Monday 27 July 2015 16:28, UK
Super 8s confirmed, Ben Westwood avoids a red, and coaches on referees. We look at the main rugby league talking points.
Super 8s are here
Leeds' prize for finishing top of the First Utility Super League at the end of the 23-match programme is home advantage against 2014 Grand Finalists St Helens and Wigan.
The top four teams all earn four home games in the Super 8s with the four below them having to play four away fixtures.
The fixtures have not yet been released for the Super 8s but with the initial 23 rounds completed Leeds will be happy with their season so far.
After Hull FC’s derby win over Hull KR in round 22 there was less potential for change at the bottom of the table in the final round, and with a one-point win over Salford on Sunday it was Widnes who felt short of the Super 8s by the smallest margin - one league point.
All that's left now is the business end of the season, as the teams fight it out for the right to play in this year's Grand Final.
Cas unravelling?
Castleford fans will fear that their team could once more falter towards the end of the season after promising so much.
On Sunday the Tigers were crushed 44-6 at home by Warrington after conceding nine tries, with two coming from returning captain Joel Monaghan.
The win wasn’t enough for Warrington to claim a place ahead of Castleford in the Super 8 standings, but with the regular season now over, the form of the Tigers will be cause for slight concern for the supporters.
Castleford had gone five games unbeaten before suffering a losses in two of the last three fixtures, and with the crucial part of the season now upon them, they will want to turn that form around sooner rather than later.
Smith berates referee
Coach Brian Smith criticised referee Chris Leatherbarrow after Wakefield lost again to bogey side Huddersfield.
The straight-talking Australian said he considered only two of the seven penalties his side conceded in the first half to be "legitimate".
Smith said after Wakefield's 34-24 away Super League defeat: "The boys were actually asking him, 'Do you know what a surrender tackle is?'
"He didn't call one in the whole game, even though there were a lot of surrender tackles in the match.
It's worth noting that Leatherbarrow still got off more lightly than the Giants players, who drew worse criticism from their own coach after the game. Despite the win, Paul Anderson described his team’s performance as a "shower of s***".
Westwood lucky to avoid a red?
Castleford coach Daryl Powell insists England forward Ben Westwood should have been sent off for a tackle that resulted in his scrum-half Luke Gale being taken to hospital.
Gale never fully recovered from a head knock in the opening stages of the Tigers' 44-6 home defeat by Warrington and was taken off after 17 minutes.
Powell is waiting for news of the injury but insists the challenge was worthy of a red card.
"Without a doubt," he said. "It was a clear strike to the head. He didn't even get 10 minutes. I don't know what's going on.
"How you can miss that when you've got five people (officials) out there is beyond me. It was a disgraceful tackle and very poor by everybody concerned.”
Powell said that the Tigers would continue to monitor Gale through the week.
"He's in hospital now. I don't know how bad he is but he looked really distressed when I saw him. He'll have a full check-up and hopefully he will be okay."
Mind games
Hull FC coach Lee Radford said his side will have to bounce back mentally after losing 48-12 to Wigan.
"We spoke all week about making a push for the top four and not just being in the Super 8s to just make up the numbers," Radford told Sky Sports.
"But it can’t be lip service, it has to be backed up by performance and individually there were one or two performances out there that were nowhere near the standard they were last week.
"It looked like last week was our Grand Final and we said we did not want that to happen. We have a week off and we need to regroup and get right mentally."
Hull were already guaranteed a place in the Super 8s before the game, but will hope for a better showing when the Super League season continues.
Back with a bang
Tom Briscoe and Joel Monaghan made up for lost time as they both starred for their respective teams over the weekend.
Briscoe marked his return to the Leeds side after injury with a hat-trick as the Rhinos secured top spot in Super League with a 36-22 victory over Catalans Dragons.
Briscoe made a return following shoulder surgery that has kept him sidelined since March, but he picked up right where he left off, scoring three tries. The hat-trick takes his tally to seven tries in just six games this season.
Warrington skipper Joel Monaghan scored twice on his return from injury in their rout of Castleford.
The Australian had missed four games due to a calf injury, but hit the ground running with a pair of four-pointers for his team in a crucial trip to the Mend-A-Hose Jungle.
