SIX TO GO - Saints, Centurions and FuiFui.

Welcome to the fifth edition of Six to Go, looking at some of the things that have caught my eye over the last week or so in the great world of Rugby League.

1.       Can Saints go back to back?



St. Helens Captain - Jon Wilkin

We are 6 rounds into Super League XX, over a quarter of the way to the Super 8s, and reigning champions St. Helens are top of the pile with 6 wins from 6. They have gained wins over Catalans (18-7), Salford (52-6), Castleford (21-14), Wakefield (20-16), Widnes (30-20) and Warrington (32-24) although it can be argued that they have not played one of the top dogs of the competition until their round 6 clash with the Wolves but they have proved their resilience with all of their wins being hard earned apart from the round 2 demolition of the Red Devils. The big question is can the Saints win back to back titles?? St. Helens have qualified for 10 of the 17 Grand Finals played since their inception in 1998, winning and losing 5 each including a run of 5 consecutive losses between 2007 and 2011 and last won back to back titles in 1999 and 2000 under Ellery Hanley and then Ian Millward. Saints won the League Leaders Shield and the Grand Final last season with the likes of Jonny Lomax and half back Luke Walsh amongst the long term injured and they lost Lance Hohaiha very early in the Grand Final against rivals Wigan Warriors – but they found a way to win their first Grand Final since 2006 and have started well under new coach

 New coach - Kieron Cunningham

Kieron Cunningham despite still being without Walsh and having to play back rower Jon Wilkin at scrum half with a new half back partner in Travis Burns, signed in the off season from Hull Kingston Rovers. Saints have a good mixture of tried and tested experienced players such as Wilkin, Hohaiha, Burns, Lomax hooker James Roby, Paul Wellens, winger Tommy Makinson, Jordan Turner and Mose Masoe amongst others mixed in with some outstanding youngsters like Adam Swift, Mark Percival, Alex Walmsley, Luke Thompson, Greg Richards, Josh Jones and the stand out so far in 2015 Joe Greenwood. Despite beating the Wolves at the weekend, St. Helens have not fully hit their straps yet and have struggled to put most of their opponents to bed and it will be interesting to see how they perform with Walsh back in the team in the next few weeks and against other likely title rivals Leeds Rhinos and Wigan Warriors. They take on struggling Hull Kingston Rovers away in round 7 at a ground they have not win at since 2007 and it may prove a real test to their title credentials leading into crucial Easter fixtures at the Warriors and home to Hull FC. I tipped the Wolves for the 2015 title and I am not going to change my mind just yet.

 2.       Are Leigh the real deal?

Paul Rowley

In the second tier Championship Leigh Centurions are the early pacesetters having won their first five league games including wins against former Super League outfits Bradford Bulls (36-24) on the opening day of the season in front of nearly 7,500 fans at the Leigh Sports Village and London Broncos (25-12) and supposed promotion rivals Featherstone Rovers (40-6). Add in wins at Halifax (18-6) and Doncaster (54-18) and you have the perfect start to a season that gives them the opportunity to gain a Super League place in the Super 8’s competition later in the year. Outstanding coach Paul Rowley has built a squad that won last year’s Championship Grand Final and now looks likely to cause major problems for the four Super League teams that finish outside of the top 8 after 23 rounds. Leigh are led superbly round the park by half back pairing Martin Ridyard, only the fifth player in the clubs history to score more than 1,000 points, and free scoring Ryan Brierley who has 7 tries (5 in the League and 2 in the Challenge Cup)this season and exactly 100 in 95 appearances for the Centurions. Their left side three quarter pairing of Liam Kay (10 tries) and Tom Armstrong (6 tries) are causing opposition defences all sorts of problems and then you have Parramatta Eels legend FuiFui MoiMoi causing havoc in the pack. They also have Super League experienced players such as Oliver Wilkes, Sean Penkiewicz, Michael Platt, Andrew Dixon, Jake Emmitt and Martin Aspinwall and have yet been unable to unleash the beast that is Gareth Hock on the Championship because of the 6 week suspension that he received that forced his departure from Salford Red Devils. The Centurions were this week drawn at home to the Red Devils in the prime tie of the 5^th round of the Challenge Cup and this match will really show if Leigh are the real deal and if they have the fire power and quality to make a serious bid for Super League. I believe they do an d will prove against Salford.

