Magic Weekend preview

Saturday 9 July

Wakefield Trinity v Toulouse Olympique (14.30) - Sky Sports Arena & Mix

What a game to kick off Magic Weekend! After Toulouse's win against Hull KR in Round 17, it's all to play for in Newcastle. The French side have the chance to close the gap at the bottom to just two points with a win on Saturday, but Trinity may have something to say about that.

Josh Bowden comes straight into the Trinity squad following his mid-week move to West Yorkshire, bolstering Wakefield's pack ahead of Saturday's trip to Newcastle.

Eloi Pelissier is included in the Toulouse squad after missing last weeks win against Hull KR. Matty Russell and Guy Armitage are again named in the 21-man squad despite failing to feature last week, whilst Mitch Garbutt is a notable absentee from this week.

Wakefield Trinity: Max Jowitt, Jacob Miller, Mason Lino, Liam Hood, Tinirau Arona, Matty Ashurst, Kelepi Tanginoa, Jay Pitts, Jordy Crowther, Jai Whitbread, James Batchelor, Jack Croft, Brad Walker, Harry Bowes, Lewis Murphy, Corey Hall, Thomas  Minns, Rob Butler, David Fifita, Kyle Evans, Josh Bowden.

Toulouse Olympique: Latrell Schaumkel, Paul Marcon, Corey Norman, Lucas Albert, Romain Navarrete, Harrison Hansen, Dominique Peyroux, Anthony Marion, Eloi Pelissier, Joseph Bretherton, Joseph Paulo, Ilias Bergal, Chris Hankinson, Justin Sangare, Guy Armitage, Matty Russell, Olly Ashall-Bott, Nathan Peats, Lambert Belmas, Tony Gigot, Daniel Alvaro.

👀 @TOXIII's Tony Gigot knows all about facing Trinity at #MagicWeekend 🎯

Will he be the difference on Saturday? 🔮 pic.twitter.com/g6hzE1JOwo
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) July 7, 2022

St Helens v Wigan Warriors (16.45) - Sky Sports Mix

Another huge match follows Trinity v Toulouse on Saturday, this time at the top of the table. Current league leaders Saints take on their fierce rivals Wigan - the Warriors have the chance to move level on points with the Champions with a win in Newcastle. 

Saints will be without star winger Tommy Makinson after it was revealed he suffered a hamstring injury during their defeat at Catalans last week. 

Makinson is replaced by the returning Will Hopoate, whilst Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook also rejoins the squad following a brief spell on the sidelines through injury. He replaces Josh Simm, who went out on loan to Hull FC this week.

Cade Cust and Morgan Smithies both return to the Wigan squad ahead of Saturday's clash with Saints. Cust has recovered from an injury picked up during the Challenge Cup Final in May and replaces Tommy Leuluai who drops out through injury. 

Smithies served the final game of his four match suspension last week and replaces Sam Halsall in the Warriors 21-man squad.

St Helens: Jack Welsby, Will Hopoate, Regan Grace, Jonny Lomax, Alex Walmsley, James Roby, Matty Lees, Sione Mata’utia, Joe Batchelor, Morgan Knowles, Joey Lussick, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Curtis Sironen, Agnatius Paasi, Jake Wingfield, James Bell, Ben Davies, Konrad Hurrell, Dan Norman, Jon Bennison, Dan Hill.

Wigan Warriors: Bevan French, Jake Bibby, Liam Marshall, Cade Cust, Brad Singleton, Sam Powell, Patrick Mago, Willie Isa, Liam Farrell, John Bateman, Morgan Smithies, Kaide Ellis, Harry Smith, Oliver Partington, Ethan Havard, Liam Byrne, Kai Pearce-Paul, Joe Shorrocks, Jai Field, Abbas Miski, Brad O'Neill. 

Leeds Rhinos v Castleford Tigers (19.00) - Sky Sports Main Event & Arena

It's a West Yorkshire derby to close the curtain on day one of Magic Weekend. Both teams head into the contest off the back of big wins in Round 17 as the race for the Play-Offs heats up.

The Rhinos will be without their skipper Kruise Leeming after he picked up a foot injury during their big win away at Hull FC last weekend. 

Cas are without both Paul McShane and Nathan Massey after the pair picked up suspensions during last weeks win against Huddersfield. Jake Trueman also misses out after he picked up a season-ending ACL injury last week. 

Liam Watts comes back into contention following the completion of his one-match ban, whilst Alex Sutcliffe is also included after recovering from a knee injury.

Leeds Rhinos: David Fusitu'a, Liam Sutcliffe, Ash Handley, Blake Austin, Aidan Sezer, Mikolaj Oledzki, Matt Prior, James Bentley, Rhyse Martin, Brad Dwyer, Richie Myler, Cameron Smith, Morgan Gannon, Sam Walters, Jarrod O'Connor, James Donaldson, Corey Johnson, Max Simpson, Jack Sinfield, Zak Hardaker.

Castleford Tigers: Niall Evalds, Derrell Olpherts, Jake Mamo, Bureta Faraimo, Danny Richardson, George Lawler, Kenny Edwards, Adam Milner, Joe Westerman, George Griffin, Mahe Fonua, Alex Sutcliffe, Daniel Smith, Greg Eden, Cheyse Blair, Suaia Matagi, Brad Martin, Jason Qareqare, Alex Mellor.

