Challenge Cup Semi-Finals preview (Thursday 5th May)

 Hello and welcome back to my blog. Usually I tend to do interviews, however, today I will be doing something a little bit different. I will be previewing, predicting and generally just talking about the Challenge Cup Semi Finals. Long term this is more the sort of content I want to do on my blog, so please comment and let me know what you think. I have done something similar before when I discussed players that represented both the Army and the Navy (check it out if you haven't already!). Before we begin though, I do want to say that next Thursday on my next blog, I will have an interview with a former man of steel winner. Nevertheless, that is next week so let's get in to this week's blog!

The Challenge Cup semi-finals are a fabled event each year and one that all teams aim for. Without wanting to sound too obvious, the winner of both games will progress to the final and get the chance and opportunity to pick up silverware that season. This year both games are set to be absolute crackers. The first men's game is a derby between 2nd place Wigan Warriors and league leaders St. Helens. That game kicks off at 2.30pm, and will be followed between another great game, Huddersfield Giants v Hull Kingston Rovers, with that game kicking off at 5pm. Both games will be hosted at Elland Road this Saturday (7th May). The Women's final will act as the curtain raiser for the men's semis, with Saints Women playing Leeds Rhinos Women. These games were expected to bring in bumper crowds, but the RFL have said otherwise, but we will get into that later on.

Leeds Rhinos Women v Saints Women

Well, where to begin with this one. The two undoubted best teams in the women's game go head to head in the final. It is difficult to split the two and pick a winner as both have a great deal of class throughout their team. Saints women are yet to concede in 5 outings this season, beating the likes of Barrow Raiders Ladies 68-0 and crucially beating Featherstone 82-0 in the semi final two weeks ago. Leeds are similar, they are yet to lose this season. They started off their cup campaign with a 38-8 victory over Huddersfield and progressed to the final after defeating a spirited York team last time out. St. Helens also have a number of internationals throughout their team. Perhaps the most notable internationals in their team are Amy Hardcastle, Tara Jones and current Women of Steel Jodie Cunningham. Leeds have a lot of talent too, with the likes of Caitlin Beevers, Sophie Robinson and Sophie Nuttall. Halfback Georgia Roche is also one of the best in the game. With a lot of prowess in both defence and attack, this should be a fantastic game. However, I think Saints will take the victory. They have been defensively sound and tore teams apart all season. Leeds have done similar, however they have conceded unlike Saints and haven't won by as big margins as Saints except when they thumped Leigh Miners Rangers Women 92-0, the biggest margin of victory of any of these too. Nevertheless, I expect Leeds to get on the board and really test the Saints.

My prediction: Leeds Rhinos Women 6-24 Saints Women

Wigan Warriors v St. Helens

Everything points towards this game being an absolute classic. Saints sit top of the league, but only hold a 2 point gap to opponents Wigan in 2nd place. Saints have comfortably won the majority of their games this year, although they were pushed all the way by Salford last time out and would've lost if it wasn't for a try saver of the year contender from Morgan Knowles. They also suffered an embarassing loss to newly promoted Toulouse a few weeks ago. Wigan have had a very similar story this season. Wigan got thumped by Catalans 28-0 a few weeks ago and lost to opponents Saints 22-4 on Good Friday. Nevertheless, apart from that they have set the league alight and have made big improvements from last season. They are good money for 2nd place

Team News

Saints have brought back 4 big names. Regan Grace and Konrad Hurrell return, while Curtis Sironen has also completed his ban and is in contention to play this weekend. Jake Wingfield has also returned to the team. Will Hopoate has picked up an injury however and is not named in the team. Royle, Hill and Jumah Sambou join Hopoate on the sidelines. Jonny Lomax retains his place despite injury worries, so it will be interesting to see if and how he is involved in Leeds. Welsby and Percival are also named, with the pair evading bans despite sin binnings last week. Wigan remain unchanged from the team that comfortably beat Warrington last week. Tommy Leuluai and Kai Pearce Paul remain sidelined with their respective injuries, while Sam Powell observes the 3rd of his 6 game ban.

