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Fiddes' Cent

Sky Bet's Jordan Fiddes previews round seven of Super League and advises where to put your money.

Sky Bet's Jordan Fiddes previews this weekend's round seven of Super League

"What a difference a week can make" is a common phrase used in rugby league, however last week it should be edited to read: "What a difference Danny Brough can make." Two weeks ago, he was missing for the Giants and they were comfortably beaten by Bradford at home. He returned last Friday to face the champions, Leeds Rhinos, and produced a man of the match performance to beat them 32-8 at Headingley. It's the same venue for this Friday's televised game too as Leeds host Wigan and they'll be looking for a performance to match the narrow defeat in the World Club Challenge rather than last week's dismal display. In this fixture last year, the Warriors ran out 50-8 winners and I'm expecting them to triumph again in 2013. Both teams are 10/11 to win the game pre-match so I'm going for Wigan in the 'Alternative Handicap' market. Wigan have won four of their last five visits over the Pennines to take on Leeds and drew in a nail-biter back in 2011. In all of their four wins, Wigan have won by over 14 points and will be looking to add to last week's attacking master class again. Taking on a strong Catalans side, Wigan scored seven unanswered tries and for them to win by just six points against the Rhinos is 11/8 in the aforementioned market. The Warriors have managed to win by this margin or more four times already this season, whereas Leeds have only covered their handicaps on two occasions, conceding an average of over 15 points.

Maintaining Momentum

I'm also expecting Brough to be the main man again on Saturday when Huddersfield welcome Hull FC to the John Smith's Stadium. A lot has been made of his kicking game in the aftermath of the Rhinos demolition but he also crossed the whitewash once, and had a hand in all but one of the Giants' tries. He is 9/4 to score anytime on Saturday evening so I'll be using that to complete this week's double. Brough's try on Friday may have been his first of the season but in 2012, he averaged a try every third game. Before last weekend, Hull had conceded five tries per game on average, and Danny Brough scored the Giants' fifth try against Leeds so the omens look good. The men from Fartown have beaten the Airlie Birds on their last three visits and have scored 20 points or more in all three. If Brough continues his early season form, he'll be a hard man to stop for the Black and Whites on Saturday night. If you back these two in a double this weekend, you'll get odds of nearly 8/1.

View from the trading room...

"The early money this weekend has been for Rhinos to return to form against Wigan on Friday. After two successive hard fought matches - the World Club Challenge and St.Helens away - the punters believe last weekend's loss to Huddersfield was just a blip. The Rhinos remain 10/3 to win the Grand Final so the lack of a handicap against the Warriors is probably justified. We've seen some action for the two home sides on Sunday too as Castleford host London and Hull KR travel to Bradford. Before last weekend, Castleford had beaten the handicap every week so the -8 on Sunday may increase come 3pm."

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