Five things to look forward to: Free game, West Yorkshire derby, top two clash
There are a number of exciting games taking place this weekend and we have picked out five big moments.
Free rugby league at Swinton
There are several clubs below Super League that are doing great things in terms of marketing and advertisement at the moment. Swinton Lions are offering a free ticket to anyone who wants to attend their Championship clash against Toulouse Olympique.
How good is this? We always discuss why the sport is poor in terms of marketing, but we don’t give enough credit to the good guys. The game kicks off at 3pm on Saturday at Heywood Road, Sale. You literally just have to turn up! Well done, Swinton.
The West Yorkshire derby
Castleford Tigers host local rivals Wakefield Trinity at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle in Friday night’s televised game on Sky Sports. Games between the two teams are feisty and players certainly do not take the fixture lightly.
They last met in a mud bath in March at the Mobile Rocket Stadium. Luke Gale kicked a couple of crucial goals to seal an 11-6 victory for the Tigers. Wakefield will be looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat at Salford Red Devils last week. It’s going to be tasty.
Drinkwater debut for Catalans
On Tuesday, Catalans Dragons announced the signing of former Leigh and London half-back Josh Drinkwater with immediate effectuntil the end of the season. The 25-year-old has been brought in to replace Luke Walsh, who has been forced to retiredue to an ankle injury.
Catalans are currently waiting for the registration of Drinkwater to be completed, but are hopeful of him being available for Saturday’s game against Hull FC, with them having left a spot in their 19-man squad for him. It will be interesting to see how he gets on. Can he turn their fortunes around? Can he influence them to a win over Hull FC in Perpignan on Saturday? Who knows…
How will Wigan do on the iPitch?
Wigan have won in their last three visits to the Halton Stadium, but the scorelines have been pretty low key. The two teams have already played once this season, Wigan came from 16-0 behind to pull off a fine comebackagainst Widnes to win 32-16 at the DW Stadium, so the Vikings will be looking for revenge.
Warriors ace Sam Tomkins has never played on the iPitch at Widnes and he won’t this weekend either, while Liam Farrell has also been rested. It is certainly going to be interesting to see how Wigan get on without a couple of their big names on the iPitch.
Top of the table clash
Doncaster welcome Bradford Bulls to the Keepmoat Stadium on Sunday in an appetising top of the table crunch clash in League 1. The third tier has provided us with plenty of exciting games already this season and this fixture looks to be the best one yet.
Both teams are level on points, having won five out of six games this season. York City Knights are in third, with the same points as well. How could we get rid of League 1?! It’s going to be a fantastic game on Sunday.