Key players/battles

Saints have one of the best packs in the league. Alex Walmsley is one of the biggest props in the league and rightfully one of the best. Morgan Knowles is consistently one of the best players for the Saints, making crucial tackles week in week out.  Roby adds an injection of pace and fluidity to their attack from dummy half whereas Lomax's kicking will no doubt test the Warriors' defence. Combine everything together and they have a superb ability of breaking the line and making something out of nothing. Wigan have an incredible running game. Jai Field has taken the league by storm with his scintillating pace and has consequently crossed the whitewash multiple times. The return of Bevan French has added another element into Wigan's attack and another touch of class. Liam Marshall is also fast so Saints will no doubt want to keep him underwraps. Cust also has a superb kicking ability and closing him down will be crucial to picking up a victory here. Nevertheless, Saints are no slouches in attack with the likes of world class winger Tommy Makinson and the returning duo Regan Grace and Konrad Hurrell and Wigan are no slouches in defence, with England pair John Bateman and Liam Farrell just two names that dominate any defensive performance. This game could also get quite heated and fiery. Tensions will run high as it is a derby with big end reward. The team that can keep their head the best may come out victorious.

Last time the two sides met it finished 22-4 to Saints. I think it will be considerably closer this time. If Saints can deal with the pacey Wigan attack and Wigan can deal with Saints' huge and ferocious pack, it should be a tight and hard fought game. Wigan will be the more confident as they are coming off a 22-40 defeat of Warrington whereas Saints only just won in a shaky performance against the Red Devils. It's a cup tie between 1st and 2nd, games don't get much bigger than this. However, I pick Wigan for this one.

My prediction: Wigan Warriors 24-22 St. Helens

Huddersfield Giants v Hull Kingston Rovers

This is set to be another great game and will bring the curtain down on an incredible day of rugby league. Both sides sit in the play offs, which is a real testament to the way they have played. There was mixed fortunes in the last round, with Huddersfield picking up a narrow 14-12 win away at Wakefield whereas Rovers lost 12-0 away at Leeds. However, that loss for Rovers was the first loss in over a month with the Robins going 6 games unbeaten before that, including a 16-4 win against cross-city rivals Hull FC on Good Friday. Huddersfield, in contrast, did not win over the Easter Period. They drew 20-20 with Leeds, and lost to Saints and Warrington in the following two games. Nevertheless, Ian Watson has been somewhat of a revolution for the Giants and Tony Smith has been a driving force in moving Hull KR from a relegation fight to a play offs contender. This should be a great game.

Team News

Huddersfield have made just the one change this week. Sebastine Ikahihifo makes his long awaited return to the team after a spell on the sidelines. Prop forward Matty English drops out through suspension. Long term absentee Ashton Golding remains out, meaning the Giants will still be without their first choice fullback. Nevertheless, they have their full 1 to 13 except the Jamaican. Hull KR make a few changes to their team. Will Dagger returns to the team as is Kane Linnett who is named despite tearing his bicep only two weeks ago. Luis Johnson also returns to the side. Lachlan Coote drops out of the side after picking up an injury against Leeds last time out, meaning Hull KR will also be without their first choice fullback for this game. Sam Wood also drops out with injury and the suspended Albert Vete also makes way. Tom Garratt remains on the sidelines with concussion.

Key players/battles

Huddersfield are a team this season who play what they see. However, they do this while keeping a strong structure making them hard to both break down and also defend against. Tui Lolohea is someone who has benefitted from this system. He is second in try assists, behind only Hull FC's Jake Connor, highlighting his undisputed class and the fact he is one of the best fullbacks in the league this season. Danny Levi has also looked dangerous this season from dummy half and is someone who will need to be stopped by Hull KR. The returning Ikahihifo will add a lot of strength and boost the pack. His return will make Huddersfield harder to break down. Shaun Kenny-Dowall will be a danger for the Robins. His ability to break down defences is unrivalled and his effect on this Hull KR team is highlighted by the fact last week is the only game he has missed since his arrival in East Yorkshire. Jordan Abdull will also cause issues for the Giants. He has brilliant and versatile boot on him, and last year was in contention for man of steel due to his brilliant performances. Those sort of performances have continued this year. Elliot Minchella is also having a fantastic season. Although he has come under fire a bit for the Brad Fash biting incident on Good Friday, nothing can be taken away from his performances this year. His physical strength and natural talent takes some stopping by any team and I think it will be the same for Huddersfield. 