FuiFui MoiMoi

3.       Leigh are in love with FuiFui

Talking about Leigh and FuiFui MoiMoi, the Rugby League world was shocked when the Centurions attracted the iconic MoiMoi to the North West of England to play outside of Super League and it appears it is a match made in heaven. MoiMoi has been made to feel very welcome by the Centurions and won a legion of fans and has brought big numbers through the gates at the Leigh Sports Village with their first two home games of the year drawing crowds of 7,449 (Bradford Bulls) and 4,531 (London Broncos). MoiMoi and Leigh must be happy with each other as the New Zealand and Tonga international has extended his contract to the end of 2016 when he will be 37 years of age.

Anyone who is uncertain of his popularity and happiness at Leigh should see his celebration after he scored his first try for the club in the 64-12 defeat of the London Broncos in the Challenge Cup last weekend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1eHJ0jxC4c

4.       Overseas stars

Campo and Alby

There have been some stand out performers in the early part of the year and from the new overseas players that have ventured into Super League for the first time this year and you cannot look too far beyond the new Hull KR half back pairing of Terry Campese and Albert Kelly. They have really gelled together quickly and when they are on song the Robins look awesome in attack – see their first half performance against Leeds Rhinos in Round 1 and their second half demolition of the Catalans Dragons in Round 5 in particular. Former Canberra Raiders legend Campese has really turned the clock back and is producing some outstanding rugby league and is organising and dictating play well for his new club whilst Kelly, signed from the Gold Coast Titans, can be absolute dynamite and his pace and strength are something to behold when he is in full flow. Former Parramatta Eels flyer Ken Sio is reaping the benefit and currently has 6 tries to his name but it is the half back pairing of Campese and Kelly that is getting all the headlines. Consistency is the key though and the whole team needs to lift itself to match the quality and ability of these two players if the Robins are to make the top 8 before the Super 8’s split.

5.       Cuthbertson for England?

Adam Cuthbertson

Another new overseas player to make a massive impact at his club is Adam Cuthbertson who has joined the Leeds Rhinos from Newcastle Knights. He has been an outstanding acquisition and has already drawn great praise from his fellow front rower at Headingley Jamie Peacock. Not only is Cuthbertson a hard working and strong running front rower, he is also an outstanding ball handler and has found his way over the line for 3 tries already having scored only 8 in his whole NRL career dating back to 2006. He currently tops the league with the most ball carries (120) and off loads (30) and has a try assist to add to his try tally as well as making 220 tackles. The interesting thing about Cuthbertson is that he qualifies to play for England as his father was born in Warrington and the question now being asked is whether England coach Steve McNamara will look to bring him into the England squad for the end of year Test Series against Four Nations champions New Zealand. There is no questioning Cuthbertson’s undoubted ability and the fact that McNamara will look wherever is necessary to gain a winning edge – as shown by him calling up New Zealand born Rangi Chase and Australian born Chris Heighington during his reign as Head Coach. There will always be an opposite view that you should only play for the country of your birth but the fact is that just about every country in every sport are represented by players who qualify through residency or by parental / family birth and why should we be any different – if Cuthbertson makes himself available and his form warrant’s a call up, then why not, but it is the also the case that the English front row is probably the strongest in the world with the likes of the Burgess twins, Tom and George, from South Sydney, Canterbury Bulldogs captain James Graham and Warrington Wolves outstanding prop Chris Hill all in the prime positions for the end of year Test Series.

6.       Young, talented and English.

Now we need to concentrate on some young English talent that has shone through in the first 6 rounds of the competition. Front rowers Brad Singleton (Leeds Rhinos) and Alex Walmsley (St. Helens) have really caught my eye as

Brad Singleton

has the barnstorming early season form of young Saints back rower Joe Greenwood. Singleton is a Cumbrian born former England Academy captain who was the 50^th player from the Rhinos Academy system to play for the first team and represented the England Knights against Samoa at the end of 2013. This year he has been used from the bench and always seem to make an impact as soon as he gets on the field – whether by scoring a try or making an important tackle. Fellow prop forward Walmsley took a longer route to Super League and actually started his career in amateur rugby league with Dewsbury Celtic with whom he won the National Conference player of the year in 2011. He then signed for Championship club Batley Bulldogs where he won the clubs payer of the year award and the League’s young player of the year award in 2012 before St. Helens saw the potential

