Rugby League Podcast - Episode 10: Super League Round 15 Preview - video Dailymotion

Yorkshire Post

An improving Castleford Tigers prepare to welcome Hull KR as Leeds Rhinos strive to make themselves part of the title race and Huddersfield Giants gain an insight into the positive effect of playing host at a smaller venue ...

Transcript

00:00Hello and welcome to the latest Rugby League podcast from the Yorkshire Post.

00:12We're looking ahead to Round 15 of Super League while having a quick look back, obviously,

00:17at Round 14, which brought a usual mixture of good and bad results for Yorkshire's teams.

00:23As we seem to have quite a bit this season, for which we make no apology, we're going

00:28to start with something involving Hall KR.

00:31They're playing Cass on Thursday night, as we speak.

00:34That's just going to be a few hours from now, James, but we will get the podcast up in time

00:39for us to have a quick chat about Cass and Hall KR.

00:43Cass had a good win over Hall FC last week, which will obviously have pleased Hall KR's

00:48fans.

00:49Signs of improvement under Danny Maguire.

00:51So, you know, it might not be the walk in the park, perhaps, that some maybe have expected

00:57for Hall KR when they looked at this fixture, perhaps a few weeks ago.

01:01Yeah, that's right.

01:02And Cass have pushed Hall KR close a couple of times in the last year.

01:07They needed a Jeslitt and dropped goal to win at Cass.

01:12When was it now?

01:14Last June.

01:15So, yeah, it's pretty much the anniversary of that great game, I've just recalled.

01:21And then in round one as well, if Tex Hoy kicks the conversion, Hall KR lose in round

01:27one, and then it might be a sliding doors moment for both sides, because Cass, they had to wait

01:34a long time for the first win, and obviously Hall KR have only lost once since in about 19

01:39games, which is, frankly, a ridiculous record.

01:41So, yeah, that was a big moment in both of their seasons, but Cass are starting to show.

01:47There's a few green shoots there now.

01:50That was a big win last week, because before that, they'd only beaten Salford and Huddersfield,

01:55the bottom two.

01:56So, to go and beat a playoff contender, that would give them a lot of confidence going to

02:00play all KR in front of their own fans at a sweltering jungle.

02:05Should be a good night.

02:06Both noisy sets of fans, and another real test for OKR, they seem to have them every week,

02:14but they're just brushing sides aside at the moment.

02:19You spoke to Chris Chester earlier this week, I'll just have a quick chat about that as well.

02:23First sort of chance you'd had, I suppose, to have a proper chat with him since he came

02:27in as the sporting director or whatever his title is, head of requirements.

02:31Pirates are a little bit.

02:32Yeah.

02:35He's very pleased with the way things are going, isn't he?

02:38He's obviously planning ahead for next season, and even he talks about what they're looking

02:42to do for 2027.

02:44So, there is a long-term vision in place at Cass, isn't there?

02:47That's something held by the backing of the owner, Martin Jetson.

02:51Yeah, that's right.

02:56It's good to see Cass being proactive, I think, especially in the era of relegation

03:00where you couldn't really plan until the last stage of the season.

03:03You'd come to the party late, and he stressed the other day that they're not behind the eight

03:07ball this time.

03:08They're going in aggressively.

03:10They're targeting quality players.

03:11It's hard for a club like Cass.

03:13They're not the most attractive of clubs, for want of a better phrase, in the area when

03:21there's Leeds on the doorstep, and it's something Chester found at Lee as well.

03:25They've obviously got Wigan as their closest neighbours, but he did a great job of it over

03:29at Lee.

03:31He unearthed hidden gems from the NRL and the low grades in Australia.

03:36Some players, fans over here, haven't heard of, and now they're household names in Super

03:41League, so that gives Cass fans and everyone at Cass really a lot of optimism about the

03:48rabbits that he's going to pull out the hat for next year and beyond.

03:52Yeah.

03:52Just quickly, before we move on to other games this weekend, Hull KR last week sort of put

04:00to bed the fear that sometimes amateur teams, when they've had successful wins or trophy

04:06wins like winning the Challenge Cup final the week before, they actually came out the following,

04:10I think it was the Friday, wasn't it?

04:11An absolutely blasted Catalan, who admittedly are having a poor season for various reasons,

04:18but they had to do a blasted Catalan off the pot, 60-odd points or something, I think they

04:22put past them.

04:24Like I say, just showing the sort of quality and the class that they have done for the vast

04:29majority of the year.

