Monday 11 September 2017 16:03, UK
Brian Carney says it was a good week for Hull KR and Saints, but a bad week for Warrington and their coach Tony Smith.
Newly promoted Hull KR
Following the heartbreak of their relegation in 2016, they vowed as a club - as most would - to bounce straight back up. What impressed me is not just that Hull KR returned to Super League, but that they did it in a really measured way.
Neil Hudgell and Rob Crossland are the two men whose financial support had made this possible, but reading some quotes from Tim Sheens, it's interesting to note there wasn't an immediate splash of cash - they had to wait for financial supporters to come in and bankroll the charge.
Hull KR's financial backers have started to really come to the party and allowed late purchases.
They haven't broken the bank in getting back up, but ultimately they've been successful at the first time of asking.
What a tribute to Sheens that his side secured a Super League status in his 700th game as a coach. Sheens' last job before he came to this country was in charge of Kangaroos, so Hull KR are blessed to have him, and now they have the rewards.
It's also great news for Super League to have a club so well supported off the field back in their ranks.
Hull and Wigan deliver a classic
On Friday night we were treated to a great game. It had everything you wanted - not necessarily stuff you look for, but everything you get in a big game.
The referee had the devil's own job of keeping the players in check and it boiled over at times, but the story of the game was riveting; Hull down to 12 men from the 23rd minute, two points in it at half-time, then the almost unimaginable - Hull were battling back and in a position to win the game before Wigan secured it with late tries.
Wigan will be satisfied with two points because that was their goal before kick-off. Hull, on the other hand, register a loss that's a little troubling for their semi-final hopes.
However, the manner of defeat will be of huge psychological benefit to the club. They were up against the champions who were desperate, and were down to 12 men. Hull's players can be proud of their performance as well as their contribution to an entertaining night.
Saints fight back
St Helens recorded a particularly big win, and it came very late in the piece for Saints. They looked to be bouncing out of a realistic semi-final place as we rolled into the last minutes at Wakefield, a game I felt Trinity had dominated everywhere but on the scoreboard.
When that's the case, a side like St Helens will always have a chance and will always fancy themselves.
It's hard to fault Wakey's performance; it came down to an error from one of their best players on the night. Chris Chester will say it's not Scott Grix dropping the ball that lost that game, it was the failure to convert opportunities throughout the game.
Unfortunately for Grix, it's the end that gets a bigger spotlight in close games.
For Saints it's a huge win. They had suffered three defeats before last week, and were in danger of their season petering out to nothing. Had Wakefield won, it would have been the end of a disappointing year for Justin Holbrook's men.
However, the fact is they won and are still in Super League XXII. Confidence will be gained from that result as well as the manner of it, so St Helens are very much alive and a threat.
On the other side, what will the defeat do to Trinity and their season? They are fifth and have to play Hull and Wigan in the final two rounds, so it's a tough run-in for them.
Smith's anti-climactic departure
Warrington will be in Super League in 2018. I don't think there was ever a great deal of doubt they would be, even when they went into the Qualifiers. Relief then, but their last three performances were awful. They scraped past Halifax, could easily have lost to London, and a draw against Leigh would probably have been a fair result.
All of that is incidental, they are back where they want to be, but it's a bad week for them because of the departure of their coach, an ignominious end to an era.
The way Wolves have ended the season is too much of a hark back to Warrington teams of yesteryear in Super League.
I do think they will come right again, but they were far more like the Wolves side of the early 2000s than the side Tony Smith had shaped into a powerhouse in his time there - seven finals, three Challenge Cup titles, and two League Leaders' Shields.
Maybe all coaching tenures end in an anti-climax, but scraping a win against Leigh to preserve Super League status was not what we expected Smith to be presiding over in his last game before his departure was announced.
I think it's the right decision for both parties to part ways, but if I was a Warrington player I'd consider myself on notice. If the incoming coach has been watching this year, he may decide to put a broom through the place.
A disappointing end for Smith, but I have no doubt that in the game against Hull KR at the end of the season he will be given the fitting farewell he deserves from the club.
Can Leeds challenge Cas again?
Earlier in the season Rhinos coach Brian McDermott said the media had put Castleford on a pedestal.
"The way you people (the media) have spoken about them all year is as if they've invented another version of the game," said McDermott in June. "I feel you lot have put them on a pedestal and put them under pressure."
However last week McDermott then said: "Cas are really good, Cas are scarily good. Looking at them, with a couple of games to go, it's going to take an incredible team to stop them, and getting to the Grand Final and winning it."
That sounds like putting them on a pedestal to me. It tells you just how good the Tigers are, but it also leaves you wondering where it leaves the Rhinos.
Leeds are five points clear of Wigan and Hull, and had a huge amount of ground to make up after the travails of last year. They had a troubling start to the season (a 66-10 defeat to Tigers!) but they recovered well and have been good enough to sit second on the Super League table - they deserve credit for that.
But I find it difficult to get a handle on how good they are, and whether or not they will be at Old Trafford and indeed lift the trophy.
Worrying for them, and why it's a bad week, there's a very good chance they will have to play Castleford if they want to win the trophy, yet last week they were subjected to their eighth consecutive defeat against their old rivals, and their fourth of the season.
Trailing 30-6 against a team that people thought may go into cruise control once the League Leaders' Shield had been secured, leaves you thinking there is probably going to be too much ground on the field for Leeds to make up to be able to defeat Castleford this year.
However, the structure of the competition is such that despite currently being 12 points behind the Tigers (Wigan and Hull are 17 points behind the leaders) it will only take one performance to burst Cas' tires.
Who will Hull KR pick?
While it was a great week for Hull KR, with Catalans coming up next for the Robins I'm sure Leigh and Widnes, who both lost on the weekend, would have groaned a little.
Had Widnes beaten Hull KR, Rovers would have been going all out with a full-strength side to beat the Dragons on Friday. I'm not sure that will now be the case, we will find out later in the week, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them rest players and give some youngsters a chance.
That would be a huge disadvantage for Leigh and Widnes, because if Catalans win it will be massive in the context of the Qualifiers.
I don't know what team Sheens will pick, and the Dragons aren't playing well so there is nothing to say they will win against any team that Hull KR decide to send. But if they win and rack up a score it could be monumental for the Perpignan side. Leigh's next two games are against Halifax and London, so they will be aiming for a pair of wins.
Widnes' next game is against London and then that crucial game against the Dragons in the final round.
So it will all come down to KCOM Craven Park on Friday and whether Hull KR come to play or to party.
Time will tell, but one thing is certain: the misfiring and out of sorts Dragons simply must win this match or they may have to seriously contemplate life in the Championship and a battle against the ambitious and newly promoted Toronto Wolfpack for a chance to be in Super League in 2019.
