Club Call 2009 - Leeds choose to play Catalan.

Leeds have chosen to play Catalan at Headingley, leaving the biggest game of the weekend at St Helens as the hosts take on local rivals Wigan on Saturday night. To no ones surprise, Brain McLennan and Gary Hetherington chose to play the lowest rank side out of the two preliminary semi final winners, which was the French outfit after they scraped into the play offs in the final round of the season after a dramatic win over St Helens.

But selecting Catalan was not simply down to them being the lowest ranked side. Catalan have to travel from the south of France travelling over 1,500 miles, the fourth time they will have done the trip to the north of England in four weeks. To top it off, the St Helens and Wigan derby is always a fierce contest and the choice to send Wigan down the East Lancs Road and play their closest rivals will tire both teams a week before the Grand Final. Of course, only one can make Old Trafford.

So what will the outcome be come Friday and Saturday night? Well you would think Leeds will walk all over Catalan at Headingley. But as mentioned in the announcement, will Leeds have instantly motivated the Catalan side to prove they are not the worst of the four sides left in the competition? As for Saturday night, its another tough call. Without a doubt Wigan are the form team of the two. But Sean Long can, and has in the past, defeated Wigan single handedly. To make things even more nervous for Wigan fans, this is the last time Sean Long will walk onto the Knowsley Road pitch wearing the red vee shirt.

I'm predicting the Grand Final will host a Leeds V St Helens final.