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Fiddes' Cent

Sky Bet's Jordan Fiddes tells us where the smart money will be going on Super League this weekend.

Sky Bet's Jordan Fiddes casts his eye of this weekend's Super League action

Wigan showed at last weekend's Magic Weekend that they can win it tough as well as with flair and expansion. Since that win against Leeds at the Etihad, the Warriors' odds have gone from 4/9 to 1/4 for them to win the League Leaders' Shield in 2013 - they were 11/4 at the start of the season. They travel to Wakefield on Sunday with no new injury concerns and on top of their game. The form could not be more contrasting to the Wildcats' as they have won just three of their last 12 fixtures - including a humiliating 49-24 defeat at the hands of rivals Castleford - and have a number of key men on the sidelines this weekend. Their influential stand-off Tim Smith - who has created more tries than anyone else in the Wildcats side - is out with a shoulder injury and hooker Paul Aiton - their top tackler - also misses out. Their third casualty is Ali Lauitiiti meaning the Wakefield pack looks very lightweight for the visit of Wigan who have the second largest pack - in terms of height - in the whole of Super League. The home side began the weekend with a +16 handicap but with the loss of three key men - as well as Paul Sykes - means they have now moved to +20 at 10/11. Wigan can boast the competition's top try scorer, top points scorer and top metre maker in their squad so it's understandable that the bookies have drifted on this one. However, knowing that the Warriors can have a ruthless side when they smell blood - they've scored over 40 points on seven occasions this season - the -20 given to Wigan might also be too generous to the Wildcats. If you're feeling ambitious, they are 9/1 to win by 51-60 points which I don't see being out of their reach, but to be safe, I'm going for Wigan on the 'Alternative Handicap' of -24.5 at 11/8. Considering the Warriors have won their last nine meetings with Wakefield, including their last six away games, this should be your banker for the weekend.
Key men returning
St Helens feature again on Monday night, this time taking on another form team in Huddersfield Giants. In the inaugural Monday night game of 2013, the Saints upset the odds by recording an excellent victory away over the champions and I'm expecting them to be competitive in this one too. Sky Bet have given the 2006 Super League champions a +6 start at 10/11, yet there may be more value to back them outright at 7/2. The men from Merseyside will be delighted to welcome back some key men for this one too, none more so than hooker James Roby. I shouldn't need to tell you about the importance of Roby for the Saints but I will. In 2012, St Helens finished top of the table for runs and metres from dummy half, however since Roby has missed the majority of this year, they have slumped to second bottom. Also returning to the side is Jonny Lomax who can fill in at full-back or scrum-half. Lomax is still the Saints' second top try scorer this year and he has only played seven games. With these men returning coupled with St Helens' record against the Giants, I can see them producing another big performance on Monday. Since Super League began, the Giants have only beaten St Helens on six occasions with the Red and Whites winning a massive 28. To be a bit conservative this week, I'm going for Saints on the +6 handicap at 10/11 but coupled with Wigan on the alternative, it works out at over 4/1.
Senior Sky Bet says...
We've recruited Keith Senior to give us a Rugby League tip each week and this is his for the upcoming fixtures: "I'm expecting both Daryll Powell for Castleford and Scott Dureau of Catalans to continue their influence on their respective teams and I'm also putting my faith back in the Saints. "Their performances have improved of late and the return of key men will push Huddersfield all the way this week. "With all three on the handicap - Cas -2, Catalans -8 and St.Helens +6 you'll get a nice return of 13/2."

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