Who will run the fastest and the farthest this #MagicWeekend? We'll be getting live updates throughout the weekend with @catapultsports 🙌

Here are our leaders so for this season 👀 pic.twitter.com/C6jm9FWyWX
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) July 7, 2022

Sunday 10 July

Huddersfield Giants v Salford Red Devils (13.00) - Sky Sports Action

The Red Devils are on a hot streak whilst Huddersfield will be out to avenge their defeat against Cas last week. Salford are well in the race for a Play-Off spot and will be vying for three wins on the bounce in Betfred Super League when they travel Newcastle.

Huddersfield are boosted by the return of Theo Fages to their 21-man squad - Fages could feature for the first time since Round 12.

Captain Elijah Taylor returns to the Red Devils side after missing last weeks comeback win at Warrington. Joe Burgess is again included despite missing out in Round 17.

Huddersfield Giants: Will Pryce, Jermaine McGillvary, Ashton Golding, Tui Lolohea, Theo Fages, Danny Levi, Michael Lawrence, Josh Jones, Chris McQueen, Luke Yates, Matty English, Joe Greenwood, Owen Trout, Oliver Wilson, Leroy Cudjoe, Olly Russell, Innes Senior, Nathan Mason, Sam Hewitt, Jack Ashworth, Toby King.

Salford Red Devils: Ryan Brierley, Ken Sio, Kallum Watkins, Tim Lafai, Joe Burgess, Brodie Croft, Marc Sneyd, Sitaleki Akauola, Andy Ackers, Greg Burke, Elijah Taylor, Ryan Lannon, Harvey Livett, Chris Atkin, Jack Ormonroyd, Rhys Williams, Matt Costello, Sam Luckley, Deon Cross, Alex Gerrard, Tyler Dupree.

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— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) July 10, 2022

Catalans Dragons v Warrington Wolves (15.15) - Sky Sports Action

Catalans travel to Newcastle after toppling St Helens in France last weekend. The win has moved them back into third place as they face a Warrington side with just one win in their last seven league games.

Catalans will be without a trio of stars after three of their players picked up suspensions against St Helens last week. Micky McIlorum, Dylan Napa and Sam Kasiano all miss out ahead of their clash with Warrington on Sunday.

Matty Ashton returns to the Warrington squad after recovering from a glute injury. George Williams is also named after he missed last weeks game with Salford through injury.

Prop Mike Cooper misses out through illness with loan signing Kyle Amor also unavailable with a hamstring injury.

Catalans Dragons: Samisoni Langi, Fouad Yaha, Mitchell Pearce, Josh Drinkwater, Gil Dudson, Matt Whitley, Benjamin Garcia, Alrix Da Costa, Benjamin Jullien, Paul Seguier, Mickael Goudemand, Matthieu Laguerre, Arthur Romano, Tyrone May, Dylan Napa, Corentin Le Cam, Mathieu Cozza, Cesar Rouge, Romain Franco, Joe Chan, Sam Tomkins, Tiaki Chan.

Warrington Wolves: Matty Ashton, Joe Bullock, Daryl Clark, Jason Clark, Ben Currie, Matt Davis, Riley Dean, James Harrison, Oliver Holmes, Peter Mata’utia, Thomas Mikaele, Greg Minikin, Robbie Mulhern, Matty Nicholson, Stefan Ratchford, Josh Thewlis, Danny Walker, Jake Wardle, Gareth Widdop, George Williams, Connor Wrench.

Let’s look after what we love. Tackle 5 this #MagicWeekend with Sky Zero.

Visit https://t.co/JzC2Ytcl5y for more information on how to protect sport from climate change. #GoZero pic.twitter.com/1hjyLmehNH
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) July 8, 2022

Hull KR v Hull FC (17.30) -  Sky Sports Action

It's a huge Hull derby to finish Magic Weekend. The Robins will be looking for a response after a loss against bottom place Toulouse last week which resulted in Tony Smith being stood down as head coach. Hull FC head to Newcastle after a heavy home defeat against the Rhinos last time out.

Ryan Hall and George King remain sidelined through injury whilst Matty Storton also drops out due to complications with a toe injury.

Danny McGuire has called up two academy products ahead of his first game in charge this Sunday. Connor Moore and Zach Fishwick join the Robins 21-man squad for the first time.

There's more disruption to the Hull FC squad this week after three players were hit with suspensions following their heavy defeat to Leeds last weekend. Ligi Sao, Kane Evans and Jordan Johnstone will all miss the derby on Sunday.

Luke Gale rejoins the squad after recovering from injury, whilst Hull FC's three new loan signings -  Jack Walker, Josh Simm, and Ellis Longstaff - could all debut in Newcastle.

Hull KR: Lachlan Coote, Ben Crooks, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Albert Vete, Matt Parcell, Dean Hadley, Jez Litten, Korbin Sims, Elliot Minchella, Jimmy Keinhorst, Will Dagger, Mikey Lewis, Rowan Milnes, Will Maher, Ethan Ryan, Sam Wood, Greg Richards, Frankie Halton, Will Tate, Connor Moore, Zach Fishwick.

 Hull FC: Josh Griffin, Darnell McIntosh, Luke Gale, Danny Houghton, Chris Satae, Jordan Lane, Joe Lovodua, Brad Fash, Jack Brown, Connor Wynne, Jacob Hookem, Aidan Burrell, Jamie Shaul, Scott Taylor, Charlie Severs, Davy Litten,  Matty Laidlaw, Jack Walker, Josh Simm, Ellis Longstaff, Lewis Martin.