Rugby Super League Update

Runaway Rugby Super League leaders St Helens bounced back from their defeat at the hands of Huddersfield by beating Warrington last Friday, leaving them six points in advance of second-placed Leeds, who are in turn a point ahead of last year's champions, Bradford. Despite the Saints' reverse against the Giants - and despite the fact that they are still playing with an under-strength squad - Daniel Anderson's men bounced back in tenacious fashion to repel a spirited second-half display from the Wolves, who went into the break 26-4 down but ended up losing 34-22, a highly respectable effort by Paul Cullen's charges. St Helens are now virtually unbackable at a top-priced 18/25 with William Hill (1/33 in places) to win emerge victorious in the Regular Season betting, but they are a top-priced 4/5 with Coral to win the Grand Final, which is a far less prohibitive betting proposition. Leeds' pursuit of St Helens was halted by the in-form Hull on Friday, as the visitors produced some truly breathtaking rugby to record their first win at Headingley with a decisive 44-28 verdict. Hull have really gone into overdrive since new coach Peter Sharp took hold of the reigns and they were recording their sixth successive win in this fixture, which has seen them climb to fourth in the Super League, just two points adrift of Leeds. A 17,700 capacity crowd attended this match but many of the Rhinos' fans had left long before the final whistle, as the home side were being outplayed and outwitted in virtually every area of the park by a Hull side that were a constant threat from the outset, taking just nine minutes to open the scoring. This victory saw Hull, who are 12/1 in the Grand Final betting market with Sporting Odds, move into third, but only temporarily as Bradford regained that berth in the League standings with a classy display at Twickenham Stoop where they dished out 58-16 hammering to the Harlequins. The Bulls clearly set out to put this game to bed as quickly as possible and, after building a 30-point lead in the first half, the game was effectively over. Bradford are now a best-priced 5/1 with Bet Internet and Sporting Oddsto win the Grand Final.