Ladder and Top Six possibilities

[bartman]

After Round 27, with one match to go:

St Helens 23 3 1 1010 505 47
Leeds 21 6 0 1118 479 42
Bradford 17 9 1 1006 666 (+340) 35
Warrington 17 10 0 762 686 (+76) 34
Hull 15 10 2 740 640 (+100) 32
London 12 13 2 732 708 (+24) 26
- - - - -
Wigan 13 14 0 662 696 (-34) 26
Huddersfield 12 15 0 720 755 (-35) 24
Wakefield 10 17 0 690 965 20
Salford 10 17 0 529 718 20
- - - - -
Widnes 6 20 1 588 980 13 (relegated as long as NL1 winners meet criteria)
Leigh 2 24 1 431 1190 5 (relegated for Les Catalans)


Possibilities for The Top Six:

Definitely 1st:
St Helens, go through to second week of play offs to play Leeds.

Definitely 2nd:
Leeds, go through to second week of play offs to play at St Helens.

3rd, 4th and 5th spots:
Bradford - a win at St Helens on Saturday means they would be 3rd. A loss and they will be 3rd or 4th. Either way will have a home final.
Warrington - a win at Hull on Friday and they will be 3rd if Bradford lose, or 4th if Bradford win, and have earnt themselves a home final. A loss and Hull will take 4th with Warrington dropping to 5th, and they will have a re-match at KC the next week.
Hull - a win over Warrington means they would be 4th and get a home final against Warrington again the next week. A loss means they will stay 5th and play away at Warrington or at Bradford (if the Bulls lose at St Helens).

6th Spot:
London, Wigan, Huddersfield - if London win against Widnes on Sunday they will seal sixth spot, unless Wigan beat Huddersfield by 51 more points than London's winning margin. If London lose, the door is open for Wigan to take sixth spot with a victory, or for Huddersfield to take sixth spot if the combined margins of their win and London's loss is 52 or more.

The only games this week with no bearing on play off poistions are Leeds v Wakefield and Leigh v Salford on Friday night. And St Helens can afford to relax against Bradford too if they choose.



Only possible games in first week of play-offs:

3rd v 6th and 4th v 5th

Bradford v London/Wigan/Huddersfield (Odsal) and Warrington v Hull (Halliwell Jones)
Bradford v London/Wigan/Huddersfield (Odsal) and Hull v Warrington (KC)
Warrington v London/Wigan/Huddersfield (Halliwell Jones) and Bradford v Hull (Odsal)

 

[League Freak™]

I think Warrington will pass Bradford and I think Wigan may just pull one out of the bag and sneak into the finals.

 

[bartman]

Hull v Warington game this round should be great! Warrington will not want to lose and then have to go back to Hull again for the play-off. And Hull will not want to lose and then have to go over to Warrington a week later.

Would be surprised if London let their chance slip though? They will be looking to really put away a Widnes side with nothing left to play for.

 

[League Freak™]

The problem I have with London is that they either look like they are about to kick on.....or they just look terrible.


If they were a little more consistant their place would already be secure. But just as they can come out and look like world beaters against some teams, they can look very ordinary against poor opposition.

 

[ESL - Wire]

London won't slip up especially at home against Widnes.
London aren't the best of travellers but i can see a big score for London with being at home.

Wigan will do what they can to get a win but injuries are mounting up and with Newton out, the odds get lower.

 

[Sun_Down]

Hold on London!

 

[jed]

Forgive me for asking a dumb Aussie's question, but what's the format for the ESL finals? I gather 1 & 2 get the first week off, 3 v 6 and 4 v 5, but who plays who from there on?

 

[JasonE]

week 2
Saints will play Leeds with the winner through to GF
The two winners of the previous week play each other in sudden death

week 3
loser of saints/leeds plays winner of other semi.

week 4
gf

 

[jed]

Warrington defeated Hull on Friday night to secure a home final, Hull secured 5th place.
Bradford defeated St Helens on Saturday night to secure 3rd place and a home final, also ensuring Warrington finish 4th.

London will lock down 6th place with a win this afternoon (assuming Wigan can't win my 58 more than they do) otherwise it's dependant on the Huddersfield vs Wigan game. Huddersfield can only finish in the finals if the combined total margins of them beating Wigan and Widnes beating London (highly unlikely) is 60.

 

[bartman]

All done and dusted... London's sealed 6th spot with a comfortable win.