The bookies fancied St Helens to make progress in the Challenge Cup and join a semi-final line-up of Hull KR, Huddersfield Giants, and the Wigan Warriors, as they welcomed the Warrington Wolves to the Totally Wicked Stadium with an eight-point handicap on the coupon.

With no meeting so far in 2024, the last time that the two sides met was back in September 2023 when the Saints were the victors by 16-8, but the last time that there was a meeting in the Challenge Cup, also a quarter final stage, back in 2020 it was Warrington who secured the win before losing to Salford in the semi-final.

Huddersfield experienced the ‘magic of the cup’ when they beat the Dragons in France last night, the question on everyone’s lips was whether this Sunday afternoon would be Warrington’s turn.

When the just two points cover the top seven teams in the competition then many games become top of the table clashes and a Friday night encounter between the Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves at Headingley Stadium was one such occasion.

A big win for the Wolves, by a margin of more than twenty points, would see them back to the top of the table and while victory for the Rhinos would see them level with at least three other teams on points, they would need an unachievable winning margin of at least ninety-one points to overtake Wigan on points difference.

The bookies made the home side slight favourites for the win and handicapped them by four points on the coupon, it promised to be a close match between two sides who are still seeking some 2024 consistency.

Rivals round threw together two rivals whose rivalry wasn’t based on geography as the Warrington Wolves took on the Catalans Dragons at the Halliwell-Jones Stadium in a top of the table battle which would see the winner draw level with St Helens in top spot.

The Dragons won the encounter between the two sides in the south of France on the opening weekend, but the Wolves are starting to find some form in recent weeks.

The Wolves were slight favourites with the bookies for the win and had been handicapped by four points on the coupon but there really was very little to choose between the two sides as the neutrals settled down to watch a close game between two competitive sides with Grand Final aspirations.

Just a week after the two sides met in the nation’s capital, Warrington Wolves and London Broncos met again in the Challenge Cup, this time at the Halliwell Jones Stadium as London tried to put the previous weekends hammering out of their minds and focus on the slim chance of cup progress.

London had been given a thirty-eight-point start on the coupon and if you fancied a flutter ten you could get 100/1 on a Broncos win, there was zero chance of an upset and every potential that it could be a cricket score in Warrington’s favour.

Warrington made a couple of changes to last week, but it was a fundamental shuffle in the pack for London in the hope of bolstering up round fives paper thin defence.

Warrington Wolves travelled east to take on Hull KR as two of the sides who hope to be in contention for the top six at the end of the season met with a chance to go to the top of the table, at least for twenty-four hours.

Nial Evalds replaced Joe Burgess for the Robins while Sam Burgess’s side saw the returns of George Williams, Connor Wrench and Jordy Crowther.

Hull KR were favourites for the win with the Wolves being given a four-point start on the handicap with both sides knowing that a win would send them second, a big win for either side sending them above St Helens into top spot, but most pundits thought it would be a close game.

Two sides looking for their first win of the 2024 season met in round two at the Halliwell-Jones Stadium as Sam Burgess’s Warrington Wolves took on Tony Smith’s Hull FC for a place in the top half of the table.

FC made a host of changes to their line-up, some forced by suspensions, some by injury and others tactical while the hosts were without Lindop, Williams (injured) and Crowther (suspended) with Stefan Ratchford only being brought back into the side as eighteenth man.

The bookies made their minds up on the winner ahead of kick off with the home side rated as massive odds-on favourites, Hull FC being given a twenty-point start on the handicap coupon.

It was a round one baptism of fire for Sam Burgess’s Warrington Wolves as they hopped on the place to Perpignan for a Saturday evening encounter with the Catalans Dragons who went into battle for the first time in the post-Tomkins era.

There is no denying that Burgess was a giant of the game as a player, having battled for ten years at the top of the Australian game, but fans of Warrington and neutrals alike were wondering how his no-nonsense playing style would translate into his coaching ethos.

Pre-match the bookies were struggling to pick a side and gave the visitors just a four-point start on the coupon as it promised to be a great season opening battle in front of the partisan Dragons crowd in the South of France.

