Super League is only two weeks in. We can’t draw any firm
conclusions at this early stage but we can make some observations on what we’ve
learned so far.
The standard is still the standard
St Helens are top. Wigan are in the top three. The two teams
that fought out one of the most intense games of Super League we’ve ever seen
in last year’s Grand Final are still the teams to beat.
St Helens have basically picked up where they left off, with
the new forwards fitting in seamlessly and Jack Welsby still being the best
second-best option in any of the back spots that a Super League team has. They’ve
won both games comfortably, albeit it arguably not on full throttle in attack.
Their defence is in top gear though. Both of their opponents have not only struggled
for points but even struggled for metres. St Helens are the only team to keep
their opponent under 1,000 metres in both opening games according to the official
Super League website stats.
Wigan have had two games with what could politely be called
scratchy first halves, but fairly dominant second halves. They have a
cumulative 14-24 first half, and 40-0 second half, after two games. The
impressive thing is they’ve won both games with very patched up backlines,
missing their two biggest stars in game one and with two backrowers as centres
in game two. These two points show Wigan are still as fit and as resilient as
any team in the league.
Cas look like contenders
I didn’t expect much from Castleford this year. The early
signs are they might prove me wrong. Jake Trueman and Paul McShane have started
in top form, Niall Evalds has slipped in really well too. They showed a great
attitude and adaptability in adapting to losing a half back early in game one
against Warrington. There’s still some depth concern for me with the Tigers. They
were down a couple of bench players from game one to game two, and I don’t
think the bench gave much against Leeds. But the early signs are the team are definitely
playing for Daryl Powell to go out on a high.
Hodgson has Hull humming
The other team starting really well is Hull FC. They only
made two off-season signings – one Josh Reynolds on the pitch and the other Brett
Hodgson off the pitch. The third big off-season move was Jake Connor to full
back on a more long-term basis. All three look good at this stage. Hull are
playing a more fluid and expansive attacking style, pivoting both Connor and
Reynolds around Marc Sneyd. Plus, their defence has looked pretty solid. Scott Taylor
coming off the bench seems to be really helping avoid any drop off in that area
when the starters get tired.
Watson has work to do
Huddersfield haven’t hit the ground running under their new
coach. There has been a bit of turnover in the squad, albeit mostly with adding
better players rather than losing any starters. But, the combinations just aren’t
working yet. With some benefit of early season doubt, the Giants are missing
their best and most important player, with Aidan Sezer not playing yet. They
also missed captain Michael Lawrence in game one, and star signing Ricky
Leutele in game two. Maybe, in fact probably, they need everyone on deck to be
the team I thought they could be this year.
Full back could be Wane’s biggest World Cup decision
October is a long way away. And injuries or form could impact
the thinking hugely by then. But it looks like Shaun Wane could have a tough
call to make on the full back spot for England. Sam Tomkins, Jake Connor and
Niall Evalds have all started the season strongly. And Zak Hardaker has found himself
back in his personal favoured position too, with two strong performances for
Wigan.
Then outside of these main contenders, there’s also been a
challenge at times of fitting Gareth Widdop and Jonny Lomax into the same
international side. George Williams is surely nailed on for one of the half
spots. That could mean Wane does what others have done before to get both
Widdop and Lomax in, play one of them at full back. This seems unlikely though
given the quality options playing there week-in, week-out.
I’d be going with Tomkins. To me, he has the most complete
game of the options. Hardaker might be slightly better defensively and running
the ball. Connor might have a slightly better long kicking and short passing
game. Evalds might be a better support runner. But Tomkins has the most
overall. He’s a better ball player than Hardaker. He’s more of a team player and
experienced campaigner than Connor. He’s a better defender and organiser than
Evalds. Add in that he’s worked with Wane before, in fact won a Man of Steel
under Wane. And, if we’re all honest with ourselves, he’s been the best player
on the pitch in both the games he’s played this year, and most of the games he
played last year too.
Do look out for our next podcast episode, out tonight (late Monday UK time),
where we’ll recap the Mose Masoe Round and look ahead to the Super League clubs
entering the Cup, plus discuss all the latest news, all helped with your fan
views.
As always, thanks for reading and feel free to share your views with us.
SLP
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