Phil Clarke is backing Leigh to beat Catalans in the Million Pound Game
Friday 29 September 2017 11:32, UK
So, which game are you looking forward to the most this week? Can the Tigers play under pressure? Have Leeds improved enough to bounce from the Qualifiers to the Grand Final in less than 12 months? Will we lose Leigh or Catalans from Super League in 2018?
All three games have the potential to showcase rugby league at its very best, but it's the Million Pound Game that I want to focus on here. In 2016, it was arguably the most riveting game of the year, and the tension and drama surrounding this year's match make it a must-see event.
If you step back for a moment and look at the winning teams of that £1m over the last two years it can be quite surprising. Wakefield won in 2015 and have gone from strength to strength. Last year it was Salford and they went on to have their best season in Super League for over a decade.
Live Super League Million Pound Game
A performance in this game can be a springboard, which is what both of these teams will be telling themselves this week.
It's hard to say which team will be the favourites at Leigh Sports Village. The Dragons finished above Leigh after 23 rounds but had a worse points difference having conceded the most points of any team.
That stat hasn't changed much in the qualifiers - the Dragons again conceded more than Leigh - but the bigger problem appears to be their attack. In total, Catalans have scored a total of just 130 points in their most recent seven matches. It's as if they've been paralysed by fear.
In games against Super League opposition, they've averaged only 14 points per match, which was evident last week when they tried to attack against Widnes.
In contrast, the Centurions scored over 200 points in the two-month qualification period and did quite well against Warrington, Widnes and Catalan.
Even in defeat against the Wolves they still managed to score five tries. This ability to cross the try line makes me believe that they'll win this Saturday - which makes me wonder what's gone wrong in Perpignan.
There's never one answer to a question like that in sport; multiple factors always interact, but it strikes me that they've lost their spirit or passion. The mid-season loss of Tony Gigot, added to the fact that Greg Bird has only played half of their games, could be one explanation. But it's clear that they've forgotten how to score and how to win.
It's sad to think that we may lose the French team from Super League, but as was pointed out to me last week, how French are they?
Only three of their starting 13 last week were French players. It's been 10 years since they first entered the competition, that isn't great proof that the game has grown there. It's perhaps ironic that it might be a Frenchman playing for Leigh this week who scores the try that relegates the Dragons.
Brian Carney questioned what fighting spirit existed in the Dragons this week. Well, I think that we'll see two very determined competitors in Antoni Maria and Eloi Pelissier on Saturday afternoon.
If the Dragons have any hope of winning they need to find the aggression and passion that they first demonstrated when they began life in Super League.
The game at Leigh gives us a chance to see just how many real supporters the Centurions have behind them and I think this might turn out to be the best of the trio of fixtures we'll see on Sky Sports this week. Good luck to all six teams.
