last week.
04:23That was way off it.
04:24And they're still lost by 30-odd points.
04:26So that's not a good sign.
04:28They got nils.
04:29They didn't show anything, really, in attack.
04:31Like, they are bedding the spine back in.
04:35They've not had the creative players this season.
04:36Like Adam Kloon, Zach Wolfe, has not played much either.
04:39So there was a bit of mitigation there,
04:41but it was a real limp performance
04:44from an attacking point of view.
04:45In defence, they were good for long periods.
04:47They just ran out of steam at the end.
04:49But they need to show a lot more at home.
04:52And obviously, their only win has come on the road
04:54at Magic Weekend.
04:55So they need to give the fans a bit to cheer about Friday night.
04:59Yeah.
04:59You mentioned Catalan's there, obviously.
05:01We'll get on to Cass versus Leeds on the Saturday in a minute.
05:08But on Leeds, it would appear, as it stands at the moment
05:13while we're recording this, Steve McNamara
05:15hasn't officially left Catalan's yet.
05:17There's been reports over the last couple of days, really, I think,
05:21that the club have not come out, obviously,
05:23and made anything official about it yet.
05:25They are struggling.
05:26They've had a very poor-ish start by their recent standards, I guess.
05:31But apparently, one of the stories relating to McNamara
05:34is that he's been linked with Leeds.
05:35Can you tell us a bit more about that?
05:37Yeah.
05:38There's been murmurings for a few weeks.
05:40I was told a few weeks ago.
05:42But the person who told me, I'm not too sure,
05:44but all the lads are chatting about Steve McNamara to Leeds.
05:47It's one of those that it's hard to pin down where it's come from.
05:51And that would be as in a head coach capacity?
05:54Yeah, head coach, because obviously they need a contingency.
05:56Because obviously everything's up in the air still regarding Brad Arthur, isn't it?
05:59That's it, yeah.
06:00So they need some kind of contingency.
06:02And in terms of experienced English coaches,
06:05they don't get much more experience.
06:07And Steve McNamara has obviously been the England coach as well,
06:09so he's used to high-pressure jobs.
06:12And Leeds is obviously one of the biggest jobs in,
06:14if not the biggest job, in Super League.
06:16So you can see why they've gone down that route.
06:19It might not be the most popular appointment.
06:22Leeds do like the Aussies.
06:24They do like Brad Arthur.
06:26And as it stands right now,
06:29it looks like he's probably not going to get that Perth job,
06:31but there might be other jobs coming up.
06:35Newcastle Knights, for instance,
06:36and that's a lot closer to Sydney, obviously.
06:37So he might throw his hat in the ring for that if it comes up.
06:41But that is the problem at the moment.
06:43If any job comes up, he's going to throw his hat in the ring.
06:46I know he said he won't commit to Leeds unless he's fully committed,
06:50but it's always going to be there, isn't it?
06:51Even if he stays for, say, next season as well,
06:54it's always going to be there.
06:54So Leeds need to look long-term and maybe think
06:57Steve McNamara is the best bet in that respect.
07:03In terms of how the impact that Arthur's had on Leeds so far this season,
07:09it's been a very positive one.
07:11They've had a good start to the season, sat nicely in fourth,
07:16nabbed or robbed the points from Hull FC late on,
07:20I think it was last week, wasn't it?
07:22But coming up against a Castleford team that are not resurgent,
07:26resurgent, but will be in sort of good spirits.
07:29I mean, I know Salford, the team that have had no end of problems
07:33this season and continue to have problems this season,
07:36they had a healthy 48-16 win over Salford last week.
07:40So they'll be waiting for Leeds full of confidence, I guess, really.
07:46I mean, OK, you could argue, well, there should be what Salford
07:49given the situation Salford will find themselves in,
07:52but 48-16 is a very handsome win, isn't it?
07:55It's not just edging over the line.
07:56I mean, they were very comfortable winners.
07:59They were.
08:00It wasn't the prettiest game, in truth, as you'd expect,
08:03between two sides at the bottom end of the table.
08:07But Cass, if you look at the wins, they've won three games,
08:10but they've only beaten the two sides below them so far.
08:14So they're getting that part right,
08:16but they obviously need to turn up and get a win against one of the more
08:21established sides, one of the top sides.
08:24And they'd love nothing more than to stick it to Leeds on home soil.
08:28I know both areas very well.
08:30And I don't know that Cass get up for this fixture like no other.
08:36So, yeah, they do tend to get up for these games,
08:41but Leeds have been too strong in recent times.
08:44And I'd expect the same on Saturday.
08:47But it's a really good test for Leeds because they are ticking along nicely.
08:52But to go into Cass' backyard where there's going to be a good atmosphere
08:56start the afternoon, if they can go there and continue the form,
08:59because consistency has been a big problem for Leeds in recent years,
09:02if they can go there, keep the momentum going
09:04and knock Cass off the perch if they are on a perch after one win.
09:10But if they can go there and inflict another blow on them
09:14and keep their momentum going, then Leeds will be in a great spot.
09:17I mean, I think we mentioned recently they haven't finished in the top four
09:20since 2017.
09:22So just for that, to stay up there, to stay in touch.
09:27I mean, they might even be looking at Wigan and Hull-Keyard,
09:29probably a pipe dream, given how consistent those clubs are.
09:33But if Leeds can keep ticking along, then that belief will keep growing
09:37and they're a bit of a juggernaut, aren't they?
09:40As they showed when they finished fifth twice, two years in a row
09:43and won the title.
09:44So you can't rule Leeds out.
09:46It's looking like Hull-Keyard and Wigan at the moment.
09:49But, yeah, if Leeds overcome this next test,
09:51then who knows where they could go?
09:53And, of course, in terms of Cass, if they could sort of drag Warrington
09:59and I think they're four points off Warrington and Catalan, aren't they,
10:02or something as it stands at the minute.
10:04But if they could close the gap on those two above them
10:06and sort of start putting a bit of table pressure on them as well,
10:11they could find themselves sort of, you know, ultimately climbing out
10:14of the bottom three, as it were, where they've been all season so far,
10:17obviously.
10:18Yeah.
10:18I mean, that's one thing about the table.
10:20It's very congested in the riddle, isn't it?
10:22And while you probably say Cass are, they do belong in the bottom three
10:26at the moment, they probably are cut adrift from those other sides
10:29who can go and beat the teams around them towards the middle,
10:35top of the table.
10:36Cass haven't been able to do that.
10:38But what they do need is just something to play for, don't they,
10:41for the rest of the season?
10:42They can't have another season where they're just hovering in 10th.
10:45Drifting.
10:46That's it, drifting along with no real purpose.
10:49I know the building, everyone says the building long-term, of course they are,
10:52but you need something, don't you, to go at in the season.
10:56That's where Huddersfield, I mean, it looks like their season's over already,
10:59doesn't it?
11:00But for Cass, there is a bit of hope there.
11:02They're not too far away.
11:03You'd say they probably don't have the squad to maintain a charge,
11:08but they just need something, don't they, to hold on to.
11:12Because there are things going on in the background.
11:13Mike Jepsen's very ambitious, and he's going to throw money at it.
11:19They've got Chris Chester in there now.
11:20If he can just build a bit of momentum on the field as well,
11:23then the future could be bright for Cass.
11:25YorkshirePost.co.uk