Warrington Wolves vs Castleford Tigers (Fri, 7:45pm)
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Warrington’s Challenge Cup win over Wigan was a massive display of their credentials, and they will be beginning to think that that isn’t the only trophy they could have their hands on come the end of the season.
They have now won 12 of their last 13 matches overall and I can see them continuing that consistency over the next few months.
Castleford have dealt well with injuries recently to remain in the top four, but they haven’t beaten any of the top three this year and I think that reflects a real gap that we will see on Friday.
Prediction: Warrington Wolves 34-12 Castleford Tigers
St Helens vs Hull Kingston Rovers (Fri, 8:00pm)
The success of Saints goes on and on, with a seventh consecutive win taking them into the Challenge Cup semi-finals to go with the driving seat in the Super League table.
Hull KR were very disappointing last week, particularly coming after such a brilliant performance to beat Wigan the week before. They can’t build any consistency and that’s why they will be left behind in the fight for eighth.
It’s difficult to see how Rovers can take anything from this one except pride in keeping the score down. Saints showed last week that even when they don’t play that well, they are too good for most teams.
Prediction: St Helens 42-12 Hull Kingston Rovers
Catalans Dragons vs Widnes Vikings (Sat, 5:00pm)
This is a repeat of the clash from the opening weekend of the season, when Widnes thrashed the Dragons on home soil in what looked at the time to be a very significant result.
While things have slowly got better for the French side, Widnes have fallen and fallen. Just two wins in the 14 matches since left them adrift at the bottom and almost certain of a place in the Qualifiers.
Home form has picked up for Catalans recently and that will be the key to making it into the top eight. They will need to win this one.
Prediction: Catalans Dragons 34-18 Widnes Vikings