Alex Walmsley

and signed him. He made a big impact at Saints at the start of 2014 and I would not have been surprised if he had been called up to the England Four Nations squad at the end of last year. He came off the bench in the Saints Grand Final winning team last year and his form at the start of 2015 has been even better. At 6’5’’ (196cm) and 17st 9lbs (112kgs) Walmsley is a formidable figure and takes some stopping when he is in full flow as highlighted by the fact that he is the competitions top metre maker after 6 rounds with 926 metres gained from 120 carries (av. 7.72m) and has off loaded a respectable 18 times. Former Saddleworth Rangers junior Joe Greenwood made his Saints debut in 2012 and made a name for himself with a last minute winning try against Wigan Warriors in 2013 but his form under new coach Kieron Cunningham in 2015 has been a revelation. The tall, rangy second rower has caused all kinds of problems to opposition defences in Super League XX and has already

Joe Greenwood

crossed for 4 tries. Cunningham was contemplating sending him on dual registration before the season started but his pre-season form was so good that he kept him with the first team squad and the youngster has repaid that faith. Singleton (22), Walmsley (24) and Greenwood (21) are still young men making their way in the game but these are just three of the many talented youngsters that we need to ensure improve sufficiently to give us the opportunity to compete for World Cups and Four Nations titles in years to come.

 

A bit of extra time thinking….

I was looking at a few stats at the weekend and it was clear to see that the Rhinos are playing some good rugby league at the moment. They currently head the league stats in most metres gained (8730) by nearly 800metres from the Wolves (7955) and have scored the most tries (32) and points (181). The Rhinos are currently second in the SL table with 5 wins from 6 games, there only defeat is at the hands of the Wolves, but the most amazing statistic for me was the amount of off loads they had completed compared to other teams. The Rhinos have off loaded the ball a total of 126 times in 6 matches (averaging 21 per game) and their nearest competitor is bottom club Wakefield Trinity Wildcats on 78 – 48 off loads less in 6 games. Former Knights prop Adam Cuthbertson leads the way with 30 off loads – 18 more than anyone else in his own team and 12 more than the next best off loader, Alex Walmsley of St. Helens.

Huddersfield Giants full back Scott Grix became a Super League record holder at the weekend when he scored a hat trick of tries against Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. It’s nothing unusual for a player to score a hat trick obviously (although I only ever scored one try in the whole of my amateur playing career!!!) but Grix scored all of his tries within 8 minutes 51 seconds of the KICK OFF. Even that’s not a world record – Huddersfield assistant coach Chris Thorman scored a try hat trick for the Giants within 6 minutes and 54 seconds of a game against Doncaster back in 2002.

http://www.superleague.co.uk/sltv?QUpLb_Q4E5Q

Four Super League teams who finished outside of the top eight last season, Salford Red Devils, Hull Kingston Rovers, Hull FC and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats all entered the Challenge Cup draw at the 5^th round stage on Tuesday night. The draw was made by Hull FC and Hull KR legends Johnny Whiteley and Phil Lowe and the four Super League teams have not been given easy rides. Only the Wildcats have a home tie and they will play Halifax in a West Yorkshire derby. Hull FC, finalists as recently as 2013, will be confident of getting past Sheffield Eagles but both Hull KR and Salford have been handed the toughest ties possible at this stage of the competition.  Rovers have to go to Odsal and play relegated Bradford Bulls whilst the Red Devils have to travel the short distance to early season Championship pace setters Leigh Centurions. The Bulls and Centurions will love the opportunity to prove their Super League credentials and will be going all out to win these games. Add in the fact that the Centurions should have former Red Devils forward Gareth Hock in their side and there could be some upsets. All the ties take place on the weekend of Saturday and Sunday 18^th/19^th April and the top 8 Super League teams from last year will then enter the competition in the last 16 (Round 6).

Connor Lynes

A 15 year old young man called Connor Lynes played Rugby League at the weekend for his junior club Lambwath Lions in Hull and ended up in a coma when he was found slumped on his bedroom floor the next morning. It was found he had blood clot on his brain stem caused by a blow he had taken in his match. The good news is that the doctors looking after Connor have managed to remove 95% of the clot and he has now regained consciousness, has full movement in his limbs and is talking and smiling. Connor is a massive Hull Kingston Rovers fan and has received well wishes from all over the world – a truly heartwarming case of the Rugby League family coming together to provide support to Connor and his family. Hopefully the young man will recover fully and be home soon. All the best Connor from someone who’s eldest son plays the greatest game of all and who’s youngest son is about to embark on the same journey.