TONIGHT'S big Super League clash between the Giants and the Wolves at the McAlpine (6.00) could have a massive bearing on who makes the play-offs and who misses out.

If Huddersfield win, Warrington can almost certainly wave goodbye to the hope of making the top six for a second successive season.

But if the Wolves triumph and Wakefield Trinity win at Widnes on Sunday, then the Wildcats will move above the Giants into sixth spot and claim pole position in the race for the sixth and final play-off spot.

It will, of course, also give the Wolves a new lease of life in their own bid.

Obviously, there are bound to be many more twists and turns between now and the end of the season.

But there's no doubt that this weekend could be a defining moment, particularly if Paul Cullen's Warrington fall by the wayside.

One look at the fixtures that remain for the three clubs battling it out to clinch the final play-off spot show the Wolves have by far the hardest run-in.

After tonight's McAlpine clash, they face Bradford Bulls home and away, Leeds and St Helens at home and Wigan away.

The other matches in their final eight fixtures are Salford home and away and at London.

Warrington are a very capable side, make no mistake about that, but are they seriously capable of winning over half of their last eight games?

In contrast, look who the Giants and the Wildcats have to play.

Huddersfield entertain Leeds, Castleford, Hull and Salford, while they face trips to St Helens (twice), Widnes and Wakefield.

It's tough, but there are certainly far more `winnable' games than for Warrington.

At the same time, Wakefield have home games against Castleford, Salford, Widnes and Huddersfield, and face trips to Leeds, Hull, London and Castleford.

And that, arguably, is the easiest run-in of the three.

However, with the way things are shaping up, it's the match on Sunday, September 12 that could prove the most crucial.

That's the day when Wakefield and Huddersfield meet at the newly-named Atlantic Solutions Stadium, or Belle Vue to the traditionalists.

It's not hard to imagine that whoever wins on this occasion could earn a Super League play-off place for the first time in their history.

In previous years, a battle between these two clubs at this stage of the season would have been a battle for Super League survival - as was the case three years ago.

But now they are battling for the right to stake a claim for a place in the Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford.

How times and circumstances can change!