Cas will canter back to Super League

Not that any of you will be surprised.








Last night's televised demolition of Doncaster Lakers set the benchmark for the rest of the National League promotion contenders and Doncaster, if you believe the people that run the club, were supposed to be one of them.

The Tigers racked up 66 points from 13 tries, starving Doncaster of possession throughout the game, forcing errors and clincally finishing their attacking plays.

Having spoken to people at the club prior to the National League kicking-off, it's clear the people at Welford Road are on a mission. The squad is right and the off-field operation looks to be moving in the right direction, with a new home at Glasshoughton in the pipe-line. Unusually for a Rugby League club, they're also thinking long-term. Having had to patch up a Super League squad in the space of a few months last season, it's evident that Super League recruitment has already begun. The squad is filled with quality, not least with Awen Guttenbeil and Danny Brough committing to the club despite last years relegation and as evidenced last night, the club's junior ranks are starting the bare fruit.

Widnes will obviously have something to say about this and it would be easy to forget how they dismantled Leigh last week. Whilst Castleford will end the regular season at the top of the tree, promotion does ultimately come down to one day in October at Headingley.

As for Doncaster, if that is a potential Super League franchise then perhaps it's time for a rethink on the whole concept. The club does have a stadium that would be the envy of certain Super League clubs and the pre-match entertainment is very much reminiscent of the "Bullmania" that has made Bradford famous, but the playing side is a long way from the required standard. The club made the decision to go full-time this season and so far, it's not paying off. Super League in 2009? They've got no chance.

Give to those less fortunate

With Comic Relief just passed, it's probably time to take advantage of the goodwill of the nation.







Please help this noble and worthwhile cause, to aid those less fortunate than ourselves. Those supporters who have little knowledge of the rules of Rugby League, who think that the referee hates them with a passion, those who think that referee decisions are influenced by Radio Leeds commentators and those who have the misfortune of supporting Wakefield.

Please sign this petition to make Belle Vue a safer place for our media. Just one lesson will help followers of the Wildcats understand that striking, persistent offsides, ball stealing and dissent are in fact, penalty offences. A small donation may even buy a Trinity fan an RFL rule book.

Thank-you for your support

Super League Preview: Wakefield

In the penultimate preview of the new engage Super League season, we look at last years relegation survivors Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.


After leading the great escape last season, Wakefield boss John Kear may well find himself on similar ground. With a small squad reliant on a select few to provide the quality, Super League XII may prove to be a similar struggle at Belle Vue.

Jamie Rooney and Ben Jefferies' qualities are well known with last season's signing of Ryan Atkins proved a masterstroke by Kear and that trio will be expected to provide the creative spark for Wakey.

David Solomona's controversial transfer to Bradford may hit the Wildcats hard. Brett Ferres has arrived as the replacement but is a far different player to the departed Kiwi. Elsewhere, Michael Korkidas has departed, leaving Danny Sculthorpe to fill a big void in the Wakefield front line.

The players coming in at Wakefield certainly don't look better than the players that have departed, indicating that they are in for a frustrating season. Their survival may depend on how Hull KR perform rather than being down to their own doing.

The One Pointer prediction: 11th
Player to watch: Jamie Rooney - surely he won't remain at Belle Vue for much longer?

The Super League Shirt Parade

Christmas is on the way and it's the time of year when Super League clubs start releasing the brand new kits that there players will be modeling next season.

Here at the One Pointer, we take a peak as they are officially unvieled and run the rule over the good, the bad and the downright ugly.

Bradford Bulls
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Catalans Dragons
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Harlequins RL
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Huddersfield Giants
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Hull FC
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Hull KR
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Leeds Rhinos
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St Helens
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Salford City Reds
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Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
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Warrington Wolves
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Wigan Warriors
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Like any of the kits you see? Why not see it's stocked by our partners?

A Fuss over Nothing

Wakefield forward David Solomona looks set to complete a move to Bradford Bulls early next week but as you might imagine, the Wildcats aren't happy about it.




The claim by Wakefield Chief Executive Steve Ferres is that the Bulls illegally approached the Kiwi second-rower whilst he was still under contract at Wakefield. Had Wakefield been relegated, Solomona would have become a free agent but with the Wildcats' avoiding relegation on the last day of the season, his contract at Belle Vue remained intact.

Allegations were then made by the Wildcats that the Bulls had illegally approached Solomona towards the end of this season and a complaint was made to the Rugby Football League, which has led to the Odsal club being investigated.
Seven days later, Solomona handed in a transfer request, with Ferres claiming that their prized star had become "unsettled because he has been offered a better financial deal elsewhere."

Unfortunately for Ferres, that is only half the story.