04:30Yeah, they put a question to Hull KR every week at the moment, but they're just answering

04:37it and answering it emphatically, but like in the open days when he was playing two games

04:43over Easter and said it's not the game after that, it's the game after that, and I think

04:47we saw a bit of that after Vegas, when the sides got back from Vegas, it was a bit of a

04:51delayed hangover, so that's the next one, that's the next challenge that Hull KR have

04:55got to overcome, because last week they were back at Craven Park, a party atmosphere, the

05:00Challenge Cup was there, there were fireworks going off, there was a lot planned, that was

05:05enough to get them through that game, and they just have to keep finding a reason, don't

05:09they?

05:09They have to keep finding a reason to get up for the next week, and it shouldn't be too

05:14difficult to be fair at Cass, it's a good atmosphere down there, and they've got Wigan

05:17breathing down the necks as well, but yeah, I would say that's my fear for OKR, if they

05:21do have a delayed hangover in this league leader's shield race, they can't afford

05:24too many slip-ups, so they need to be on it every week, and build up for that huge

05:30game against Wigan in August, it's two months away, but that's already circled on my

05:35calendar.

05:37We did a piece this week talking about Hull having to overcome that sort of one major

05:43obstacle, which has continued to remain in their path, that being Wigan, obviously,

05:47we'll talk about that a lot closer to the time, but it is those two at the minute that

05:52they're setting the pace in Super League, but if any team is going to sort of make it

05:57a sort of top three, in terms of contenders for civil war, then it's going to be Leeds-Rhinos,

06:02they go to Saints on Friday as well, I think it is, but steadily, week by week, we are seeing

06:10Leeds become a team that could possibly threaten the, not monopoly, the top two that have, but

06:16the conversation tends to just be about Wigan and Hull KR, but Leeds could become very much

06:22part of that chat, can't they?

06:23Yeah, definitely, the last time they won five games in a row will be the last time they

06:28reached Old Trafford in 2022 under Rowan Smith, but there's more substance to this Leeds side

06:35under Brad Arthur, even under Rowan Smith, they were just on the crest of a wave, and I think

06:40they just rode off the back of that, there were no real substance and backbone, as we saw

06:45the following year, whereas this Leeds side have got a real steel edge, and they've got that

06:51backbone, his defence first, whereas Rowan Smith was very much the opposite, it was very

06:57passive from a defensive standpoint, so we've got the bases there, and now they're starting

07:02to score points as well, which often happens at this time of year, so they are the nearest

07:06challengers, I'd say they are on the table, says they are, and the eye test, the pass in

07:11that sense as well, so yeah, I think they are the nearest challengers, playing Saints, who

07:16are swatting aside the Leicester sides this season, they're struggling against the sides

07:20up there, so it's another good chance for Leeds to make a statement, and then the tough

07:27games keep coming for them, but we're overcoming every challenge at the moment, but like you

07:31say, it's going to be, everyone's talking about the top two, and I think it is going to be

07:35those two at Old Trafford again, but if any side can go to all care, or are we going to

07:39win, I think it's Leeds, right now.

07:42Well, yeah, yeah, and one big talking point, one of the big talking points about Leeds,

07:48before the start of the season was obviously Jake Connor, he was singled out amongst two

07:52or three players actually by Brad Arthur after the game on Sunday, the game of the weekend,

07:56sorry. But everyone, I think, well, some people will have been surprised by how well he's done

08:02for Leeds, but Brad Arthur isn't one of those, knew what he was getting into, knew what Jake

08:07Connor was about, and he's delighted that he's kind of delivering on what he knows he's good

08:12at.

08:13Yeah, it looks like a masterstroke now, but at the time, everyone, including me,

08:18was saying it's a massive gamble, it could go one way or the other, and most people thought

08:22it'd backfire. I would hold my hands up and I was one of those people, I thought it was

08:26a, having seen him at Huddersfield, I just didn't think he could come in and have the

08:31impact he's had, but it just shows, like in any sport, if you get under the right coach

08:36or manager, and the talent's there, if they sort the attitude part out, then you can fly

08:41and that's what's happened, he's a runaway leader, I think, at the moment for the Man

08:45of Steel, and you'd have got long odds on that at the start of the year, and he's coming

08:50into the England conversation as well, I don't think he's Sean Wayne's cup of tea, but he's

08:56got to be in the conversation, and if he isn't, then you've got to ask questions, because

09:00he's, you don't pick him on attitude and his petulance, which has improved this season,

09:04but then you've got his Leeds teammate, Harry Newman, who's in a very similar mould, and

09:08he'll pick him, so it's a very interesting one, but that's a conversation for another

09:12day, but he's going great guns, and he'll be a real important player at St. Helens

09:16on Friday.

