Tuesday 26 September 2017 10:14, UK
Brian Carney reflects on the final round of the Super 8s with good weeks for a quartet of clubs while once again it was another bad week for Catalans.
Widnes Vikings
There we some big games on in the Super 8s but little doubt that the biggest clash of the weekend was in the south of France where Widnes and Catalans battled to secure Super League status for 2018.
In what was a technically awful game, but the quality of the encounter will matter little to the victorious Widnes.
Dennis Betts' side were up against in Perpignan, but they were outstandingly gritty in their performance and deserved the win and the rewards that come with it.
While they will undoubtedly enjoy confirming their Super League place for 2018, the squad will need some significant additions if they are to avoid the bottom four next year.
Hull FC and Leeds
As soon as Daryl Powell, Castleford's head coach, announced his squad for the game with Hull FC it was almost a foregone conclusion that the visitors would win.
The manner of their performance and the fact they managed to avoid being dragged into any sort of a dogfight shows that, at this time of the season, there's a ruthless streak in them that will be necessary at Headingley this Friday
Jamie Shaul's try was a highlight and a reminder of what this side have got in their attacking locker.
At the same time Leeds were demolishing Huddersfield Giants in another performance that will be a shot across the bows of anybody that thinks this side has got anything less than Old Trafford on their minds.
It was a brilliantly ruthless performance and has got Brian McDermott's side primed to take on the challenge of Hull.
Wakefield Trinity
On Saturday on Sky Sports we covered two teams that were battling disappointment - Wakefield Trinity and the reigning champions, Wigan Warriors.
When St Helens won on Friday night Wakefield found out that their chance of a semi-final spot was gone. Then, when Hull FC beat Castleford, Wigan's shot at retaining the title was gone and, as luck would have it, the two met on Saturday with arguably little at stake other than their final league position.
Describing Wigan as abject would be kind, while outstanding doesn't do Wakefield justice. More on the Warriors later but for now I want to focus on Wakefield.
The tries Wakefield scored, the way that they played the game and the general joy around the club lifted what was referred to as a 'dead rubber'.
There was a carnival atmosphere around the club and around the ground as the supporters rejoiced in the mid-week news that a re-development of Belle Vue is on the way and on the pitch they saw evidence of a side that's on the way up
There were some all-round outstanding performances but it's impossible not to mention the eye-catching David Fifita.
His barnstorming runs caused Wigan's pack untold problems and he's a man whose actions when substituted I must mention.
As he patrols the sidelines having just come off, or when preparing to come on, he always makes his way down to the area reserved for wheelchairs users where there is a young Wakefield fan.
He always exchanges pleasantries with the fans before going back on or after he has just come.
It's a lovely little side story and evidence of a man doing good things on and off the field.
Catalans Dragons
When it comes to bad weeks then there really can only be one place to start on this and that's with the Catalan Dragons.
They now find themselves heading to Leigh and battling for Super League survival in the Million Pound Game.
The side have it all to do to beat the Centurions who look to me to have the stomach for a fight. You cannot say the same about the Dragons and that perhaps is the most damming assessment of this club.
I have seen zero impact from the new coach, Steve McNamara, but in his defence, perhaps the malaise at the club was so deep-rooted that it would be impossible for anybody to get a response from these players, many of whom are lucky to be employed as professionals.
If, and it's a massive if, the club survive on Saturday there's a clear-out of gargantuan proportions needed.
On and off the field the club is close to falling off a cliff. I question whether the main man knows what is wrong and how to change it. Huge problems.
Wigan Warriors
Back to the Beaumont Legal Stadium and while Wakefield have finished another remarkable season on a high, the ruthlessness and the cut-throat nature of performances that we associated with Wigan were alarmingly absent.
To roll out of the season without scoring a point in their last game, and delivering in such a lacklustre manner, will have all at the Warriors concerned.
The run of eight games between Rounds 12 and 19 inclusive, when they failed to register a victory, might be singled out as the period where their chances evaporated
They almost scraped into the semi-finals but even their most ardent fans would look at the performances of their side this year and say that they're not champions material.
A major rethink on how the club attack is needed, a goal kicker is needed and I would expect this club - who can never be accused of sitting on their hands - to bring in the necessary personnel.
Missed nominations
Finally it was a bad week for Mahe Fonua, Matt Parcell, Grant Millington, Alex Walmsley, James Roby and maybe some others who missed out on a Man of Steel nomination.
Luke Gale, Zak Hardaker and Albert Kelly have had great years but I'd look at a player like Parcell and think that there's little chance that Leeds would be where they are without finding a player like him to fill such a pivotal role this season.
Walmsley and Millington are arguably the most influential forwards in their sides, who are first and fourth in the league, respectively, meaning they may consider themselves unlucky, too.
While Kelly has been eye-catching and brilliant for Hull FC, is there a supporter over on Humberside that wouldn't point to Fonua and what he has brought this year as being crucial?
So congratulations to the three nominees, but it will be a bitter sweet week for those players who produced performances that would have made them worthy Man of Steel winners themselves.