In today's game, agents are always touting players around the clubs. There is no denying that and for any agent that doesn't, it would be questionable if he had the best interests of his client to heart. Clubs are not prevented from contacting agents, just from directly approaching the players themselves whilst they are contracted elsewhere.

As for Solomona, I don't doubt that he's looking to increase his earnings, but I suspect that its more to do with the fact that Bradford are much more progressive, ambitious and forward thinking club than the Wildcats probably ever will be.

At Odsal, Solomona has the opportunity to progress his career, raise his profile and begin adding honours to his name. At Wakefield, he has the opportunity to put his career on the line, fighting against relegation and remaining a big fish in a small pond.

If Ferres wants to attract good players and, more crucially, keep them at Belle Vue he needs to look at his own club before pointing the finger at others. The Wildcats have a poor side. There is little quality that takes the field and with Korkidas already gone, Solomona going and players like Atkins will be picked up sooner rather than later should he continue to impress. With a junior set-up stifled by average overseas players, it seems that many promising players will be prevented from making the grade.
Off the field, they are stuck an unsuitable ground, playing in front of pitiful crowds and have little future in the game unless Wakefield Council step in to save the club with a new stadium.
As a result, Solomona's job security is seriously undermined and the lure of a secure playing contract and sound financial package is understandably too good to turn down.

The current state of the club is always going to lead to the scenario where players feel they have to leave to further their career. It happened with Ellis, it's happening now with Solomona.

The Wildcats bigwigs can cry foul all they want but they aren't doing themselves any favours.
One club will eventually come out of this situation with it's reputation further tarnished, but it won't be the Bulls.

The Value of Relegation

Saturday's result and Castleford's demotion to the National League has left a bitter taste in the mouths of many, not least those in WF10.





Wildcats coach John Kear had led his side to safety against the odds, bringing a halt to Castleford's short tenure back in Super League after their promotion last season but the fall-out from Saturday night has only just begun.

Tigers coach Terry Matterson has been against relegation for the best part of the season and he despises the notion even more now that fate has befallen him. Many have even gone as far to suggest that relegation should be suspended, claiming that no side deserved to go down and that infact, Castleford's 19 point haul means that this years relegated club was indeed the "best" worst team in the Super League era. Only Whitehaven or Batley could create that situtation now and so Matterson can bemoan the system all he wishes.
His arguments stand up too. Relegation encourages short-term thinking. The two sides that took the field as Wakefield played Bradford last week contained just ten players from 34 who qualified for Great Britain and of Wakefield's side from Saturday, only three players were of any interest to the onlooking GB boss Brian Noble, who became involved in a heated discussion on the subject in the Sky Sports studio.
The fear of relegation creates a fear for the clubs towards the bottom of the table from playing juniors from the Senior Academy. It's no coincidence that the bulk of young British talent currently ply their trade with the top three clubs; Leeds, Hull and St Helens - sides that are free from the threat of relegation.

For the clubs clinging on by their fingernails, throwing in a 19-year-old stand-off is simply not an option. Instead it's much easier to bring in the experienced heads of Julian O'Neill, Deon Bird or in Castleford's case, Brad Davis on short-term contracts to try and get yourself out of that mess.
That may be fine from a club point of view, but talent is going undiscovered because clubs don't have the time to bring teenagers up to Super League standard.

The introduction of the Kolpak ruling, which means that players of Fijian, Tongan, Samoan, Papua New Guinean and South African desent (amogst others) are excluded from any foreign quotas, has created a loophole that many club Chairmen are all to willing to expolit, but few can blame them when the very survival of the club can depend on Super League status.

Thankfully, the RFL has seen the iceburg and the introduction of a franchise system in 2009 will eliminate the need for clubs to fill their sides to the point of bursting with overseas players. Nobody wants to see the likes of Jamie Lyon, Shontayne Hape, Lesley Vainikolo, Ali Lauitiiti and Stacey Jones end up being forced out of the competition. They are the players that fans come esspecially to see, but what fans hate is to get the impression that players who have no real affinity to the club are keeping a potential superstar who has supported the club from childhood.

Another issue for contention since last night is the merit of the Les Catalans Dragons 'experiment'. Some have objected to the move from the start, particuarly those from Widnes who had to make way for the Dragons last year but their objections don't hold much water.

The Dragons have had minimal time, just over one year, to create a team capable of competing in the league, a fanbase capable of sustaining a Super League side and the infrastructure required to pass Super League standards. Cas will claim that they had even less time, since they couldn't recruit players until after last years Grand Final but the bulk of the side remained to feature in Super League. The Tigers eventually only ended the season three points ahead to the French side, despite the Dragons having nothing to play for much of the closing stages of the season.

