Super League Rivals Round predictions: Love Rugby League versus Sky Sports presenter Brian Carney

Love Rugby League takes on Sky Sports presenter Brian Carney in this week’s predictions for Rivals Round in Super League.

In a weekly series coming up throughout 2024, the Love Rugby League team will be taking on the Sky Sports experts in making score predictions for each Super League round.

And just for a bit of fun, we’re going to keep a running league table, so it’ll be 1 point for a correct result and 3 points for a correct scoreline. This can either make us experts look like we know what we’re talking about, or, indeed, quite the opposite! We’ll keep a running table all season.

Love Rugby League‘s Drew Darbyshire went up against Sky Sports quintet Kyle Amor, Barrie McDermott, Dave Woods, Jon Wells and Jenna Brooks in the opening five rounds, with Brian Carney up next..

Castleford Tigers v Leeds Rhinos

BC: Cas are incredibly vulnerable at the moment. Paul McShane coming back for them is a glimmer of hope, I’ve got Leeds in this one by double figures, probably 16. Leeds are better than last year but I still think they are way off being a top three side.

Brian’s pick: Leeds by 16

DD: Cas are going to make a real fist of it, but I reckon the visitors will be taking the two points from the Jungle in the opening Super League game of the Easter weekend. The Tigers got their first win of 2024 last week at Batley in the Challenge Cup which will give them some confidence, but I think the Rhinos will just have a bit too much on Thursday night.

Drew’s pick: Leeds by 10

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Hull Kingston Rovers v Hull FC

BC: I would say Hull FC aren’t a hopeless case, but they are doing a good impression of one at the moment. Hull KR will win this one, but this is maybe where a surprise comes.. I’m going to tip Hull FC to keep Hull KR to a single digit win.

Brian’s pick: Hull KR by 8

DD: I think the general consensus seems to be KR winning by a landslide, but I don’t think that’ll be the case. Without trying to sound too cliché, it’s a derby, not just a standard league game against another club. I think Hull FC will show a much-improved performance compared to recent weeks, but I think KR will be too strong this week.

Drew’s pick: Hull KR by 20

RELATED: 6 players who have featured for both Hull FC and Hull KR in the derby

St Helens v Wigan Warriors

BC: Had James Bell had his suspension overturned I was favouring St Helens in this one. While no longer champions, they are a champion side. I think his absence swings this slightly in favour of Wigan but only slightly. The Warriors should have been punished against Salford for a below par performance but weren’t. Saints wouldn’t make that mistake. Wigan, just, but I won’t be startled by a St Helens win.

Brian’s pick: Wigan by 1

DD: Incredibly tough one to call. Wigan haven’t lost a game since July, but Saints are on home turf, with 15,000 home fans cheering them on. I think the Warriors will edge it, but agreeing with Brian, I wouldn’t be surprised with a Saints win either.

Drew’s pick: Wigan by 4

Warrington Wolves v Catalans Dragons

BC: This is one where I want to try and get a handle of where Warrington are at. They’ve worked their way into the season after losing to Catalans in Round 1, but I’m not entirely convinced on Warrington, that’s not because of anything they’ve done but because of the opposition they’ve faced. You may point to Hull KR, but I’m looking above that, I’m looking at top three, it’s a bit like Leeds. What’s your ambition? Be a four to six side or be a top three side? Leeds and Warrington will probably state that they want to be top three. They haven’t been able to determine yet whether they are that side, we’ll be able to get a closer look on Saturday but the only slight caveat on that is with Catalans, I don’t think we’ve seen them at their very best this year and certainly not against top opposition because they haven’t faced it. Saturday is a learning experience for me on both teams.

Brian’s pick: Warrington by 4

DD: Agree with Brian. Probably with the exception of Hull KR, Warrington have been expected to win all of their games since Round 1, which, to their credit, they have done to an impressive standard. The acid test for Sam Burgess’ side is seeing how they get on against a top team in Catalans this time around. With them having home advantage, I’ll tip the Wolves to edge past the Dragons in this one.

Drew’s pick: Warrington by 4

ANALYSIS: Matt Dufty and the 6 standout stats behind his impressive star to 2024

Salford Red Devils v Leigh Leopards

BC: I went and watched Salford’s game against Hull KR in the Cup and they were a shadow of the side that pushed Wigan so close. They are unlikely to have as bad of a performance again I would say, so if Salford regress to their average, I think they’ll have just a bit too much for Leigh, who were superb against Hull FC and have some of their star men absent like John Asiata, Tom Amone and Edwin Ipape. I’ll go Salford just to edge this one in golden point.

Brian’s pick: Salford by 1

DD: This is the flip of a coin for me. I can’t say with my chest which way this is going to go, so for a bit of fun, I’ll go the opposite to Brian’s prediction and I’ll tip Leigh by a point. We saw Lachlan Lam deliver on the biggest of stages in the Challenge Cup final last year with a match-winning drop goal, so I’ll go for something similar on Saturday.

Drew’s pick: Leigh by 1

UPDATE: Leigh Leopards dealt Keanan Brand injury blow as Adrian Lam reveals timeframe

London Broncos v Huddersfield Giants

BC: All the pressure is on the visitors here, make no mistake about that, not just to win, but to win well. Going down there and winning 24-16 would tell you more about Huddersfield than it does about London. Again, what do Huddersfield want to be? Are they looking at places 6, 7 and 8? Or 5, 4, 3? Or 3, 2, 1? At the moment it’s certainly not 3, 2, 1 material. If they go to London and put a big score on London, you think right okay, they are maybe starting to get their act together.

Brian’s pick: Huddersfield by 28

DD: I can’t see anything but a Huddersfield win – but I do think the Broncos will rustle some feathers in the capital on Sunday. London certainly have the players to score points, but I think Huddersfield’s crisp attack, which is brilliant when on their day, will prove too much for the hosts.

Drew’s pick: Huddersfield 18

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Love Rugby League versus Sky Sports: The running league table for predictions

Remember, it’s 1 point for a correct result and 3 points for a correct scoreline.  The scores on the doors after Round 5: Love Rugby League 27-30 Sky Sports

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