Saints are deserved league leaders. The draw with Wigan Warriors last Friday, which secured top spot for a remarkable fourth successive season, extended their unbeaten run in all games to 22.

That's a staggering achievement, in a competition which is supposedly getting tougher and tighter year on year.

Yet it wasn't a case of Saints winning the league leaders' hubcap – Leeds lost it.

With a six-point gap at the top of the table as late as June, top spot was in the bag.

Rhinos only had Saints to play once in the second half of the campaign, so they could have lost that one and still held on to pole position, had they won their other matches.

Saints started poorly, then picked up steam and were unbeaten after the shock loss at bottom club Castleford in April.

Rhinos got off to a flier – as they had to do with the Carnegie World Club Challenge coming just a month into the campaign – but then hit a dip and were well below their best throughout June and July, which is when top spot was won and lost.

Leeds will rue narrow defeats by Wigan (twice) and Harlequins, which effectively cost them home advantage in the qualifying semi-final a week tomorrow, but finishing in the top-two is most important and they achieved that with an eight-point breathing space.

Though Saints have been league leaders every season since 2005, nobody remembers who finishes top.

It's winning the Grand Final that counts and – since a poor defeat at Warrington Wolves on August 2 – Rhinos have shown signs of regaining their best form at just the right time, as they did last year.

Leeds' attack is firing again, key players – particularly Ali Lauitiiti – are in good form and, crucially, they are defending well, having conceded fewer points than anyone else in the regular season.

Their clash with Saints could go either way, but Rhinos don't look in the mood to lose two play-off ties and a return to Old Trafford beckons.
Some of Saints' recent performances have been a little shaky, but they have forgotten how to lose and they won't be short of motivation, with memories of last year's Grand Final drubbing still fresh in their mind.

Many of the reasons Leeds had to do well last year – a disappointment the previous campaign and their coach about to leave – apply to Saints now.

Even if Leeds beat them next weekend – as they did at Knowsley Road in March – it is inconceivable the Merseysiders won't reach Old Trafford for the third consecutive year.

Les Catalans Dragons are arguably the team of the year after climbing from 10th last term to a third-place finish on the regular season table.
Sadly for the French outfit, they seem to have hit a form slump at just the wrong time.

One win from their final four games is poor preparation for their first play-off campaign and, though they are tough to beat at home, they aren't playing well enough to win away to either Saints or Leeds – should they get that far.

Whatever happens over the next month, though, Catalans should be applauded for the progress they've made this year.

Catalans' opening play-off opponents, Warrington Wolves, are in even worse shape.

After a dismal first half of the season, big-spending Wolves seemed to be playing somewhere near their potential under new coach James Lowes, but embarrassing defeats against Castleford Tigers and Huddersfield Giants saw them slip to an under-achieving sixth-place finish.

Warrington have the personnel to make an impact in the play-off – Adrian Morley, Matt King and Martin Gleeson are all world-class – but they don't have the form or consistency.

Outside the top-two, the team with the momentum behind them are Bradford Bulls, who won their final three regular season games to finish fifth.

It would have been sixth but for a last gasp penalty goal, which secured an 18-16 victory at Castleford Tigers.

Interestingly, Bulls' management wanted their players to run the
79th- minute penalty in front of the posts, clearly preferring a trip to Catalans – where they are unbeaten – to a game at Wigan Warriors, where they have a less impressive record.

That was before they discovered that tomorrow's elimination tie will be staged at Widnes, with Wigan kicked out of their JJB Stadium base.

Previous results this season would suggest Bulls aren't capable of winning at Knowsley Road or Headingley Carnegie, but they will fancy their chances of beating Wigan on neutral territory and neither Catalans away nor Warrington at home will hold any fears for Steve McNamara's side.

Should they get that far, on a five-game winning streak they could give either of the top-two a nervous evening in the final eliminator.

Wigan have a talented side and a coach who knows what it takes to go all the way in the play-offs, but they are too inconsistent to be considered genuine title challengers.

The loss of home advantage tomorrow could bring their campaign to a swift end.

On current form, the most likely scenario for the play-offs would see Bradford beat Wigan tomorrow, with Catalans overcoming Warrington.

Leeds are in the mood to end Saints' unbeaten run in eight days' time and Bulls could prove too strong for Catalans – even in Perpignan – but will find the trip to Knowsley Road in the final eliminator a game too far.

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THE pitch was in perfect condition, but there was a danger of flooding on the terraces at Wakefield last Friday.

With a big crowd expected for the visit of Leeds Rhinos, Wildcats' backroom staff were reduced to panic when someone lost the key for all the toilets in the ground.

Eventually the doors were opened about 30 minutes before kick off and a crisis was averted – to the relief of everyone in
Belle Vue.

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IT'S good to have Daryl Powell back in rugby league. Powell didn't achieve his full potential as coach of Leeds Rhinos, but he did a better job than he was given credit for in changing the culture at the club and giving a crop of talented young players their big chance.

He is a good appointment for Co-op National One side Featherstone Rovers. Super League may prove a pipe dream, but they seem to be a club on the up.