SUPER League's mischief maker has been up to his old tricks again writes Chris Hall

St Helens' cheeky supremo Ian Millward has a habit of knowing exactly how to unsettle his opponents on the eve of a big game - especially arch rivals Wigan.

And this week he started the mind games ahead of tonight's semi-final showdown by announcing the Warriors team selection to the press before his opposite number had the chance.

This may appear innocent enough at first. Millward was simply explaining how he now had to prepare for a containing job on Terry Newton and Julian O'Neill after discovering the pair would both surprisingly be fit for the Knowsley Road encounter.

But the genius behind Millward's Machiavellian plan lay in its subtlety.

Not only did his announcement rain on Stuart Raper's parade at Wigan's press conference just one hour later but it will also have raised concerns of a mole inside the JJB Stadium, who could be leaking secret tactical information to the other side of Billinge Hill.

It's more likely that Millward actually didn't have any inside information at all and that he simply made an educated guess. Either way, he will have achieved his goal of raising Raper's blood pressure a degree or two.

The Rugby Football League have made another massive PR blunder in bowing to Sky Television pressure and agreeing to stage the Northern Ford Premiership Grand Final at the same time as England's Euro 2004 qualifier against Slovakia tomorrow night.

This is the one and only time of the year that neutrals and newcomers to rugby league are attracted by the prospect of watching lower division rugby and previous Saturday afternoon finals have pulled in impressive viewing figures for ITV.

Now not only has the match been restricted to satellite TV but it also must compete with an England international, leaving it with an expected audience of thousands rather than millions.