People also bemoan the Dragons from a financial perspective, with the small minded view that Catalans don't "bring any fans", which is a stupid point on two counts.
Firstly, the Catalans home average attendence of 6,542, which currently stand proudly of those of Wakefield (5,447), Huddersfield (5,398), Harlequins (4,917) and high-flying Salford (4,820).
Secondly, to be perfectly blunt, clubs shouldn't be reliant on visting supporters making the journey and topping up the numbers.

It was often claimed that you could get an idea of a club's true support base by their attendance against London / Harlequins, by virtue of the fact that not many people made the long trips up the M1 or M6.


So last season when the Broncos went to the Halliwell Jones, the marketing team at Warrington actually went and did some work (often unheard of in some Rugby League marketing offices) and instead of shrugging their shoulders and saying "Oh well, lets see what London bring", like Salford Football Director Steve Simms, they went out and came up with the radical idea of getting the locals through the door. The result was a crowd that bettered those against many more local sides, including rivals Widnes.
The Catalans arn't to blame and those arguing otherwise are clutching at straws. They have more home-grown payers than most British sides, they have earned the game greater expsure across the UK and Europe and they have offered the British fan something new. They arn't to blame for Castleford's demise and as I have said before, the Tigers could have avoided Saturday's finale months ago.

Only a minor miracle in the NL1 play-offs will save the Tigers and it is a shame that so many people have put in so much hard work, as opitimised by the emotion shown by captain Danny Nutley at the final whistle. It's just the men from the Jungle have been the victims of an increasingly flawed system. Sky loved this weekend. It's the kind of car-crash TV that makes TV executives rub their hands with glee, but this whole season has been focused on mediocraty.
End relegation, bring in stability and give clubs the opportunity to step up to a level playing field throughout Super League. That way we can celebrate sucess, rather than gawp at failure.

Preview to Survival Saturday

It was predicted a few weeks ago, but Wakefield and Castleford will lock horns on Saturday for Sky Sports' car-crash TV extravagansa.








The situation is as simple as they come and the consequences are as serious as they come. The loser on Saturday will drop out of Super League. There are no other results to consider, no complicated calculations to be done, just one game and one result.

John Kear is just 80 minutes from the great escape of keeping a once doomed Wakefield in Super League after three wins from the last five, with only a loss at St Helens and narrow defeat at home to Leeds blemishing that record.
Castleford on the other hand, are coming off the back of a defeat at Salford and despite looking safe many weeks ago, Terry Matterson's men are now the bookies favourites for the drop after just one win from the last six.

A big crowd is expected to turn up at Belle Vue for what is set to be a pulsating encounter. Mistakes are an inevitability which could determine a players career, but there will also be pride, passion and emotion in evidence for a clash which makes perfect TV before the ball is even kicked.

As for the result, Wakefield are favourites and rightly so. I predicted the Wildcats to complete the houdini act last week and I'll stick by that. Kear knows how to win one-off games and Saturday is a cup final in all but name. The Tigers have been feeling the heat and Terry Matterson in particular looks a lot more nervous than his counterpart at Belle Vue.

Wakefield will emerge victorious in a game that should be impossible to take your eyes off.

Last Chance for Wakefield

Tonight sees one of the biggest games in the history of Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. Defeat tonight against Bradford will condemn the Wildcats to relegation the National League.






The appointment of John Kear has lifted the Wildcats into at least a salvagable position, after looking certain to fall through the trap door five weeks ago. Victories over Castleford and Catalans have since given them at least some control over their own destiny. With teams above them in the relegation mire playing each other, a victory at Odsal tonight as well as a result against Castleford on the last day of the season will give them a fighting chance of avoiding trips to Whitehaven, Halifax and Batley next season.

The Wildcats have been odds-on for relegation for some time given their daunting looking run-in. For the final seven games of the season they had been drawn against Leeds Rhinos, St Helens and Bradford twice, whereas the teams above them have had perceivably easier games.

But tonight, past form will count for little. The basic fact is that if Wakefield lose, they will go down. They will take confidence from previous encounters with Bradford, where in 2005 they did the double against the Bulls and the men from Belle Vue are well known for raising their game against the bigger sides.
Wakefield do have a talented side. The likes of Rooney and Jefferies can create play from nothing, Ryan Atkins will want to prove a point against his old club and the Wildcats pack, containing David Solomona and Michael Korkidas are capable of holding their own against the Bradford front six.

This is sure to be a pulsating contest. Wakefield are fighting for their livelihoods tonight. I'd go as far as saying that they'll win tonight, setting up a superb last day finale.

Silly Season is Upon Us

The anti-tamper deadlines have passed so inevitably, the wild rumour spreading has begun. This year however, seems to have seen much more elaborate rumours than recent years.




