At the start of round twenty of Super League 2024 the fixture between Warrington Wolves and Hull Kingston Rovers was an encounter between the top two in the table, but a win last night for the Wigan Warriors saw them jump to the top of the pile with Warrington needing a win of any description to return to the top themselves, KR knowing that an eleven point or more win would see them sitting pretty.

The bookies fancied a home win, especially with their major signing coup John Bateman making his debut from the bench after being released on loan by Wests Tigers until the end of the season.

That debut would likely spur the visitors who are having a sensational season so far in 2024 as they look for their first ever Grand Final appearance come the end of the season.

After suffering a minor setback and blemish on their one hundred percent record with defeat at the hands of Toulouse Olympique XIII last weekend, Wakefield Trinity looked to get back to winning ways with a home game against a Featherstone Rovers side who have run hot and cold throughout 2024.

Neither side could improve their league position with a win and Wakefield were massive favourites with the bookies to overcome their defeat and get back to winning ways as they were handicapped by twenty-four points on the coupon.

Featherstone were looking over their shoulders with concern and a heavy defeat could potentially cost them three league places and see them ending the weekend in ninth place.

Two sides who were on opposite ends of last weekend’s shock results came together for an intriguing round nineteen game as a Catalans Dragons side who lost to the Castleford Tigers faced a Hull FC side who sprang the surprise of the season in defeating champions elect, Wigan Warriors.

The big news was that Sam Tomkins was back out of retirement to alleviate the injury crisis in the south of France and provide a much-needed boost as the Dragons looked to secure a top six spot and a shot at the play offs.

The Dragons were firm favourites with the bookies and were handicapped by fourteen points on the coupon but in this round of shocks in Super League 2024, nothing could be taken for granted.

Salford Red Devils knew that a win in round nineteen was crucial to their top six aspirations with a win over the much-improved Castleford Tigers able to take them clear of the pack of two other teams being chased down by the Leeds Rhinos for the sixth play-off place.

While Salford lost their last two outings, Castleford have won their last three matches and were keen on a fourth on the bounce, a win for the Tigers would see them up above the Huddersfield Giants and into a ninth place which had looked a distant prospect just a few weeks ago.

The bookies had Salford as the favourites, but not by much, with an eight-point start on the coupon for the visitors.

It was, without doubt, the game of the nineteenth round of Super League 2024 as top of the table Wigan Warriors took on a Warrington Wolves side sat in second place and knowing that a win by twenty points or more could send them to the top of the table, depending on the size of Hull KR’s win over London Broncos.

Wigan needed to get back on the bike after last weeks shock loss against Hull FC, the most incredible result of the season so far, while Warrington came into the game flying high after last weeks victory over St Helens, despite being reduced to twelve men for sixty minutes.

Wigan were favourites with the bookies, home advantage meaning that they were handicapped on the coupon by four points, the Wolves looking to end a seven-game losing streak against the Warriors.

Bill Arthur was a SKY Sports presenter from the moment Super League arrived, including commentating on many momentus RL occasions he went onto become a senior member of the SKY team and helped make everyone feel welcome.

I met Bill quite a number of times and my most memorable was in a tent in a field in York at the york 9s, thrown together to report on the event he was quick to put me at ease and we chatted about the places we live and the sport.

Bill died peacefully on Wednesday surrounded by his family and inspired many with his courageous battle against the disease which he was diagnosed with in 2011.

RLFANS.COM and all our supporters, moderators and administrators offer our deep condolences to Bill's family.

Two sides having disappointing seasons got round nineteen underway on Thursday night as the Leeds Rhinos travelled the short distance don the M62 to take on the Huddersfield Giants as ninth hosted seventh with play-off places now close to disappearing out of sight for both outfits.

The Giants had won the last two meetings between the two sides, including their 30-24 win earlier this season at Headingley and the Rhinos had not taken the points away from the John Smith’s stadium for almost five years, their last win there in August 2019.

The Rhinos had been made favourites with the bookies before the first ball was kicked, the home side with a four-point start on the coupon but it was an essential game for both sides.

Two form teams, both on the back of short winning runs, met in the final game of round eighteen as the Catalans Dragons made the journey to West Yorkshire to take on an increasingly confident Castleford Tigers in the hope of picking up the two points to go ahead of St Helens and prevent their continued fall towards the bottom end of the top six.

A win for Castleford would lift them within a point of the Huddersfield Giants and would stretch their win streak to three consecutive games after their stunning win over Saints a couple of weeks ago, but the bookies favoured a Dragons win, handicapping them by six points on the coupon and buoyed by the return of Tom Johnstone and Jordan Abdull.

It was Leeds Rhinos ‘Brad Arthur’ test day as the new coach took charge of the side for the first time as they came up against a trailblazing Hull KR side who are having a sensational season inside the top six and who wanted the two points to move level with the Warrington Wolves in second place.

The bookies made the visitors slight favourites but with only a two point advantage to the Rhinos on the handicap coupon they were far from convinced that this was an ironed on win for the Robins as Leeds looked to get two points closer to the Salford Red Devils and the cherished sixth spot in the table.

The Leeds masses gathered at Headingley to ask whether this would be a new dawn for their beloved club, or more of the same underperforming that their side has displayed for the last few years.

Second travelled the short journey to fourth as Warrington Wolves looked to get within two points of the league leaders against a St Helens side who came into the game on the back of three consecutive losses and in danger of dropping to sixth by the end of the weekend and losing four on the bounce for the first time in six years.

The home side were slight favourites with the bookies for a win but with just a two-point handicap on the coupon it promised to be the tightest of games at the end of a sweltering day as summer arrived.

