2018 Rugby League Challenge Cup Final

2018 Rugby League Challenge Cup Final

Saturday 25th August sees the 117th version of the Rugby League Challenge Cup final which reaches its conclusion at Wembley Stadium on Saturday as huge underdogs Catalans Dragons take on the mighty Warrington Wolves.

Despite entering the event as the outsiders, The Catalans are more than equipped with strength in depth to cause Warrington issues and win this competition for the very first time in their clubs history.

The Dragons have only made the final on one other occasion, where they were on the losing side of a 30-8 thrashing against St. Helens in 2007.

Warrington meanwhile, have an incredibly rich history in the Challenge Cup, winning it no less than eight times, with the most recent of those coming back in 2012, and also making a further nine final appearances.

With little to play for in terms of the Super League, Catalans have made a number of team changes in recent weeks resulting in back-to-back losses.

This could result in one of two things. The first being that they are fresh and ready to go at Wembley with a strong squad, or they have halted their own good momentum. Prior to their semi-final win over St. Helens, the Dragons had only lost two of their previous 12 games in all competitions.

During that run, Catalans were posting points – which means it is worth backing players to perform on the big stage and cross the line for tries.

In particular, the winger Yaha has enjoyed a great season and is a clear leader in the try scoring for his team and could be a great bet as an anytime try scorer.

The winger has crossed the try line on 12 occasions already this season, and form in recent weeks has been scintillating with half of those tries coming in the last five matches.

The Catalans will be very optimistic about their recent changes and will hope their good form will pay off for them here.

Challenge Cup Final – Special Bets

There is definitely some value in looking at the special free bets on this match.

1. You can get 6/1 each of two for the first scoring play to be a penalty and there looks to be value here as a “Dutch Bet”
2. In what is a tight game it may pay to side with the Dragons with a six point start at 11/10
3. Tony Gigot looks a fair bet for Man Of The Match at 16/1, (Betfred and Boylesports) a proven try scorer who also chips in with the odd drop goal.

The last time these two teams met ended in a 56-6 mauling for the Dragons, but expect it to be much closer on Saturday.