Forget the 'Vainikolo to Leeds as part of a compensation pay-out' claim, this year the 'friend of a friend of a nextdoor neighbour's window cleaner' has pulled out all the creative stops for 2006.

Firstly they say that Danny McGuire, despite having a 2 year contract at Headingley is on his way to Bradford, allegedly taking Ali Lauitiiti with him in the process. Whilst suprising at first, it's not really 'earth-shattering' at first glance. But then you hear that it'll only happen if Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett and Austrailian stand-off Darren Lockyer catch the next plane to Headingley. Regardless of his well-documented family situation, the infamous "reliable source", a term that appears on message boards in practically every thread, has really pulled out all the stops here. Both Bulls half-backs, Iestyn Harris and Paul Deacon are tied up till 2008 and even if one of the two does move on past then, McGuire is unlikely to move to a club where he is likely to become third choice behind two players who have developed a working partnership. It also appears to pour cold water on the claims that Leon Pryce has had enough of Merseyside and will be leaving St Helens to head back to his home town.
As for Lauitiiti, there might be more in that, but the Bulls also rate highly the current crop of second rowers they currently have. Matt Cook, Jamie Langley, Brett Ferres will be joined by Glenn Morrison from Parramatta and Chris Feather from Leeds although the imminent departures of Paul Johnson to Warrington and Brad Meyers to Gold Coast do give that rumour some credability.

Other claims circulating around Headingley surround the supposed clear-out that could happen at Wakefield on Saturday morning. Depending on who you listen to, Ryan Atkins is "nailed-on" to go to Leeds or Bradford. Leeds allegedly see Atkins as the long-term replacement to Keith Senior, whilst Bulls coach Steve McNamara wants to see the Wakefield centre return to Odsal to replace Karl Pryce, who is thought to have been targetted by the RFU. Confused yet?
Jamie Rooney is being linked with a host of clubs, Leeds and Bradford included and Michael Korkidas is another said to be on his way to LS6, but with Leeds having already secured the captures of Jamie Thackray and Kylie Leuluai, it would appear that the door has been shut on that one whilst David Solomona is expected to sign for Hull FC rather than the Bulls.

Michael Withers is thought to packing his bags for Wigan, Paul Sculthorpe will extend his stay at the Jungle and changes are expected at Warrington. Adrian Morley and Paul Johnson are already confirmed as Wolves players for 2007 whilst the situation with Gold Coast and Brian Carney may have longer to run. As for the departures, Paul Wood is expected to sign for St Helens to replace Paul Anderson.

And that's just for starters. With the relegation situation not yet finalised there's still plenty of time to run and still plenty of gossip to change hands. Keep your eyes and ears open folks, there's some really creative deals to be done.

Two Games to Go - Who's Slipping Through the Trap Door?

Round 26 has been and gone, the results are in and those at the Jungle and the Galpharm are already breathing a huge sigh of relief.





Whilst Castleford fans, players and Molly the Dog were busy congratulating each other on a job well-done against Quins, Wakefield were recovering from an inevitable defeat at St Helens.
But were the Tigers celebrating too soon? Saturday nights scenes were more like a minor premiership victory parade than that of a side that sits three points above the relegation zone.

The current table stands as such after 26 games:

8. Huddersfield - 20pts (-140 diff)
9. Harlequins - 19pts (-290 diff)
10. Castleford - 19pts (-371 diff)
11. Wakefield - 16pts (-146 diff)

At first glance, it looks like Wakefield will be the ones plying their trade in National League 1 next season, but it's not that simple, as Wakefield will play host to Castleford on the last day of the season at Belle Vue.

Looking at the remaining fixtures, heres theonepointer's predictions.

Round 27:

• I expect a desperate Wakefield to cause an upset and win at Odsal against an out-of-sorts and unconvincing Bradford.
• Salford need to book a play-off place and they will beat Castleford.
• If Catalans turn up, they could turn home advantage into points against Huddersfield. Unfortunatly, they won't turn up and Huddersfield will win.
  
• Wigan will beat Harlequins at The Stoop.

Round 28:

• Quins will probably beat Salford. Brian McDermott will have his side fired up for a game that will keep them in Super League.
• Bradford will overcome Huddersfield.
• That leaves the Wildcats against the Tigers and to be honest, I'd be tempted to go for Wakefield. Home advantage will be key and to be perfectly honest, I rate John Kear as the better coach. The win for Wakefield for me.
  

If that turns out to be true, then that leave the following table:

8. Huddersfield - 22pts
9. Harlequins - 21pts
10. Wakefield- 20pts
11. Castleford- 19pts

So on that basis, it'll be goodbye to Castleford. I do believe it'll go down to the last day of the season and if I were a Cas fan, I would be seriously worried if they leave the Willows with nothing next week.