Tuesday 12 March 2013 12:40, UK
Barrie McDermott and Terry O'Connor go head-to-head with their Super League predictions...
| Round | Barrie | Terry |
| Round 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Round 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Round 3 | 5 | 7 |
| Round 4 | 1 | 6 |
| Round 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Total | 20 | 26 |
Barrie says: Warrington coach Tony Smith will know where his team went wrong in the second half against Hull KR last week and will be happier if he can bring back some bodies this week. Saints will also know where they need to improve but it will be difficult this week against the Wolves. Saints looked good in the last 20 minutes last week against a tiring defence and the Wolves blew up against Hull KR in the second half. Warrington will have players returning to up their effort and even if some of the Saints stars return, they will not be a match for the Wolves.
BARRIE PREDICTS: Wolves will win by six points.
Terry says: These two have certainly served up some real classics over the years and this should be another belter! Last week Warrington were very disappointing; they were missing a plethora of players but they would not be happy with that. The good thing for them is that Chris Bridge is back. He had a knee op the day after the Grand Final last year and is finally ready to get back into action. Saints are still missing Paul Wellens and the dilemma Nathan Brown will have is who does he play at fullback? Does he keep Jonny Lomax there or does he put Lance Hohaia there who is back from injury? The expectations around Saints is massive and people are knocking them because they have lost two games but we know that Saints can score points and that when their backs are against the wall they can produce. They need to get some speed going, get James Roby hitting it up. Both sides are intelligent and can create tries from almost nothing.
TERRY PREDICTS: Both sides were beaten last week and it will come down to confidence and who has the most belief. Warrington may be still missing key players but I think with Richie Myler they may just take this one. Warrington by eight points.
Barrie says: Hull KR are a mixed bag this season, they seem to be unsure of their form themselves. The Broncos haven't had any doubt about their form - they haven't had any up until last week when they beat a poor Salford team! The Broncos at home after their first win will be a hard side to get on top of. KR's Michael Dobson will have to make sure they KNOW exactly how they intend to perform if he wants to forge a partnership with Travis Burns - that will take, time, though and KR don't travel well.
BARRIE PREDICTS: London will be the winners by 14 points.
Terry says: These two teams picked up impressive wins last week. Something spurred London on - there were rumours that David Hughes had a word saying he was not going to keep on putting money into the club without getting anything back. He knows he is not really going to get a return on his money but he wants a performance on the park and the Broncos produced that last weekend. No one picked Hull KR's result against Warrington. It was really impressive to come back from 12-6 down at half time and win that game. A lot of pressure has been taken off Michael Dobson with the introduction of Travis Burns who has really helped guide the side around. Another player who has stood out - even when Hull KR have not performed - is Greg Eden at fullback. His vision, his balance and his sheer speed shows that he is a player full of confidence no matter what is happening around him.
TERRY PREDICTS: I hope that London can keep it going but if I did have to have a bet then my money would be on Hull KR to win by 14 points.
Barrie says: This will be a great game to watch, there will be plenty of points scored to entertain the crowd. The Vikings were pleased with their win against Hull FC, but Hull were not at their best nor were the Giants, who the Bulls beat last week, so both teams can beat weak opposition but who can lift their performance to win?
BARRIE PREDICTS: It will be the away side by just four points.
Terry says: When Widnes play at home they are a completely different outfit. They play with confidence and with speed. Jon Clarke in particular was exceptional in their win against Hull FC. Clarke along with Kevin Brown, Joe Mellor and Rhys Hanbury are really good ball players and make things happen. They will be missing Brown this week, as well as Stefan Marsh and Cameron Phelps, but at home they have this real willingness to play rugby. Gareth Hock has also been sensational for Widnes when he has played. One thing you can be sure of is that the opposition are always aware of where Hock is standing on the park. Bradford will be looking to rush in on him in defence and take some steam off him - he is very hard to stop once he gets going. Bradford were superb last week against Huddersfield and they need to play with the same intensity and speed this week.
TERRY PREDICTS: I am going to go with Widnes again because they are at home and expect them to win by 12.
Barrie says: Hull FC boss Peter Gentle is struggling to get his team to attack to their obvious ability, whilst Ian Millward has his Castleford team firing on all cylinders. Hull will be disappointed in the manner that they lost against Widnes, but the Tigers will also be upset that they lost to Wigan by a last minute try. I know who will be going into this game full of confidence.....
BARRIE PREDICTS: The Tigers to win by 10 points.
Terry says: You always need to look for positives but Hull FC were really poor against Widnes. Some of the passes and execution was way below par and not what you expect from a Super League team. Peter Gentle said after the game that he was going to make big changes this week but they are playing against a very spirited Cas side who were unlucky to lose against Wigan. I like what Ian Millward has done with them but they need back themselves a bit more.
TERRY PREDICTS: I fancy Castleford to travel to Hull and win this game by 14 points.
Barrie says: I don't think there is much chance of the Giants running up a big score in this game like they did the last time they met. Leeds will be more relaxed this week than they were last week knowing they are not waiting for their kit to arrive at the last minute! The Giants haven't been playing too well and their coach Paul Anderson has made it pretty clear that he is not happy. We shall see if his criticism of his side spurs them on but I think Leeds will have their measure.
BARRIE PREDICTS: Leeds to win by 18 points.
Terry says: Leeds bounced back very well against St Helens and showed what a good side they are. Leeds really have some superb strike power with Joel Moon and Ryan Hall. Moon has been one of the buys of the year and has slotted in and taken over that Keith Senior role. Huddersfield conceded two tries in the first nine minutes last week and were guilty of some real basic and sloppy errors. Danny Brough should be back for them and they really need him to boss the team around.
TERRY PREDICTS: I expect Leeds to take it up a notch against Huddersfield and come out with a decent win by eight points.
Barrie says: Wigan put plenty of points past weak teams but appear to struggle playing against teams that show some spirit, and the Dragons will need plenty of spirit if they are to beat the Warriors. However saying that, spirit alone will not be enough as Wigan will be dominant throughout the game.
BARRIE PREDICTS: Wigan will win by 14 points.
Terry says: Both these sides got out of jail last week and will be looking for better performances this weekend. The last two years Catalans have gone to Wigan and conceded 44 points and did not score a try and the other game was 46-6. If Catalans come and want to pay rugby then the DW stadium is the perfect place to do that - it is 68m wide so there is a vast amounts of space to create a few things.
TERRY PREDICTS: If Catalans have the right mind-set then they could stick with Wigan but I don't think they will. Wigan to win by 24 points.
Barrie says: It doesn't look as if the Salford camp have any confidence in themselves and interim coach Alan Hunte will need all of his man-management techniques to make sure the Reds don't get a thrashing against an inform Trinity side. Wakefield are hard to beat at home this year and should win this one comfortably.
BARRIE PREDICTS: Wakefield to win by 26 points.
Terry says: Plenty of talk around who is going to take over from Phil Veivers. I feel for Phil who did not have the squad he wanted. Salford will now be going for the biggest name they can get hold off. They want to bring in quality players and a top coach would help that. You have the Australian coach who is out of a job in Tim Sheens, you have got Stephen Kearney who is the New Zealand coach who is out of the job and you have Brian Noble who has been out of the game for a few years. Wakefield are a very confident side and Ben Cockayne will be playing like a player who has just been called into the international squad. His shoulders will be back and I expect him to score a few tries
TERRY PREDICTS: I expect a comfortable 22 points win for Wakefield.
