ANOTHER round of fixtures out of the way and new issues have come up, along with some that are becoming all too long-running.
Championship and League One clubs are ready to tackle Super League sides head on if they attempt to push through the plan for two divisions of 10 clubs that SunSport revealed.
All three sides that travelled to Australia – Wigan, Hull and Leeds – lost their first matches back home, leading to some critics questioning whether their trips were worth it.
And Salford and Castleford notched welcome wins to get their season up and running, while Catalans’ crisis goes on after they became the latest victims of a Wakefield side that looks destined for a huge 2018.
In that, winger Tom Johnstone added to his reputation by outpacing David Mead and planting the ball down in the corner. Who cares which hand he carried the ball in?
Outside Super League, London Broncos are offering hope the Capital could have a top flight presence next season after defeating Toronto Wolfpack. London v Toronto? It is enough to send people entrenched in the heartlands potty!
But what were the talking points that caught SunSport’s eye this week? Here’s six of the things that we spotted.
FRANK-PAUL THE BURST BALL
HE ARRIVED with a brutal reputation and the nickname ‘The Wrecking Ball’ but Frank-Paul Nu’uausala departed Wigan looking anything like the destructive prop the Warriors built him up as being. Released from his contract will clear plenty off their salary cap spend and Shaun Wane has better options in that position than the former New Zealand international.
HARDAKER HOME?
SO ZAK Hardaker has been sacked by Castleford ahead of a hearing into a failed drugs test and looks set to sign for Wigan. ‘How many more chances?’ is the question being asked by many at the prospect of a five-year deal. Simple answer, one. Wigan have showed in the past they are willing to stand by problem cases and, more importantly, get the best out of them. Hardaker has to stay on the right track at the Warriors. If he does not, they will not be there for long.
CASE FOR THE DEFENCE
ST HELENS are rightly taking many plaudits after a perfect start to the season but as well as having the ability to break sides down, they can keep them out too. Huddersfield had no fewer than six repeat sets in the first half of Friday’s match and, frankly, never really looked like scoring. No wonder coach Justin Holbrook was delighted.
THE MAINE MAN?
SO JERMAINE McGillvary is back in a Huddersfield shirt after his England exploits in the World Cup, but it was a good job the ‘Beast from the East’ had not arrived by Friday, or else he may have had frostbite. It was not a night where the winger saw plenty of the ball, put it that way but did Saints show the way many sides will approach combating McGillvary’s threat with the ball, by starving him of it?
ELL OF A COMEBACK
WE’RE not sure what the panel who come up with the four players up for man of the match were watching as Castleford beat Hull, but Jamie Ellis’ contribution was far too good to ignore. Three assists in a game where he and the Tigers showed they are finding their feet clinched a much-needed victory for Daryl Powell’s men.
HULL OF A HEADACHE
SO WHAT did Lee Radford learn from Hull’s jaunt Down Under? Well, he would have picked up that many of his players can go missing no matter the surroundings. Once again too many went walkabout as they lost at Castleford and with Warrington and Leeds coming up, people need to knuckle down, quickly.
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