09:17Yeah, just before we let you go and tart yourself up, ready for tonight's game, and do your hair

09:25and everything else it needs to do before you turn out to the ground, just a quick word

09:29about Huddersfield.

09:30Interesting, last weekend, they actually came close to winning a game that perhaps

09:37three, four, five weeks ago, even, no one would have given them a chance to, but they

09:41played, they were playing their game, or they switched their venue, sorry, to Dewsbury, for

09:50the game that they had on the Saturday against Wigan, pushed Wigan close, in fact, came very

09:56close to winning, but I think one of the big things that's been made about the fact that

10:00they were down at Dewsbury, smaller venue, a lot more of an intense atmosphere, and this

10:05is something that Huddersfield are looking to make available for themselves on a regular

10:09basis.

10:10Next year, they're on about going to the Shea, they've been moving out of the John Smith

10:13Stadium, where games were played in front of two, three thousand people, in just a terrible

10:22atmosphere, really, where there was no atmosphere, because it was just far too big a ground for

10:27them to fill.

10:27So, it kind of gave them an insight, I guess, the game against Wigan at Dewsbury, as to what

10:33they can perhaps expect, and the atmosphere they can perhaps generate in a smaller venue

10:37that's more suited to their fan base.

10:40Yeah, and you said if they'd have played it three or four weeks ago, it'd have been maybe

10:44a blowout score or a different result, and I think if they'd have played the same game

10:47on the same day at the John Smith Stadium, it'd have been a completely different game.

10:50So, yeah, exactly what you're saying, they'd suit a smaller venue, that was a smaller pitch

10:56as well, and they really took it to Wigan.

10:59So, like you say, it's a great template for them to use now, going forward, and most likely

11:05they'll leave the John Smith Stadium at the end of the year, and if they can try and harness

11:10that kind of atmosphere and the feel that they had at Dewsbury and take it to Halifax or

11:14wherever they end up, they could be in a much better spot.

11:20I do go to games at the John Smiths, and it is a bit of a soulless experience, and I think

11:25the players probably feel that as well.

11:27You run out and the stands are virtually empty.

11:30It's not great for motivation.

11:31It's a very comfortable environment for away sides as well.

11:34So, yeah, I think this is the future for Huddersfield.

11:38Play at a small, compact venue and they can really start to build something, because at the

11:41moment, where they are at the John Smiths Stadium, they're just kind of floating along

11:45with no real identity.

11:48And, yeah, it's good to see them push Wigan close, and hopefully going forward into next

11:54year, they can really build, like I said, that strong club mentality and start to shoot

12:01up Super League, because we want all the Yorkshire clubs in the top six, don't we?

12:05Definitely.

12:05And just quickly, I mean, obviously on the back of that performance against Wigan, which

12:08was probably one of their best performances of the season, it gives them a lot of encouragement,

12:15I guess, going into a game at Warrington at the weekend, which, given Warrington's disappointment

12:20to Wembley, I think the fact that they then followed it up with a loss as well, perhaps

12:25Warrington are a team that might be there for the taking, and this might be somewhere where

12:29Huddersfield can sort of strike a rare win.

12:33Yeah.

12:34Warrington do look a bit vulnerable at the moment.

12:35Like I said, they're coming off that Wembley defeat, and then they're back there up at

12:41Leeds, with quite a leggy performance, stuck with Leeds for a while, and then faded in

12:45the second half.

12:46So it is a good opportunity for Huddersfield going to Warrington.

12:51I think they do, Huddersfield tends to fare better on the road for the reasons we outlined

12:54just before.

12:56And they've got a run of games now away from Hobbes.

12:58So, yeah, it's an opportunity to, you look at Huddersfield, you look at the table, they

13:04haven't got a great deal to play for, but just building for next year, they need to start

13:10seeing some kind of improvement.

13:11And especially with Robinson, because if it carries on the way they're going at the

13:15moment, it's hard to see them sticking around for next year.

13:17I think they've won one game so far, so that says it all.

13:22And not many coaches survive with a record like that.

13:24So it's massively important, second half of the season for Robinson and quite a lot of

13:28the players as well, because if you're associated with a season like this, if it continues, then

13:33you're struggling to stick around long-term or even short-term.

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