The two sides tipped pre-season by many as the two relegation prospects have had contrasting starts to the season and while both Wakefield Trinity and the Leigh Leopards will have identified this afternoon´s encounter as a key one for their season the Bookies strongly favoured that it would be the Leopards who would inflict further misery on the home side.

Wakefield are winless after the first eight rounds of Super League, and have failed to score a single point in half of their games so far in 2023.

The Leopards have beaten both Hull sides and claimed the famous scalp of Champions St Helens in their opening games and will count themselves as unlucky to have lost narrowly in three other outings, especially last week´s two-point loss to Salford.

Super League´s only pointless side, Wakefield Trinity, had an ominous looking trip to the AJ Bell Stadium to take on an in form Salford Red Devils in the final game of round five on Sunday afternoon.

The Red Devils were big favourites for the win, especially after running in sixty points against Hull FC last time out but would need a big points win to improve their league position.

Wakefield haven´t scored a single point in their last three outings and had been conceding at the rate of thirty-three points a game.

There could only be one winner.

As winter shook it´s angry fist at the north of England for the first time in 2023, the Rhinos had taken all necessary precautions to ensure that tonight´s match against bottom of the table Wakefield Trinity would be able to go ahead despite ample snow covering the side roads surrounding Headingley Stadium.

Wakefield came into the game still seeking their opening win of the new campaign while the Rhinos were looking to double up after their sensational last-gasp victory over World Club Champions St Helens in the last round at the Totally Wicked Stadium.

The bookies could see only one winner, giving Trinity a sixteen-point start on the coupon, but the Rhinos went into the game fully aware that they were massive underdogs last time out and still came away with the points.

Despite freezing temperatures overnight, the undersoil heating at Emerald Headingley ensured that the traditional Boxing Day game between the Leeds Rhinos and Wakefield Trinity was never in doubt and a crowd still stuffed with Christmas treats, and some nursing slightly sore heads, made their way into the ground.

Leeds’ squad included new signings Justin Sangare, Derrell Olpherts, and James McDonnell and whilst there is a welcome return from injury for Morgan Gannon and Tom Holroyd, who all missed the end of last season on the side-lines.

It was also a strong Wakefield side named by new coach Mike Applegarth with a good mix of senior players and those looking to break into the first team ahead of the 2023 season including two new signings, Renouf Atoni and Morgan Smith.

The Rhinos have won three quarters of the Boxing Day challenges against Wakefield, including last year when Leeds win by 34-6.

There was simply no option for Willie Poching´s Wakefield Trinity, they had to beat the Castleford Tigers in tonight’s round twenty-one game.

But Lee Radford also needed the win for his side who were looking to consolidate their position in the top six and pull further clear of the chasing pack.

The Tigers were strong favourites with the bookies, Wakefield getting a fourteen-point start on the handicap coupon but sometimes surprises are borne out of desperation and the Trinity fans came into the game hoping that this might be one as they made the short journey to the Jungle looking for their first victory over the Tigers since 2015.

With Toulouse Olympique XIII going down in a close game with the Salford Red Devils on Saturday, Willie Poching´s Wakefield Trinity side had the ideal opportunity to lift themselves off the bottom of the table.

The only snag was that they had to get a win against the most dominant side in Super League, defending Champions and Champions elect St Helens.

It was top against bottom.

Optimism was in short supply amongst the Wakefield supporters, and the bookies agreed as they gave the home side a fourteen-point start on the coupon, all expectations were that Trinity´s position at the bottom would continue and they would see a worsening of their points difference.

The sides took the field in miserable conditions as the rain fell.

Most opening games of the Magic Weekend are dour mid-table affairs, put on for a handful of spectators while those of clubs not involved make the most of the many hostelries which Newcastle has to offer.

But this season is an exception with the bottom two clubs in the competition being thrown together in a massive tussle for two points which could prove decisive at the end of the season and was guaranteed to get the neutrals into the stadium early.

