16 June 2023 , 17:51
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I’m really looking forward to Wigan v Warrington as it is the tie of this Betfred Challenge Cup quarter-final round - and it will be intriguing to see who finally comes good.
They have both fared well in Betfred Super League in the first half of the season but neither side will be happy with their performances lately. Wigan fell off the horse against Saints and Catalans while Warrington are just not near where they were at the start of the year. It’s difficult to call who’ll progress out of it but I’m going for the holders Wigan to get through on golden point.
In Saturday’s first quarter-final, Hull KR have stuttered a little in mid-season after such a promising opening. But I still think they edge it against Salford even though the Red Devils do just keep churning out wins. They defy expectations going into games as underdogs and coming away victors. It’s an interesting last-eight contest.
KR have also been hit hard by injuries with Jordan Abdull and Sam Wood the latest to be ruled out long-term this week. If this was at Salford, I’d definitely go for the Red Devils to win given how many players KR are missing. But, at home, that advantage can sometimes be huge for KR over at Craven Park so I expect them to just edge a tight contest. Hull FC have got out of their early season malaise and started stringing together some victories before losing at Leigh last week.
They do look better about how they are going about things - they look more like a team now. But I can’t see them beating St Helens - there are some signs that that the beast has awoken. The winning machine of the last four years looks to have recovered from the incredible victory in Penrith and the energy and emotion that took out of them. At the moment, you would still put Saints as favourites to go on and win Super League, too, and make it five in a row. But, at the same time, this is the most stoppable of the Saints team in the last five years.
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It’s great to see a Championship club in the quarter-finals and York will certainly be looking forward to Sunday. It’s a big day for them with the ladies’ team in their own quarter-final in an historic double header. But Leigh have been a big success story so far this year. After several attempts of trying to get to Super League and give it a real crack, they are now doing that: they’re high in confidence and belief to win games. York will put up a fight but I can’t see them getting over Adrian Lam’s side.
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