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PETER SMITH: Can coach Morgan keep the Robins rocking?

Published on Tuesday 26 May 2009 12:11

HALF-TIME during last weekend's round of matches marked the mid-way point – for most clubs – of engage Super League XIV.

Surprising is probably the best word to describe the campaign so far.

Going into the second half of the season, what players and coaches like to refer to as the business end, the table retains the topsy-turvy look it has had almost from day one.

As has been the case all year, only two of last term's play-off sides – Grand Finalists St Helens and Leeds Rhinos – currently occupy a place in the top-eight.

Hull KR sit second and are showing no signs of tailing off, while Huddersfield Giants, Harlequins, Hull, Castleford Tigers and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are also clinging on to a play-off place, despite severe and in some cases prolonged wobbles.

A refreshing change and great for the competition, as they say. The victims are the likes of Bradford Bulls, Les Catalans Dragons, Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves, top-six sides last year, but now languishing in the bottom-half of the table. In Bulls' case, a top-eight place seems a distant dream.

Last weekend's defeat at rapidly-improving Salford City Reds, coupled with Catalans' victory at Celtic Crusaders, left them second from bottom, with only 13 games left.

They are only five points adrift of a play-off spot, which illustrates how tight it all is, but Bulls' decline has probably been the story of the season so far.

That they have won at St Helens, beaten Leeds and drawn with Hull KR, yet lost to Crusaders and Salford rather sums up the unpredictable nature of the competition.

The writing has been on the wall for several seasons. A host of quality players have departed or retired and Bulls no longer have the money to bring in replacements of similar ability.

In their current rebuilding phase, Bulls are going to have to place more emphasis on bringing through young players.

There are some potential stars in the Academy at Bradford, James Donaldson and twins Tom and George Burgess for example, but it is going to take time for them to make the step up – and if you're going to give youngsters a chance, you have to accept that at times they are going to make mistakes which could cost you games.

Bulls have been the big under-achievers so far this year, though Wigan and Warrington, both tipped as potential Grand Finalists before a ball was kicked, come into the same category.

Wigan have been inconsistent, but Warrington – now coach Tony Smith is beginning to make his mark – are showing signs of gaining the sort of form which could take them into the play-offs, where they'd be dangerous dark horses.

This weekend could go a long way towards shaping how Wigan and Warrington fare over the second half of the Super League season, even though they are not in league action.

Both clubs have reached the quarter-finals of the Carnegie Challenge Cup and should they win – at home to Salford and away to Hull KR respectively – that may prove a telling distraction.

The Challenge Cup is a competition both have a much better chance of winning, or even reaching the final in, though Saints remain red hot favourites.

Perhaps the big question over the second half of the season is, can Hull KR maintain their impressive run?

Cross-city rivals Hull, finished second and reached the Grand Final three years ago and their neighbours at the moment look capable of doing the same, though they are another team with Wembley on their minds.

Rovers have some classy players, a coach, Justin Morgan, who knows what he's doing and a home stadium which, unlike most others in Super League, is becoming a fortress.

Tellingly, the Robins are one of only four clubs who have managed to win more home games than they've lost. Home form, of course, will be crucial when it comes to the play-offs, if they do finish in the top three or four.

How they will fare when the pressure's really on, in a couple of months' time, remains to be seen, but with Wakefield having hit a slump, Rovers are the team of the season so far.

Leeds have impressed only occasionally this year, but they are tried and tested when it comes to performing at the business end.

Rhinos' players have looked tired over the first half of the season, but the stop-start nature of their recent programme may well help them.

Danny Buderus is starting to show what he's capable of and he could be massively influential, while another key man, Brent Webb, is only going to get better.

Saints may not be quite the dominant force they were in the league last year, but their away form – they are unbeaten on an opponents' ground for 13 months – remains exceptional and it will be a major shock if they don't go on to a fourth successive Grand Final.

Harlequins and Huddersfield have both made big strides this season, but lack the consistency to suggest they are genuine contenders for a place at Old Trafford.

Hull made a great start before dropping away, though they can be a threat when they have a full-strength side out.

Castleford Tigers are the big improvers so far and, despite losing their last three league games, they can be happy with season so far.

Injuries and some dubious refereeing decisions have had an effect on Tigers over the last month or so, but that will turn around.

With influential players like Ryan McGoldrick, Brent Sherwin – though he has now joined the casualty list – and Rangi Chase all showing good form, a play-off spot is well within their capabilities, which would represent a fantastic achievement from the wooden spoon last year.

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats' season hangs in the balance.

Five successive defeats, four of them in the league, have taken the gloss off their impressive start and the situation off the field appears far from rosy, with rumours sweeping that game – denied by the club – that they are looking to offload star players to reduce the wage bill. Wildcats' players looked disinterested on Sunday, when they capitulated in the second half against Huddersfield.

From 6-4 ahead, they conceded a point a minute over the final 50 minutes of the game, which was a woeful effort by any standards.

The next two games are crucial, with Wildcats facing trips to the bottom two, Celtic Crusaders and Bradford Bulls.

Coach John Kear's side are capable of winning both, but two defeats could send them into free-fall.

Of the rest, Crusaders have struggled to make the step up into Super League, though there's some evidence to suggest they may make a better fist of it over the second half.

Catalans Dragons have been disappointing under new coach Kevin Walters, but – after a difficult start – Salford are becoming the surprise package, with notable wins over Leeds, Warrington, Huddersfield and Bradford.

The competition's most influential player so far has been Saints' controversial stand-off Leon Pryce – and that's going to give a few people something to think about when it comes to Man of Steel voting in a few months' time.