By
Gavin Willacy on September 06th, 2017
With three rounds of games left, even eighth-place Huddersfield Giants can reach the play-offs – although prop Shannon Wakeman says it’s ‘extremely unlikely’
By Gavin Willacy for No Helmets Required, part of the Guardian Sport Network
Having watched Wigan and Leeds winning tricky fixtures on TV last week, you would be forgiven for assuming they will join League Leaders Castleford and Challenge Cup winners Hull FC in the play-off semi-finals at the end of the month. But Wakefield’s astonishing season, only overshadowed – much to their chagrin – by the sublime weekly exploits of their deadly rivals Cas, goes on. Beat St Helens on Thursday and they will end the Old Trafford dreams of not only Saints but Salford and Huddersfield, too. Wakefield will then be crossing everything that Hull see off Wigan again on Friday night. They would put Wakey three points clear with two games to go. Wins for Saints or Wigan and it becomes any two from four to join Cas and Leeds.
Before the last round, Huddersfield looked dark horses for the semis. If results had gone their way, they could have been just a point off fourth right now. Instead, they lost at home to Castleford and returned to the dressing room to hear that Wakefield had hammered Salford. That double whammy leaves Rick Stone’s Fartown almost certainly out of the play-off equation, five points adrift with only three games to play. However, imagine this: St Helens win at Wakey on Thursday, Hull beat Wigan on Friday and Huddersfield win at Salford on Saturday. It could happen – and the gap would be down to three points with two rounds left!
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