ESL Preview - Round 10 - Sunday
games

Widnes V Salford

Widnes Vikings face a must-win clash with Salford at the Halton Stadium.

An eighth defeat of the season would leave Frank Endacott?s men six points behind the Reds, one of the teams they are looking to overhaul in their increasingly desperate bid for survival.

The Vikings are boosted by the return of skipper and hooker Shane Millard, who has been out for six weeks with a broken jaw, while centre Aaron Moule will be hoping to continue the fine form that has brought him seven tries in his last five matches.

Widnes 18-man: Connolly, Moule, Emelio, Craigie, Myler, O?Connor, Millard, Cassidy, Stankevitch, Finnigan, Hulse, Whitaker, Frame, Mills, Fa-alogo, Smith, Viane, Barnett.

Salford 18-man: Hodgson, Langi, Littler, McGuinness, Stewart, Beverley, Robinson, Rutgerson, Alker, Dickens, Coley, Sibbit, Charles, Clough, Stringer, Haggerty, Jonkers, Shipway.

Referee: A Klein _________________ Leigh Centurions v Hull FC

Hull have the chance to strengthen their hold on third place when they visit bottom-of-the-table Leigh on Sunday.

John Kear?s men have already won three times on their travels but he is warning his players not to underestimate the challenge of the Centurions.

?Despite what people say, Leigh have some very good players, people like Paul Rowley and Darren Fleary,? said Kear.

?I have seen every game they have played this season and, if you take away their loss to St Helens last week, from week one to week eight they have improved.

?It takes time to adapt to Super League and I?m sure we face a tough game there.

?Fleary has played for Great Britain. He?s not going to stand back with a white glove on and wave us through just because we?re Hull FC.

"He is going to want to nail us and leather us. That?s what the game is about.

?If we can come away with a win, then I will be very happy indeed, although I would like to win in a better manner than we did last week.?

Leigh 18-man: Cooper, Fleary, Jackson, Jones, King, Leafa, Maden, Marshall, McCurrie, Rowley, Smyth, Stapleton, Sturm, Knott, Wilshere, Owen, J. Duffy, Taylor.

Hull 18-man: Briscoe, Blacklock, Yeaman, Eagar, R. Horne, Dowes, McMenemy, Kearney, Cooke, Tony, Thackray, Saxton, Higgins, Carvell, Brough, McNicholas, G. Horne, Whiting.

Referee: S P Ganson ________________________ Bradford Bulls v Huddersfield Giants

Much-improved Huddersfield aim to fit the missing piece in their engage Super League jigsaw with a win over Bradford at Odsal on Sunday.

The Bulls are the only team the Giants have yet to defeat since they were promoted to the top flight in 1998 and it is doubtful if they have ever had a better chance.

Victorious in their last three league matches, in-form Huddersfield take on their West Yorkshire rivals at perhaps their lowest ebb.

Bradford slipped out of the top six after a third-successive defeat at Warrington last Sunday and are seeking to avoid making it four in a row for the first time since the advent of Super League in 1996.

?It goes without saying that we are desperate for a win to put our season back on track,? admitted scrum-half Paul Deacon.

?We are only playing in fits and starts and I think the Warrington game summed that up. We played well in the second half but left ourselves with too much to do after the first period. We need to play well for the full 80 minutes.?

Huddersfield, who are on course to improve on last year?s notable seventh-placed finish, were one of only two teams to win both their Easter fixtures and beat the other team - Wigan - a week ago to put together the best run in the league.

?I watched that game and they are a really solid team who are well coached,? added Deacon. ?Their defence was good, even though they eased off a bit when they had the game won.

?It?s not going to be easy for us and we need to improve dramatically on the first half at Warrington.?

If the Bulls need a lucky omen, they ended their previous three-match losing run in Super League in 1998 with a 36-10 home win over Huddersfield.

Bradford 20-man: Ferres, Deacon, Saxton, Fielden, Harris, Withers, Langley, Lynch, Meyers, Parker, Paul, Peacock, Pratt, Karl Pryce, Leon Pryce, Radford, Reardon, Smith, Vagana, Vainikolo.

Huddersfield 20-man: Reilly, Evans, De Vere, Thorman, March, Slicker, Drew, Gannon, Nero, Roarty, Gene, Jones, Morrison, Smith, Crabtree, Grayshon, White, Jackson, St Hilaire.

Referee: R Silverwood _______________________ Wakefield Trinity Wildcats v Warrington Wolves

Warrington have the opportunity to climb away from the foot of the table when they take on unpredictable and injury-hit Wakefield at Belle Vue.

The Wolves, going for a third-successive win, are virtually at full strength following the return to action of Nathan Wood, Paul Noone, and Chris Leikvoll.

The Wolves were many pundits? fancies to reclaim a top-six spot and Leikvoll is confident they have recovered from an indifferent start to the season.

?Beating Widnes and Bradford has given us the boost we needed and, if we can back up these wins by beating Wakefield and Hull, that should see us in the top six,? he said.

?We have a tough game against Wakefield coming up and we need to stay focused.

?Ben Jeffries is very dangerous with the ball in his hands as is Michael Korkidas with the go-forward he gives them. We will need to be on the top of our game to beat them.?

Wakefield 18-man: Demetriou, Tadulala, Rooney, Jeffries, Griffin, March, Korkidas, J. Field, Obst , Wrench, Snitch, Elima, King, M. Field, Applegarth, Houles, Kirk, O?Neill.

Warrington 18-man: Grose, Faa?fili, Mark Gleeson, Kohe-Love, Briers, N. Wood, Leikvoll, Clarke, Hilton, Wainwright, Noone, Martin Gleeson, Westwood, P. Wood, Lima, Appo, Pickersgill, Bridge.

Referee: R Laughton

Thanks to: http://www.superleague.co.uk for another excellent article.