Game six of a roller coaster opening weekend of Super League 2025 took place on Sunday afternoon as a much-fancied Warrington Wolves made the journey to Huddersfield to take on a Giants side who many were tipping to have a season battling to avoid the wooden spoon.

The Giants had been given a ten points start on the coupon by the bookies who must have been collectively sweating on another win for the underdogs in a round which had seen the Warriors and Rhinos beaten in games that they were expected to win, Hull FC upsetting the odds with a big win in the south of France, and St Helens recording a record Super League win over the Salford Red Devils.

There were a handful of new signings on show for both sides as Luke Robinson’s Claret and Gold took on the Primrose and Blue of Sam Burgess’s hopefuls.

A place at Old Trafford awaited the victors as Hull Kingston Rovers looked to achieve their first ever Grand Final against a Warrington Wolves side who have made it through to the showpiece game on four previous occasions but who have never lifted the trophy.

The two teams had already met on three occasions in Super League 2024, Warrington winning the first two meetings by 22-20 and 20-8 while the most recent encounter saw Hull KR triumphant by the scoreline of 22-4.

The home side were slight favourites with the bookies going into the game and they were handicapped by four points on the coupon, it was an indication that in all reality the game was too close to call and the stage was set for a great game of knockout rugby.

St Helens only made the play-off by virtue of a better points difference than the Catalans Dragons which meant that after a poor season by their very high standards they were the favourites with the bookies to drop out of the race for Old Trafford at the first hurdle as they took on a Warrington Wolves side who were still smarting from not making the top two.

Should Warrington meet expectations and secure the victory then they would set up a visit to Hull KR next weekend, whereas as win for St Helens would see them travel to Wigan to face the old enemy, the Warriors, for a place in the Grand Final.

It promised to be an intense battle.

Super League’s form team, Leigh Leopards, had their eye on a place in the top six and they would achieve it with a victory over tonight’s opponents Warrington Wolves who themselves were looking to make it into the top two in a bid for a home tie in the play-offs.

Should the Leopards secure the points then they would go above St Helens and Catalans into fifth spot, ahead of those sides playing their round twenty-four matches.

There was nothing to choose between the sides, the bookies making the home side the slight favourites and handicapping them by two points on the coupon.

The side which no coach wanted to face in round twenty-two, a buoyant Leeds Rhinos under the coaching of Brad Arthur who took the scalp of the Champions last weekend, became the task of Sam Burgess and his high-flying Warrington Wolves as they continue their quest for a top two finish and a home tie in the playoffs.

The two points could lift the Wolves into second, should the winning margin be large enough, but if the Leeds Rhinos were to make it back-to-back victories, then they would get themselves within two points of a play-off place and a shot at Old Trafford in five rounds time.

Warrington were slight favourites with the bookies, the Rhinos given a six-point start by the handicappers, but Burgess was sending his troops into battle with no illusions that this would be a simple victory.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Hull FC were looking for back to back Super League wins for the first time in 2024 but they were likely to find Warrington Wolves a far tougher prospect than last weeks Leeds Rhinos side who they had faced just hours before the fall of the Rohan empire.

Warrington are in danger of slipping down the table and into the lower play-off places and need a couple of confidence boosting wins after three consecutive losses while you must search back as far as July 2023 to find the last time that the FC players took home winner pay two rounds running.

The bookies thought it was a foregone conclusion as they gave the home side a twelve-point start on the coupon but with a little bit of confidence tucked under their belt from last week, the Airlie Birds were confident of springing a surprise.