RUGBY LEAGUE fanatic Andrew Day (@AndyDay81) earmarks his standout Super League selection from Friday night's fixtures.
Hull FC v Catalan Dragons | Friday 23rd March 2018, 19:45
Last season’s Challenge Cup winners Hull find themselves in a bit of a rut after a poor start to the season. Despite an opening day win over the Huddersfield Giants they have won just once since – a 21–12 victory over Warrington – and recorded four defeats in the process.
Last weekend’s surprise 24-8 defeat to Salford Red Devils was followed by further turmoil this week with the shock departure of leading prop forward Liam Watts to rivals Castleford and manager Lee Radford will hope the visit of the league’s bottom club will help improve the club’s fortunes.
Catalans are similarly struggling– with only a gutsy 18–16 win against Hull KR to their name. The visitors have lost their other five fixtures with the Warrington Wolves the last team to take two points with a demoralising 26-0 triumph.
The Dragons have conceded an average of 23.6 points per-game this season and when compared to their average score – just 10 points per-game – it is hard to see where their next victory will come from.
They will take heart however, from the fact they did the double over Hull in the league last season, including a 16–14 win on their last trip to the KCOM Stadium.
The betting angle
The stats don’t lie: Catalans concede plenty of points and score very few.
Despite a poor start to the season – and a similar points per-game conceded record – Hull have a healthy average points scored per-game of 18.5.
This fact alone is why I fancy Hull to eat up the -12.5 handicap given by 188Bet and win this encounter at a canter.
Best Bets
Hull FC v Catalan Dragons – Hull FC -12.5 handicap (10/11 188Bet)