A win for Trinity would put them six points clear of Toulouse in the relegation spot, the French side with a near impossible mountain to climb, but should Toulouse overcome the slight odds against them and get their fourth win of the season, then the gap between the two sides would be down to just two points and all to play for.

The bookies nor pundits could really split them, neither could their two encounters so far this season, the St James Park pitch was all set for a match of epic significance.

With two sides at opposite ends of the table, there was much to play for between Wakefield Trinity and Wigan Warriors with very different aspirations.

Wigan wanted the two points to get within two points of St Helens at the top of the table after they lost to the Dragons last night while Trinity were getting dragged closer to the relegation spot after Toulouse surprised Hull KR yesterday.

The bookies couldn´t see past a big Wigan win with Trinity getting a fourteen-point start on the handicap coupon, mainly because they were walloped by the Salford Red Devils last time out in a humiliating 74-10 defeat.

Wigan were looking for a fifth consecutive win and most pundits believed that they wouldn´t have an issue.

Wakefield Trinity took on the Wolves as a bottom of the table dogfight took place on Sunday afternoon at Belle Vue with ninth against eleventh and the chance of all change with a home win by twenty-four points or more heralding a position switch to push the Wolves into eleventh spot.

Wakefield won the round six the game in Warrrington back in mid-March by 38-22, and a week later they knocked Warrington out of the Challenge Cup by a score line of 16-12, today they were looking for the treble.

The home side were given a four-point start on the coupon, the bookies struggling to pick a winner but favouring the Wolves based on league position.

Following the shock announcement that Tony Smith would be leaving Hull KR at the end of the season, the Robins came into a rare Saturday afternoon game with their eyes on a potential fourth place in Super League, but they would need to defeat a Wakefield Trinity side who desperately needed a win after a couple of recent heavy defeats, to Wigan and Castleford.

The visitors had their free scoring talisman Tom Johnstone back in the side along with full back Max Jowitt and half back Jordan Abdull to give them a far more robust look.

KR had escaped with the points from a close game with Toulouse on Bank Holiday Monday and they welcomed back Lachlan Coote and utility back Sam Wood who were both absent in France.

The bookies had KR as the favourites and had given the visitors a ten-point start on the handicap coupon.

Warrington started this home Cup tie as clear favourites to beat Wakefield at home and book a date to welcome Wigan to the Halliwell Jones Stadium in the quarter final.

The bookies had them at 10-3 on for the win, while Trinity were 5-2 - despite beating their hosts in the league last weekend.

Warrington started this home Cup tie as clear favourites to beat Wakefield at home and book a date to welcome Wigan to the Halliwell Jones Stadium in the quarter final.

The bookies had them at 10-3 on for the win, while Trinity were 5-2 - despite beating their hosts in the league last weekend.

The Huddersfield Giants had their hearts set on sixth spot as they travelled the short distance to take on Wakefield Trinity who were in the market for their second win of the season after a great win ove Hull KR last time out.

The Giants were the favourites to get the win with the bookies, having being given an eight point handicap on the coupon, as they looked to go sixth by overtaking the Castleford Tigers on the league ladder after their Friday night massacre at the hands of the Leeds Rhinos.

These West Yorkshire derbies are often tetchy affairs for which the form book can be torn up and tossed aside, it was an intriguing battle in prospect.

When the Catalans Dragons and Wakefield Trinity met in the third round of the Challenge Cup three weeks ago it was a comfortable victory for the French side as they ran out as 26-6 winners to make progress and line up a quarter final tie against the Warrington Wolves next weekend.

Coach McNamara made several changes to his victorious cup side with McIlorum and Seguir in the starting line-up and Joel Tomkins and Jordan Dezaria on the bench.

Wakefield had loanees Olly Ashall-Bott (Giants) and Josh Eaves (Saints) in their seventeen and making debut as they suffered a temporary injury crisis.

Trinity can’t get a win anywhere and you get the feeling that if they were handed one, they’d probably drop it, while the Dragons slipped up against Warrington last week to tarnish their unbeaten record in 2021.