A place in the play off semi-finals awaited and a win for St Helens would see them travelling to Perpignan next week to take on the Catalans Dragons, while should the Warrington Wolves spring a surprise and get the win then they would be travelling to Wigan next week while last nights winners, Hull KR, would be getting on the plane to France.

St Helens have won all three encounters so far in 2023, by twenty-two points at home in April, and by four and then twelve in the meetings in July and a fortnight ago at the Halliwell-Jones.

Warrington had been given a twelve-point start on the handicap coupon after suffering a monumental fall in form following a stunning start to the season, and all but their most optimistic fans were expecting a Wolves defeat and Saints marching closer to another Grand Final.

In what had widely been dubbed the play off for the play offs, the Salford Red Devils welcomed the Warrington Wolves to the AJ Bell Stadium for a showdown match which would determine whether the fight for the top six would go on for at least another round, or whether the home side would all but mathematically bow out at this stage.

A win for the Red Devils would put them level on points with sixth placed Warrington, and a win by forty-five points or more would lift them above their opponents and into sixth spot with two round remaining.

On the other hand, if the Wolves were to take the points, then they would join Hull KR four points clear of the seventh placed Salford and with them both having a far superior points difference it was effectively over for the Red Devils.

The bookies were struggling to pick a favourite but erred on the side of the visitors, but by a very narrow margin.

Warrington Wolves hadn’t beaten the Wigan Warriors in their last four meetings coming into tonight’s crucial round nineteen encounter at the DW Stadium with both sides tied together on twenty-two points and needing the win to join Leigh Leopards in joint second place.

Wigan won the last encounter, the 14-12 win the Challenge Cup quarter final a month ago and all indications were that tonight’s game could be as close, but Warrington are currently in free fall having lost their last three outings, Wigan looking to bounce back after last weekend’s golden point loss to Wakefield Trinity.

Wigan were the bookies favourites having been handicapped by eight points on the coupon.

Fresh from hammering the Huddersfield Giants six days ago, the Leeds Rhinos made the trip to the Halliwell-Jones to face a Warrington Wolves side who fell to a surprise defeat at the hands of the Castleford Tigers on their last outing.

A win for the home side would put them back level on points with the league leaders, but unless it was by a margin of seventy points or more, they would still be second on points difference, while the Rhinos knew that they couldn’t improve their league position, but could get closer to seventh placed Hull KR.

The Wolves were the slight favourites with the bookies but with the Rhinos only having been given a two-point start on the coupon they really had a dilemma over who would win the game and take the two points.

With Hull KR and St Helens already safely into the semi-finals of the 2023 Challenge Cup, arguably the tie of the round pitted Wigan Warriors against the Warrington Wolves with the third place up for grabs in a game which is too close to call.

Wigan had the home advantage and the bookies handicapped them by four points on the coupon, favouring a win for the side in sixth pace over the one currently second in the table.

Warrington arrived with an unchanged side from last week’s narrow win over the Huddersfield Giants and they knew that they would need to be at their best to beat a speedy Wigan side and the dual threat of Field and French.

Warrington Wolves were eyeing a return to the top of Super League, for an hour at least, as they took on a struggling Huddersfield Giants side who themselves needed a win to go ahead of Hull FC in the 2023 league table.

The bookies had the Wolves as strong favourites for the win and had handicapped them by ten points the coupon despite them having lost on their last two outings.

The sides met way back in round two when the Wolves won by ten points in a close game, todays encounter promised to be a little more one-sided.

It was a warm afternoon as the two sides took to the field.

First and second in the Super League engaged in a tussle at Wigan as Darryl Powell’s Warrington came to town in a bid to go another round unbeaten, secure their position ahead of the chasing pack and put the 2022 rebuilding season behind them - along with the commentator’s annual joke about ‘this year’ being the Wolves’ year.

Wigan, straight off a powerful win over champions St Helens in the Easter rivals round, had their eyes on replacing Warrington at the top of the table and setting themselves up for an assault on Saints’ title.

