Rugby League - National League 2 23/24 June

[Punto83]

Not much rugby league this weekend with the international fixture and the semi's of the Northern Rail Cup. So, I thought I would do a quick round up of National League 2. First of all, apologies to those who followed by Celtic tip last week, still reeling from it but that's sport for you. The aim of this post is not to bet on any of my selections (I'm not) just to put my thoughts on "paper" and see how I do. National League 2 is very competative this year, apart from the dross at the bottom (Skolars, Blackpool, Gateshead etc) there is some decent teams who could quite easily compete in National League 1. Celtic Crusaders v Workington (18:00 BST) -14 +26.5 -14 Gateshead v Hunslet (18:30 BST) +10 -8.5 +10 Sunday 24 June 2007 Blackpool v Barrow Raiders (15:00 BST) +32 -28 +28 Keighley v Oldham (15:00 BST) +16 -12 +14 London v Swinton (15:00 BST) +8 -6 +6 York v Featherston (15:00 BST) +14 -12 +12 First up Celtic vs Workington. You've got to back Celtic again because of the players they have got. Despite last week I'd back them to cover -14. Workington have a long way to travel for this, and are not the best team on their travels (they beat York last week though). Workington's strengths are at home. Of those who are interested, this game is being shown live on S4C tonight at 6pm. Commentary is in Welsh :lol :lol :lol You can access it on most digital systems. From a personal point of view I would probably like Workington to win, even though it would put them on level points with Featherstone for 24 hours :ok Interestingly, the -14 is just outside the bonus point (teams get a bonus point if they lose by 12 or less). Last week, Sheffield against Castleford popped over a drop goal in the closing minutes to ensure they got a point. Gateshead v Hunslet Hunslet are not a bad side but have started poorly in the league. The potential is there though having beaten Dewsbury and Batley in the Northern Rail and of course, Celtic last week. I know a player there, probably their most talented and he was saying a few weeks back the mood in the club was crap. However, recent weeks training has improved. They only beat London Skolars by 1 point though a few weeks back but you'd expect them to beat Gateshead by more than -8.5 on Betfair. Blackpool v Barrow Raiders Barrow all day long for me here. Blackpool are in dire straits, players haven't been paid for over a month and they have just got rid of their coach. He's been taken over by Andy Gregory. Exceptional player in his time but his lt coaching job was was back in 1999 with Salford. Unlike normal away games for Barrow, they don't have to travel too far for this. I'd back Barrow here. Keighley v Oldham Keighley are poor side but on their day can play decent rugby. Fev playerd Oldham last week and they really impressed me. They have no real stars but Adam Hughes is a decent player as is Tony Tonks. Oldham fans were very confident they would romp home with the league after last weeks game. Despite Fev doing the double over them! They have beaten both Celtic and Workington away from home (something which Fev couldn't manage) so they may have a point. However, the fans I spoke to who were so confident claimed the penalty count was 19-6 in favour of fev and that was the reason they lost. Next day in the league express the count was in fact 12-12 :rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin so maybe what they say should be taken with a pinch of salt. However they should cover -12 at Keighley London v Swinton Both poor sides but ability wise, Swinton are the better outfit and I'd back them with -6 at Skolars. York v Featherstone I predicted fev to win by 14 points on a prediction league I run for the club on wednesday but I'd probably go 20 now on their team news. Fev have a Cardoza out but York have 9 players out of which some of them are their most experienced players. York got relegated last season and I expected them to be challenging at the top. However, losing Paul Broadbent as assistant coach to Wakefield and a few players like Golden, Blaymire and Fox has hit them hard. York always rise their game for Fev for some reason and it should be a decent atmosphere with Fev taking 500+ fans. I'll back fev :ok

[Punto83]

Re: Rugby League - National League 2 23/24 June

First up Celtic vs Workington. You've got to back Celtic again because of the players they have got. Despite last week I'd back them to cover -14. Workington have a long way to travel for this, and are not the best team on their travels (they beat York last week though). Workington's strengths are at home. Of those who are interested, this game is being shown live on S4C tonight at 6pm. Commentary is in Welsh :lol :lol :lol You can access it on most digital systems. From a personal point of view I would probably like Workington to win, even though it would put them on level points with Featherstone for 24 hours :ok Interestingly, the -14 is just outside the bonus point (teams get a bonus point if they lose by 12 or less). Last week, Sheffield against Castleford popped over a drop goal in the closing minutes to ensure they got a point. Gateshead v Hunslet Hunslet are not a bad side but have started poorly in the league. The potential is there though having beaten Dewsbury and Batley in the Northern Rail and of course, Celtic last week. I know a player there, probably their most talented and he was saying a few weeks back the mood in the club was crap. However, recent weeks training has improved. They only beat London Skolars by 1 point though a few weeks back but you'd expect them to beat Gateshead by more than -8.5 on Betfair.

Celtic won by 14 points and Hunslet lost:eek