The opening weekend of Super League and the Championship delivered one or two surprises and it looks like round two, over the coming weekend, will be equally as exciting.
While some may have predicted a Vikings win over the Dragons, few would have predicted the margin of victory for the home side. The same could be said of London’s big win over newly promoted Barrow and the large margin by which Toronto Wolfpack overcame the much fancied Leigh Centurions.
Perhaps the biggest shock of the opening weekend was a resurgent Saints nailing their red-vee flag to the mast with a 46-6 win over last season’s Grand Finalists Castleford Tigers, their heaviest defeat since April 2016.
In Round two of the Championship all games are played on Sunday afternoon. The game of the round looks to be the battle of last seasons two promoted sides, Barrow and Toronto with the bookies favouring a win for the Wolfpack. The Centurions will be looking for their first win of the season at home to the Batley Bulldogs and London will be looking to build on their round one success with a trip to Dewsbury.
Elsewhere Featherstone host Toulouse in a mouth-watering tie, while Sheffield Eagles visit Halifax and Swinton Lions play Rochdale, who will be starting their season after last weeks postponement.
Super League goes on the road for one game of round two with Hull KR and Wigan Warriors meeting in Australia for a round of Super League for the first time ever on Saturday morning (UK Time). The bookies have the Warriors as hot favourites for their second win of the season.
Thursday night sees Leeds Rhinos play new boys Hull KR in strange surroundings at Elland Road while Headingley undergoes redevelopment and the Rhinos are massive odds-on favourites for the win. At the same time Huddersfield Giants host the Warrington Wolves with the visitors tipped to bounce back from last week’s defeat and get their first points of the new campaign.
Friday nights TV game is at Wakefield where Trinity are fancied to neutralise the threat of the Salford Red Devils. And the south of France is the destination for St Helens on Saturday afternoon as they are hotly tipped for a win over the Dragons.
The final Super League encounter of the weekend is at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle where last season’s Minor Premiers, Castleford Tigers, are expected to beat last week’s impressive Widnes Vikings.
It should be a great weekend of action in the top two divisions.