The bookies strongly fancied a Dragons win with Wakefield being given an eight-point start on the coupon.

Wakefield Trinity were the designated home side at Emerald Headingley as they took on the Leeds Rhinos in the third game of the opening round of Super League 2021.

It was the first game of a double header which would later see the Catalans Dragons face Hull KR.

The Rhinos were favourites to start the season with a win, something that they have done more often than not over the last twenty-five years.

Wakefield had a six-point start on the coupon indicating that there was the expectation of a close game after four months for both sides without kicking a competitive ball.

There was no place in the Rhinos seventeen for acquisition Kyle Eastmond, but they did give a debut to new boy Zane Tetevano.

The dead-rubber to end all dead-rubbers as Wakefield Trinity and the Salford Red Devils did battle to see who would finish this most extraordinary of seasons in ninth place, and who would end it in tenth.

Salford needed a win to overcome the three-win deduction which they suffered earlier in the week and jump ahead of Trinity, while the Dreadnoughts knew that a win would secure them ninth but also that they couldn’t catch the Castleford Tigers in eighth.

The season was effectively over, and the stage was set for a game between two sets of players who were already in an off-season mindset and who would be going out of their way to ensure that they didn’t pick up any injuries.

Both coaches named strong looking squads, but both also admitted to being down to the bare bones of their squads as injuries and coronavirus took their toll.

A late change saw Dan Sarginson replaced with Niall Evalds for Salford after Sarginson picked up an injury in the warm-up.

Round eighteen saw the battle of the wooden spoon as Wakefield Trinity hosted Hull KR for a Sunday afternoon kick off.

Both sides have a twenty percent win record with Wakefield currently bottom by virtue of KR having a better points difference.

Wakefield grabbed a crucial win over the Huddersfield Giants last time out while Hull KR lost to the Castleford Tigers, both clubs having had just two days to recover from their exploits.

A win for either side would see them in tenth place in the table, Salford Red Devils were too far ahead for either side to make much of an impression on ninth spot.

 Local bragging rights were up for grabs as fifth places Castleford Tigers hosted a Wakefield Trinity side who are currently ninth, but have a game in hand.

A seven point win for the visitors would see them above their hosts but a big home win could see them top the table, depending on other results in round four.

The Tigers had a disappointing trip to the south of France last weekend where they lost out to the Catalans Dragons and they welcome back talisman Peter Mata’utia after he missed the last two games through suspension.

Wakefield named an unchanged line-up from the side which beat the Warrington Wolves last time out.

Windy conditions threw a pre-match curve ball to both coaches but a big crowd anticipated a competitive game.

The drinks were being poured in the last chance saloon and the fat lady was going through her scales as Wakefield Trinity welcomed the London Broncos for the last game of the regular Super League season.

It would be a devastating Friday 13th for one of four sides, and both of tonights opponents were in the mix.

While the maths were far from simple, a win for either side guaranteed them safety and a 2020 season playing the Super League.

Wakefield would be safe, even if they sustain a loss, providing one of either Huddersfield (v.

The Catalans Dragons) or Hull KR (v.

Salford Red Devils) also lost their game tonight.

It was bound to be a nerve tingling night for the supporters of all four clubs in danger of the drop.

Thursday night rugby was a real mid-table scrap as a Wigan side in the ascendency looked to cement their place in the play-off places while a Wakefield side, seemingly on the wane after a great start to the season, were looking to avoid getting dragged into the relegation dogfight.

The home side were without the injured Tommy Leuluai, skipper Sean O’Loughlin, and Joe Bullock and had an unfamiliar looking bench.

Wakefield were without Mason Caton-Brown, replaced in the line up by a semi-fit David Fifita.

Trinity have won just one of their last eight matches but they were victorious when the two sides met in April at the Mobile Rocket Stadium.

Wigan had a three win run to defend, but none of the recent victories have been particularly convincing.