Talking points - What we learned from the latest round of Super League action

Here, to save you the trouble, our man Dave Craven picks out a handful of talking points to arise from the weekend’s action.

1: The Qualifiers just got really interesting ...

With heavy defeats for Championship sides Featherstone Rovers and Batley Bulldogs in the opening two rounds of the Qualifiers, it would be easy to suggest the much-maligned Middle 8s is heading for another one-way Super League fest in 2016.

However, Leigh Centurions’ win against top-flight Salford Red Devils has suddenly opened up all sorts of scenarios.

It was always a given that at least one Super League side would be condemned to the Million Pound Match between fourth v fifth for the last 2017 Super League placing.

But with Leigh having won their opening two fixtures and venturing to winless Featherstone on Sunday they will, in all likelihood, head into the Wembley break with three victories from three outings.

With confidence soaring, Neil Jukes’s side are rightly feeling they could claim third spot - maybe even higher - in the Middle Eights table and, thus, relegating another Super League side to that sudden death contest.

Take a look at Leigh’s run-in and you can see why optimism is growing; they head to Hull KR a week after Wembley in a game they will really fancy especially if Rovers fail to win at Salford this Friday.

It is the home fixture with Huddersfield Giants on September 10, however, that Leigh always privately targeted as being their most likely top-flight scalp.

If they can come out on top there they then host Batley - who lost 76-16 at Championship London Broncos yesterday - and could, therefore, conceivably finish off at Leeds Rhinos, comfortably the best side in the division, without any pressure to force a result.

Salford are in dire need of a win on Friday as they are at Leeds the week after Wembley and Huddersfield will certainly be glad they are visiting Batley this week to hopefully build up some momentum of their own.

Whatever happens, all three - Huddersfield, Salford and Hull KR - will now know two of them could be in that crunch relegation decider if Leigh hold their nerve. Worrying times for them but exciting for everyone else.

2: Denny Solomona loves a try ...

In completing his fifth hat-trick of the season against Wigan on Friday, the Castleford Tigers winger now has an incredible 33 tries for the campaign - in just 24 matches.

Two of those came in the Challenge Cup win over Salford so his Super League tally reads 31 in 22 matches.

With five games to go - as good as Cas have been in beating Hull and Wigan in the Super 8s, the top-four looks out of reach - Solomona now has a real chance of breaking the record for most tries in a summer season.

Lesley Vainikolo and Danny McGuire both crossed 38 times in 2004, Leeds Rhinos’ McGuire memorably scoring as they won their first Grand Final against his rival’s Bradford side.

Few people thought those sorts of feats would ever be emulated given blockbusting winger Vainikolo was such a sheer freak of nature and try-poacher McGuire is Super League’s greatest-ever try scorer with more than 200 now to his name.

But with Castleford being such a free-flowing side and the pressure now clearly off them, do not be surprised if the Kiwi flier surpasses those two legends during the final run-in against Warrington, Wakefield, Widnes, Catalans and St Helens.

3: Completion rates ...

I hate the term as it immediately brings connotations of mundane rugby, getting to a kick, bashing out sets in the grind etc etc.

However, if ever a coach needs to highlight just how important it is to complete sets and limit mistakes the evidence can be found in some of these Qualifiers games in particular.

Featherstone held their own initially despite spilling the ball three consecutive times coming away from their own half in the first period at Huddersfield.

But the way they were picked apart later in the game, when drained of energy due to those earlier defensive efforts, to lose 62-16, it just reminded everyone how priceless possession truly is.