The Yorkshire Post's rugby league writer James O'Brien looks ahead to the final weekend of Super League and games involving Hull KR, Leeds Rhinos, Hull FC, Huddersfield Giants, Castleford Tigers and Wakefield Trinity
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00:00 It's the final round of what's been a very disappointing season from a Yorkshire perspective.
00:09 Hulkiart are alone in flying the flag in the playoffs. They'll play Lee and an eliminator
00:14 next week. All that's left to be decided is who has home advantage in that playoff tie.
00:20 If Hulkiart overturn a 34-point deficit, I think it is on Lee. By beating Waite, it feels
00:26 quite handsomely and Lee losing at home to Wigan, which isn't beyond their own. Obviously
00:31 Wigan top, going for the league leaders this year, they're in very good form. Lee's scratch
00:35 last week against Wakefield. They were lucky to get over the line in the end. They are
00:39 showing some signs of fatigue since the Challenge Cup final. So it's a good opportunity for
00:43 Hulkiart to get home advantage and almost have an extra man in that playoff game in
00:48 the Craven Park crowd. Playing a Wakefield team who have obviously been relegated, a
00:53 real crushing relegation it was as well in Golden Point at Lee. They'll struggle to get
00:57 up from that. They could give the fans a bit of small cheer to go into the long off-season
01:04 with, but it's been a miserable season for Wakefield and I really feel for their fans
01:08 who haven't had a lot to shout about all this season. That brings me on to Leeds and Cass.
01:13 Leeds have been better than Cass and Wakey, but by their high standards still a very,
01:17 very poor season. Even if they beat Cass, it won't do much to cheer up a fan base that
01:22 have become quite disillusioned. Cass have stayed up. Essentially that win over Wakefield
01:30 last month kept them in Super League. It's easy to forget what dark place they were in
01:37 when Danny Ward took over. It's only led them to two wins. I say only two wins, but they
01:41 were massive wins and have kept them up at a time when they did look in a perilous position.
01:50 They did have the momentum when Danny Ward came in, so he's done a good job. He deserves
01:53 that job full-time. We'll see how that plays out. Then you've got Huddersfield. They play
01:59 Warrington. A lot of departing players for Huddersfield. Chris McQueen, Jermaine McGillivray
02:03 of course, who's been there for so many years. They want to end on a high and obviously that
02:08 could mean ending Warrington's playoff hopes if Salford beat Catalan. Then in the other
02:14 game you've got Hull, who are on a hiding to nothing. It looks like at St Helens it's
02:17 hard to see them getting anywhere near an in-form St Helens, especially in the form
02:22 that Hull are in. Another miserable season. Again, for Yorkshire Tight and Hull, they
02:27 had a good winning run in the middle part of the season. They looked good, looked like
02:33 they'd shifted a bit of mental baggage, but they've just reverted to tight and it's hard
02:38 to see them improving next season. They've lost their best three players you'd seen,
02:43 Chris Satai, Jake Clifford and Adam Swift. It could get worse before it gets better for
02:48 a few Yorkshire clubs, but for now we've got Hull KR and hopefully they go well in the
02:52 playoffs.
02:53 [END]
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