Warrington won the only encounter between the two sides in 2024, eliminating Saints from the Challenge Cup at the quarter final stage, but you have to go back to June 2021 to find the last Warrington victory in a Super League encounter.

It was all on the line as Queensland took on New South Wales at the Suncorp Stadium in the deciding match of an exciting 2024 State of Origin series which had kept the Australian public on a knife edge since that sensational New South Wales win three weeks ago.

Queensland were slight favourites with the bookies and had been handicapped by two points on the coupon, but all indications were that game three would be the closest and most keenly fought of the three games and a game which could come down to the last kick of the game in front of a capacity crowd.

Both coaches made a couple of changes; Queensland had Kalyn Ponga, Selwyn Cobbo in their seventeen with Trent Loiero as eighteenth man, while Bradman Best and Matt Burton were in for New South Wales, the latter as the reserve.

Bradford Bulls stood in the way of Wakefield Trinity and their continued march back to Super League on the back of an unbeaten season as Daryl Powell’s side made the short trip to Odsal for a round fifteen showdown between top and fourth.

The visitors were, of course, the favourites to pick up another two points and Bradford were given a twelve-point start on the handicap coupon with the bookies unable to see anything other than another Wakefield victory.

Wakefield won both the early season league encounter and defeated Bradford at the semi-final stage of the 1895 trophy to secure their game at Wembley.

The final game of the round saw fifth placed Salford Red Devils make the long journey south to play the Catalans Giants who started the game in sixth pace but knew that a win would lift them above their opponents.

Salford had their eyes on getting to twenty-four points to lift them above St Helens and onto the same total as Hull KR and Warrington Wolves in second spot in the table, a loss for the Dragons would leave them anxiously looking over their shoulders at Leeds with a play-off place still at risk.

The bookies gave the Dragons a six-point handicap on the coupon making then slight favourites to pick up the points.

For years the Black and White side of Hull looked forward to their derbies with keen anticipation of victory and securing bragging rights, but in recent times that excitement has turned to fear, fear of defeat and possibly humiliation at the hands of their fiercest rivals.

A victory by twenty-five points or more would put Hull Kingston Rovers into second place in the table, but a win for Hull FC, however unlikely, would put them two points clearer of London Broncos and bottom spot but with no hope of making the play-off and probably not of getting out of eleventh spot.

FC were given an eight-point start on the coupon and many of those wearing the colours of the home side would gladly take just an eight-point defeat before the kick off.

A mouthwatering, top of the table, original derby saw reigning Champions Wigan Warriors take on the pretenders to their throne and arch rivals St Helens in front of a near sell-out crowd at the Brick with a season crucial two points up for grabs.

A win for Wigan would lift them four points clear of their rivals and with a game in hand and barring any disaster it would make them almost uncatchable as they look to repeat last season’s success.

The bookies and the pundits all thought that it would be the Warriors who would exploit home advantage and take the spoils as they were handicapped by twelve points on the coupon.

Under the recently announced new coaching stewardship of former Paramatta Eels coach Brad Arthur, at least until the end of the season, the Leeds Rhinos were looking for a turnaround in form and performance as they made the ominous trip to Warrington to take on a Wolves side who were looking to go second and to get within two points of the Wigan Warriors at the top of the table.

A win for the Rhinos would lift them level on points with six placed Catalans Dragons but they needed a massive points win to lift them above the side from the south of France.

Leeds had a ten-point start on the coupon, many Rhinos supporters feeling that the advantage was a little stingy on behalf of the bookmakers as they feared a larger defeat despite the new man in charge.

Fresh from their second league win of the season, the underachieving Hull FC made the trip across the Pennines to take on a Salford Red Devils side who are exceeding expectations after a player drain and well documented financial difficulties.

A win for Salford, as predicted by the bookies and the pundits, would put the Red Devils back into fifth spot and level on league points with the second placed St Helens while FC need three wins to get them above Castleford, should Castleford fail to register any more victories.

FC had a twelve-point start on the coupon, the bookies predicting a closer game than many pundits.

It was the Leeds Rhinos weekend for the two free points as they took on a beleaguered and bedraggled London Broncos side who are still on a single win for the season and looking increasingly unlikely to improve on that tally in what remains of 2024 before their despatch into the Championship.

A win would do nothing for London in terms of league position but would move them level on points with Hull FC but with Leeds getting handicapped by thirty-two points on the coupon it was already a foregone conclusion that they would be getting the points which could lift them into the top half of the table, at least until the outcome of the Hull KR and Catalans game later in the evening.

Leeds won the game in May by 46-8, London were hoping for some kind of improvement.

When Wigan Warriors and Leigh Leopards met at the Leigh Sports Village earlier in the season it was a comprehensive victory for the Warriors by a scoreline of 40-10 but both sides knew that the recent resurgence of the Leopards meant that this was a far different prospect.

Wigan are flying high at the top of the table and tow points clear of their nearest rivals while Leigh are in ninth spot after their recent resurgence and on the fringe of the play-off places as the season heads into its second half.

The home side had been handicapped by twelve points with the bookies making them firm favourites, but Adrian Lam’s side love an upset, especially over their nearest neighbours.

While Barrow Raiders are currently sitting in eleventh place in the Championship, they are only one point away from being in the top half of the table and only two away from the play-off positions, their current league location belying some excellent performances in 2024 which has meant some narrow losses.

But the likelihood was that this would be a game that would not help the home side improve on their situation as they welcomed the side who many had already crowned champions and promoted back to Super League before a single ball was kicked in this season’s competition, the high-flying Wakefield Trinity who remain unbeaten through twelve league outings.

The home side were given a massive twenty-two-point start on the handicap coupon; the points already being waved goodbye as they set off for West Yorkshire.