The two sides met in round two of this season, with the Giants running out winners 26-12. I think the roles could be reversed somewhat this weekend. I think Hull KR will take the win and progress to the final, where they'll hope to do better than their 50-0 loss to Leeds in 2015, their last Challenge Cup final appearance.

My prediction: Huddersfield Giants 20-28 Hull Kingston Rovers

The attendance problem

These games are 3 huge games. There is no reason attendance shouldn't be high. However, not even 20,000 tickets have been sold yet despite Elland Road seating nearly 40,000. There's a number of reasons for this. Firstly, ticket prices. Its £25 for the worst seats going. To get better seats, the price rises. It's clear to see the RFL's thinking here. They'll think that that is value for 3 brilliant games of rugby league. However, the majority of fans will not be staying for all 3 games. They'll stay to see their team and then leave. This means that fans are effectively paying extra for 2 games of rugby they are not going to watch. This is obviously a deterrent from going to the game. Secondly, its over ambitious. Elland Road seats far too many people for the occasion. The original reason to move to a triple header rather than individual games at separate grounds was to avoid half empty grounds for the games. Well, now we have the same issue. The RFL have chosen a stadium that is far far too big for the occasion and so instead of eradicating an issue, they've created the same issue. The previous two times it's been a triple header it was at the University of Bolton Stadium. The respective attendances were 24,000 and 26,000. As the ground only seats 28,000, this is perfect. A brilliant day out and a good atmosphere without loads of empty seats. Therefore, you've got to ask yourself, why did the RFL choose to move it away from Bolton? If Bolton wasn't available, why did they move to a considerably larger ground? Let's not forget, them numbers show Bolton was just a near sell out not a complete sell out. The RFL have chosen Elland Road to be the location of a World Cup Semi-Final in November. That's a much bigger occasion and so it will probably be a sellout or close to it. The occasion fits the stadium and so it can be justified. Using it for the Challenge Cup Semis, however, unfortunately can't. Finally, the location itself. Leeds is an epicentre for sport and is a proud sporting city. However, Elland Road is not the most ideal of stadiums. I'll list a few reasons I've seen on social media causing people to be unhappy: A lot of the seats restrict your view, there is not enough room (particularly leg room), it's cramped, it's too far away from the city centre, it's not easy to travel too and there is only one pub near the ground. People love to moan, yes. However, that list is quite extensive. There's a lot of issues with the choice of Elland Road and as a result, this drives down the attendance. It's really something the RFL should take into account next time as it's a reason the attendance is low. Now there is plenty more reasons why attendance could be low. Them three are the biggest in my opinion and them three alone make it clear why the attendance is quite low. It's honestly no wonder why and wouldn't take a genius to realise why.

Anyway, that is my little moan over. Moaning won't sort the issue, we just need to hope the RFL can do better next time. Quickly at the end as a little bonus feature, here are my League 1 predictions for this weekend:

Rochdale Hornets 40-24 Midlands Hurricanes

West Wales Raiders 10-76 Keighley Cougars

Doncaster RLFC 18-26 North Wales Crusaders

Hunslet RLFC 44-22 Cornwall RLFC

Swinton Lions 82-8 London Skolars

There we go then. That is my Challenge Cup Semi-Finals preview. I'll be at Elland Road come Saturday, will you? I hope you enjoyed reading and hopefully I'll see you back hear next Thursday for an interview (if all goes to plan) but until then, bye!