Are Hull FC in title hunt and how JJB stabilised Rhinos
IT IS the calm after the storm in Super League with the gruelling Easter programme officially done and dusted.
The table has taken shape after a two-week period that saw clubs play four games.
Three Yorkshire clubs occupy play-off places after 11 rounds, with Castleford Tigers, Leeds Rhinos and Wakefield Trinity on the outside looking in.
Here, The Yorkshire Post takes a look at the talking points across the county as Super League hits pause.
What a difference a week makes
This time last week, Huddersfield Giants were scratching around for form and Hull KR had a club-record seventh straight win in their sights.
Fast forward a few days and the Giants have renewed belief after defying a flu outbreak to grind out a hard-fought victory at Wakefield. Rovers, meanwhile, lost several players to injury including Lachlan Coote and Sam Wood in their costly defeat by Leeds, as well as Albert Vete to suspension.
The Robins will be a different proposition at Elland Road but Huddersfield head into the Challenge Cup semi-final as favourites after displaying the qualities needed to win a tense knockout game last time out.
Real deal or a false dawn?
Hull FC are fourth in Super League after making light work
of Toulouse Olympique to complete a hat-trick of wins on home soil – but the Black and Whites have been here before.
Brett Hodgson’s side were fifth after 11 rounds in 2021 only to fall apart, winning just one of their last 10 games.
The early evidence suggests the class of 2022 can handle adversity but that resolve will be tested in May.
In Super League’s quietest month, Hull will find out a lot about themselves in back-toback games against St Helens and Wigan Warriors.
Headingley hero pieces Rhinos back together
When Jamie Jones-Buchanan took the reins at Headingley in March, Leeds were sinking without a trace. Heavy home losses to Castleford and
St Helens represented an inauspicious start but JonesBuchanan quickly got the Rhinos playing in his image.
Leeds produced committed performances throughout the Easter period and their reward was five points, raising the prospect of a late play-off charge with a healthier squad under a new head coach in Rohan Smith.
Jones-Buchanan will be best remembered for his remarkable achievements as a player but his contribution when the club were at rock bottom should not be forgotten.
Wakefield face crunch time
Trinity were one of three teams – along with Salford Red Devils and Toulouse – to come through the Easter period emptyhanded.
But whereas Salford pushed Wigan and Saints close, Wakefield can only point to one competitive performance against Huddersfield.
Four straight defeats have seen Willie Poching’s side plummet from sixth to 11th ahead of a trip to Toulouse after the twoweek break. The French outfit – bolstered by the arrival of Corey Norman – will be gunning for Trinity, knowing a win would drag the West Yorkshire club into the relegation mix.
Castleford run out of steam
The Tigers jumped from 10th to eighth over Easter but they are smarting from a chastening defeat in Perpignan.
An away trip to Catalans Dragons is a tough assignment at the best of times, let alone at the end of a draining period.
The Dragons were simply too strong for Castleford and Lee Radford’s men are still some way from competing with the best.