Castleford (+8) v Warrington
Castleford haven't been going too badly of late and will have been delighted to end their long drought against Wakefield two rounds ago. Warrington suffered a shock loss to Hull KR but they can bounce back here. They are playing much better as a team now and will have learnt their lesson - I think they are one of the better bets of the round. They can win and cover the start.
Huddersfield (+8) v St Helens
Huddersfield have had a big last few weeks since they got their two new coaches on board. They have been playing well. St Helens welcome back Sean Long, who will get a bit of a tune-up ahead of Wembley, as does Nick Fozzard - so there are a couple of Saints players who need the run. As I said earlier, I'd normally oppose teams a week before the Challenge Cup Final, but St Helens will be talking about going into Wembley with confidence, going in with a good defensive performance - and I think they can get away with possibly losing a bit of intensity in this one. Take Saints to win and cover.
Bradford v Hull KR (+12)
Hull KR had a good win last week, but were thrashed at home by Harlequins. They are a very inconsistent team and that reflects where they are on the table at the moment. Bradford have improved in the last couple of weeks - Paul Deacon's return has had a lot to do with that. I'm going to go with Bradford who are a solid team at home, with Deacon, who has an excellent kicking game, to take them around the park. They can win and cover against inconsistent Hull KR.
Preview posted at 1620BST on 21/08/2008.
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