The hosts kicked off in front of a record crowd and both teams were balanced in the opening sets, until the Warriors forced a goal-line drop-out in the fourth minute and scored in the subsequent set.

The tie of the Rivals round saw top side Warrington Wolves travel to the Catalans Dragons and enter the cauldron of the Stade Gilbert Brutus looking to maintain their perfect start to the season against a side who were looking to draw level on league points with their opponents.

The bookies and pundits fancied a Warrington win but with the Dragons only having been given a six-point start on the handicap coupon they were not convinced of their own odds setting.

A Dragons win would lift them level on points with the Wolves and a win by forty-one points or more would see them end the Easter weekend at the top of the pile, but a loss would see their opponents opening up a four-point gap at the top of the table at the quarter point of the season.

We´re back, Super League 2023 got underway at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington as the Wolves took on the Rhinos some one-hundred and forty-five days since St Helens lifted the Super League Grand Final Trophy at the culmination of the 2022 season.

Daryl Powell knew that he needed a good start to the season to get the fans onside but was rocked by the lengthy suspension of new signing Josh McGuire before the thirty-two year old had even played a single minute of competitive rugby.

Leeds coach Rohan Smith was also looking for a good start, but after performing miracles last season in lifting the Rhinos from relegation prospects to Grand Finalists, time would be on his side if things didn´t go to plan in the early rounds.

It´s round twenty-four and in 2022 the crucial games just keep on coming.

Tonight’s game at Emerald Headingley had the Leeds Rhinos needing a win to move above the Castleford Tigers into fifth spot, while Warrington Wolves came into the game knowing that a victory would guarantee their survival in the topflight after an awful season, so long as Wigan beat Toulouse.

Leeds coach Rohan Smith was relieved that he had Sezer, Bentley, Martin and Prior all back in his line up, softening the blow that the inspirational Harry Newman was out for the rest of the season.

Daryl Powell was without talisman Stefan Ratchford due to concussion protocols and was forced into giving debuts to Luke Thomas and Adam Holroyd, both on the bench, as he battled his own injury crisis.

The bookies thought that the points were the Rhinos, on the back of a four-game winning run, as they gave the Wolves a ten point start on the coupon after they had only registered one win in their last five outings, and that against the bottom side Toulouse Olympique XIII.

There was plenty to play for as Warrington wolves took on Toulouse Olympique XIII in a relegation dogfight at the Halliwell-Jones Stadium with the French side still looking for their first non-Magic away win of the season but knowing that Warrington were in freefall and ripe for the taking.

A win for Toulouse would likely lift them back off the floor of the table and over Wakefield Trinity, but a win for the Wolves would edge them a step closer to safety as they would then open a six-point lead over the bottom side.

Toulouse were taking a drink in the last chance saloon.

Second placed Wigan Warriors needed to pick up a win against third bottom Warrington Wolves to continue to delay fierce rivals St Helens being crowned as Super League minor premiers, while a victory for Warrington would halt their slide towards the relegation zone.

Warrington haven´t won on their last three outings whereas the Warriors have won two out of their last three and in doing so averaged over fifty points a game against the two Hull sides.

Wigan were strong favourites with the Wolves getting a fourteen-point start on the handicap coupon.

Warrington had to turn the corner of their 2022 season at some point, and where better than Wigan to do it, but it turned out that Wigan were in no mood for giving up the chase of top spot.

Two sides looking to make amends after losses last weekend came together for a Saturday afternoon clash as fourth placed Huddersfield Giants took on a Warrington Wolves side who were defying the early season optimism and lying in in a most Warrington-unlike third from bottom.

A Giants win would lift them up to third spot, at least for a few hours, but while a win for the visitors would help alleviate their relegation worries it would not improve their league position.

The bookies were erring on the side of a Giants win, having given the Wolves a six-point start on the coupon, but they were far from convinced that this would be a bad afternoon for the Cheshire side and while it might not be their year in 2022, this might be their week.