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Set of Six: The main talking points from the world of rugby league

Salford Red Devils owner Dr Marwan Koukash
Image: Dr Marwan Koukash has been criticised by Leeds coach Brian McDermott

Justin Carney's England hopes and the latest Marwan Koukash talking point lead the way in this week's Set of Six.

Carney scored four tries in Castleford's win over Wakefield and will soon be eligible to play for England on residency grounds, while Leeds coach Brian McDermott had some strong words for Koukash after Salford were thrashed by the Rhinos.

But there were also plenty of other talking points from a weekend which saw the line-up for the Super 8s effectively confirmed...

Koukash causing embarrassment?

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Leeds head coach Brian McDermott had something to say about Salford Red Devils owner Marwan Koukash after Salford lost 70-6 to McDermott's Rhinos

Brian McDermott didn’t mince his words when speaking about Salford owner Marwan Koukash following Leeds’ annihilation of the Red Devils.

Koukash has been an outspoken figure in the Salford set-up for some time now, never shying from voicing his opinions about players and staff in the media, but McDermott feels it’s the leadership of Koukash that should be under scrutiny.

"I think Marwan Koukash needs to probably stand up and apologise to everybody about this," said McDermott following his side's 70-6 win.

More from Super League 2015 Round 22

"He's the chairman of a Super League club, he has a responsibility to run that club in such fashion that people look at it within the community and say, 'I'd like to be a part of that'.

"It embarrasses me to be involved in rugby league when there is an owner of a club conducting himself how he is - saying what he wants, when he wants and how he wants."

Carney for England?

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Four tries from Castleford winger Justin Carney helped his side beat local rivals Wakefield by 58 points to 20

Castleford winger Justin Carney scored four tries in the Tigers’ derby win at Wakefield.

Carney did not score any tries in the first half, but crossed the whitewash four times in the second period to cap off a heavy win for the visitors.

The Australian – nicknamed ‘Tank on the Flank’ – will soon qualify for England on residency grounds, and has declared his interest in featuring for Steve McNamara’s side.

McNamara handed an England cap to New Zealand-born Rangi Chase, a move that was met by criticism from some England fans, but would they be happy to see Carney included?

Catalans chief slams ref

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Huddersfield Giants boosted their top-four hopes with a tough 12-14 away victory against the Catalans Dragons

Dragons chairman Bernard Guasch will be making an international money transfer to the RFL this week after criticising refereeing inconsistencies which he says have "robbed" Catalans of wins this season.

"Enough is enough," said Guasch after the Dragons’ 14-12 loss on Saturday. "We have had another two points taken away from us today because of the scandalous decisions of the referees.

"I would like someone to explain to me how the second try for Huddersfield was awarded by professional referees given how far forward the ball travelled.

"It is the third game where we have been clearly robbed of a win after the home game against Salford in March and the Magic Weekend fixture against Huddersfield.”

Guasch was talking about the second try scored by Jermaine McGillvary, which he felt should have been disallowed for a forward pass. Replays of the try suggested it was a marginal call and could easily have been judged forward – was the referee correct in awarding it?

Super 8s places cemented

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Hull FC booked their place in the Super 8s at the expense of their rivals Hull KR, winning 12-22 with Tom Lineham and Steve Michael's with two tries each

Any hopes of a grandstand final round of regular season fixtures are over thanks to Hull FC’s win at city rivals Hull KR.

Had the Robins won it would have left three sides on 20 league points going into the final round, but two tries from Tom Lineham ended the neutral fans’ hopes of some late drama.

Hull KR can still mathematically make the Super 8s but they need a 73-point turnaround next weekend. The problem for them is they travel to Langtree Park to take on St Helens, so their fate is more than likely sealed.

The top four in the Championship are also locked in place, so the only thing left to play for is the battle for fourth spot in Super League between Huddersfield and Castleford.

The fourth-placed team gets four home fixtures in the Super 8s, while the side finishing fifth gets just three. Castleford host Warrington in the final round, but Huddersfield play Wakefield and already possess a much healthier points difference, so they are in a good position going into the final round.

Stadium silliness

Frank Pritchard of the Bulldogs celebrates with his team mates after scoring a try against the Parramatta Eels
Image: Frank Pritchard of the Bulldogs celebrates with his team-mates after scoring a try against the Parramatta Eels

Parramatta Eels and Canterbury Bulldogs are fierce rivals and a crowd of 17,082 fans turned out to watch the two clash on Friday.

The problem was that the game was played at ANZ Stadium, which has a capacity of 84,000, instead of Parramatta’s home ground – the Pirtek Stadium – which holds 24,000. As a result, the atmosphere was more than a little bit flat.

Further questionable decision-making was the scheduling of South Sydney Rabbitohs v St George Illawarra Dragons at Sydney Cricket Ground.

While 18,217 isn’t a bad turnout for any sporting event, it never looks good when the stadium is half empty – the SCG houses 45,000 people.

Scrap the scrums?

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Mike Stephenson tells Boots 'N' All why the scrum has slowly become redundant in Super League

Last week Stevo appeared on Boots ‘n’ All and called for the scrums to be scrapped from the game.

Phil Clarke disagreed with him and included Jermaine McGillvary’s effort for Huddersfield over the weekend as an example of tries that are scored from the scrum.

We hosted a poll to see what the fans thought and 750 thought scrums should be scrapped, while 585 thought they should stay.

If the game decides to keep the scrums, should they be contested? Should the referees penalise teams that don’t feed the ball straight?

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