Huddersfield Giants welcome Wakefield Trinity as they look to secure third spot, with kick-off at 7.45pm; Wigan Warriors welcome the Catalans Dragons to the DW Stadium, watch live on Sky Sports Arena with kick off at 8pm
Thursday 1 September 2022 12:36, UK
We take a look at what is being said and team news ahead of a bumper night of Betfred Super League action on Friday evening...
The final round of the regular Super League season is upon us and Friday night sees third and fourth spot nailed down for the play-offs.
Wigan Warriors face Catalans on Sky but the Dragons' fate, if they win, will rest firmly on the shoulders of the Giants.
If Catalans can beat the Warriors, they will need Huddersfield to lose against Wakefield to secure third in the table.
However, if Huddersfield beat Wakefield they are guaranteed a third-place finish and will face off against the victor of the Leeds vs Castleford showdown on Saturday for a semi-final spot.
With at least fourth place wrapped up and a home play-off guaranteed, the Dragons have opted to rotate their squad, with up to 12 players from the French side potentially making their debut.
Head coach Steve McNamara has put the decision down to "looking after his side" ahead of a crucial play-off campaign.
"We have secured top four and play-offs for the past three seasons now. For a club that has been labelled as inconsistent, the last three years has shown that we have found some consistency," said McNamara.
"We're disappointed we're fourth, not first or second, but it shows that there is some really strong progression being made by this club and the game in France.
"We now go to Wigan (before) the play-offs and, like we have seen with other teams today, we will use the very extents of our squad. We need to look after ourselves."
After opting for a youthful squad for Monday's match against Hull KR, Wigan have made 12 changes to their side with retiring captain Thomas Leuluai returning from injury.
Bevan French, Liam Marshall, Cade Cust, Brad Singleton, John Bateman, Morgan Smithies, Harry Smith, Liam Byrne, Kai Pearce-Paul, Jai Field and Mike Cooper also return for the cherry and whites as they look to build momentum ahead of a week off before their semi-final clash.
Squads:
Wigan Warriors Squad: Bevan French, Jake Bibby, Liam Marshall, Cade Cust, Thomas Leuluai, Brad Singleton, Patrick Mago, Willie Isa, John Bateman, Morgan Smithies, Kaide Ellis, Harry Smith, Oliver Partington, Ethan Havard, Liam Byrne, Kai Pearce-Paul, Joe Shorrocks, Jai Field, Abbas Miski, Brad O'Neill, Mike Cooper
Catalans Dragons Squad: Josh Drinkwater, Benjamin Jullien, Arthur Romano, Corentin Le Cam, Mathieu Cozza, Cesar Rouge, Roman Franco, Tiaki Chan, Bastien Scimone, Hugo Salabio, Lucas Ribas, Leo Laurent, Leo Llong, Ugo Tison, Maxime Jobe, Enzo Colechero, Tanguy Zenon, Mike Parenti, Adrien Salies, Loan Castano
The Giants are also guaranteed a top-four finish and a home play-off tie and a win against Wakefield Trinity would secure them third spot in the Super league table on Friday night.
With a big few weeks ahead of then, head coach Ian Watson has made three changes to his side to face Wakefield, with Chris McQueen, Michael Lawrence and Sebastine Ikahihifo.
However, they will still be without halfback Theo Fages who remains on the sidelines.
Despite a high finish guaranteed, Watson has already issued a pre-emptive warning to his side that they must improve if they want to challenge for a Grand Final spot.
"It is a lesson for us. If we go into a play-off game and play like that for 40 minutes, we are going to get turned over," said Watson.
"There were individuals who probably thought we had done the job. And they were happy with that But as a team and a club we can't be happy with that. We have got to be a ruthless team.
"We are playing for 40 minutes at the moment while earlier in the season we were playing for 80. That's why we got to a Challenge Cup final.
"However, we have secured a home tie which means we will finish third or fourth which is great for our development. Now we have got to take advantage of the opportunity that has arisen from it."
After securing Super League survival, Wakefield will be looking to have a good send-off for the players leaving their club, with Jacob Miller, Yusuf Aydin, David Fifta, Tinirau Arona and Brad Walker playing their final game for the side.
Squads:
Huddersfield Giants: Will Pryce, Ricky Leutele, Ashton Golding, Tui Lolohea, Chris Hill, Danny Levi, Michael Lawrence, Josh Jones, Chris McQueen, Matty English, Sebastine Ikahihifo, Adam O'Brien, Oliver Wilson, Leroy Cudjoe, Louis Senior, Olly Russell, Innes Senior, Nathan Mason, Jack Ashworth, Sam Hewitt, Toby King
Wakefield Trinity:
Max Jowitt, Jacob Miller, Mason Lino, Eddie Battye, Tinirau Arona, Matty Ashurst, Kelepi Tanginoa, Jordy Crowther, Lee Gaskell, Lee Kershaw, Jack Croft, Brad Walker, Yusuf Aydin, Harry Bowes, Lewis Murphy, Isaac Shaw, Corey Hall, Rob Butler, David Fifita, Josh Bowden, Jamie Shaul
