ESL Roundup

Castleford 12-60 Bradford

Bradford piled on the misery for Super League bottom team Castleford with a 10-try hammering at the Jungle. Paul Deacon and Lesley Vainikolo led the spree as the Bulls showed their class in a one-sided affair on Sunday.

Deacon grabbed a try and kicked 10 goals while Vainikolo collected two touchdowns in each half.

Hooker Wayne Godwin got a try and two goals, while winger Darren Rogers also put the ball over the line to earn the Tigers' only points of the game.

Leon Pryce put Bradford ahead in the third minute when he chased his own kick to score.

Castleford's on-loan half-back Luke Robinson had a try disallowed six minutes later after following up his own neat kick.

In the 13th minute, Stuart Reardon and Robbie Paul split open the Castleford defence to put Vainikolo in for his first try.

He struck again three minutes later, thanks to Paul's inside pass - and Deacon's third goal made it 18-0.

The Tigers opened their account in the 22nd minute when Nathan Sykes' powerful drive paved the way for Godwin to go over for a try he also improved.

But Bradford soon replied when Deacon's 27th-minute penalty was followed by the first of two tries in by centre Shontayne Hape.

Hape scored his second three minutes before half-time and Deacon's sixth goal put Bradford out of sight at 32-6.

Bradford's Karl Pratt had a try disallowed for a forward pass shortly before the break and Joe Vagana had one ruled out early in the second period for a double movement.

The Bulls shot further ahead when Paul sent in Deacon, Jamie Peacock stormed over from 35 yards and Vainikolo completed his hat-trick with a 90-yard individual effort.

Andy Lynch sent Rogers over for Castleford's second try in the 71st minute and Godwin added the goal but Bradford completed the rout with further touchdowns from substitute Rob Parker and Vainikolo.

Tigers' second-rower Sean Ryan was carried off in the 54th minute with a serious looking leg injury.

Bradford coach Brian Noble was content with his side's performance despite the massive scoreline.

"A lot of the things we did today were very pleasing but it's important we recognise we have a fair bit of work to do," said Noble.

Noble was particularly impressed with the Reardon's performance.

He said: "It was Stuart's best display since he's been a full-back - he was very strong and had a big game."

Castleford coaching consultant Ellery Hanley admitted his side were thoroughly outclassed.

"It was quite evident that there was a huge gulf in class between the two teams," said Hanley.

"Our players tried their best but they didn't help their cause by giving away possession and making unforced errors.

"We've got to use our best endeavours to turn it round and get the players upbeat and ready to play 80 minutes." ----------------

Castleford: Hepworth, Gibson, Mellor, Tony, Rogers, Davis, Robinson, Lynch, Godwin, Jackson, M. Smith, Ryan, Clayton. Replacements: Greenhill, Sykes, B. Smith, King.

Bradford: Reardon, Pratt, Johnson, Hape, Vainikolo, L. Pryce, Deacon, Vagana, Paul, Fielden, Peacock, Swann, Radford. Replacements: A. Smith, Langley, Parker, Anderson. ******************

Warrington 22-38 Leeds Leeds extended their lead at the top of the Super League table with a convincing victory over Warrington. Marcus Bai and Chev Walker put Leeds into an early lead before Brent Grose and Nat Wood hit back for the Wolves.

Leeds stretched away before half-time as Matt Diskin and Francis Cummins went over - and three second-half tries put them comfortably in charge.

The Wolves rallied bravely after the break, but the match was marred by Andrew Dunemann's high tackle on Wood.

Dunemann was only placed on report for the second-half challenge that resulted in Wood being stretchered off in a neck brace because the referee had not seen the incident.

Bai's try came after just eight minutes as Dunemann kick caused confusion in the Warrington defence giving Ali Lauiti'iti and Keith Senior the chance to put the winger over.

Walker's speed took him clear of the cover for the second soon after but any fears of a Leeds landslide were abated when Grose and Wood scored in quick succession for Warrington.

Warrington's Mike Wainwright was sin-binned for blocking off McGuire - and that cleared the way for two more Leeds tries through Diskin and Cummins. The Wolves refused to cave in and scores from Darren Burns and Paul Noone raised hopes of a Wolves comeback.

But Leeds' class told as tries from Chris McKenna and two from McGuire - including a magnificent 60m sprint to the line - ensured the two points.

Warrington coach Paul Cullen was angry at the referee's handling of the Dunemann high tackle on Wood.

"Although I find it difficult to believe in these circumstances, I understand the process if a referee doesn't get a clear view of an incident," said Cullen.

"What frustrates me is that we were five metres from the Leeds line with players and momentum in our favour and the referee stops the game to put something on report.

"The subject needs to be addressed and we will do that in a different forum."

Leeds coach Tony Smith was full of praise for a fine all-round performance from his side.

"It was another tough game against a tough team," he said.

"Teams seem to lift themselves whenever they play but that is what you want.

"We have set pretty high standards this season and we have done well to get another win under our belts." -----------

Warrington: Cardiss, Appo, Grose, Westwood, Sibbit, Briers, N. Wood, Leikvoll, Clarke, Hilton, Noone, Wainwright, Forshaw. Replacements: Burns, P. Wood, Guisset, Lima.

Leeds: Mathers, Cummins, Walker, Senior, Bai, Dunemann, Burrow, McDonald, Diskin, Ward, Lauiti'iti, Jones-Buchanan, Sinfield. Replacements: McGuire, McKenna, Poching, McDermott. ********************

Hull 40 defeated Huddersfield 12

Hull kept up the pressure at the top with a comfortable 40-12 win over play-off rivals Huddersfield at the KC Stadium.

The Airlie Birds ran in seven tries as they swept the challenge of the Giants aside to move into joint second place.

Shaun Briscoe, Gareth Raynor, Ewan Dowes, Peter Lupton, Richard Horne, Michael Eagar and Richard Whiting all crossed for the home side. ********************** Wigan 56 defeated Widnes 8

Wigan caretaker coach Denis Betts revealed skipper Andy Farrell was not seriously hurt during Saturday night's comprehensive 56-8 victory over Widnes, despite leaving the action in the first half with a facial injury.

Farrell suffered a broken nose against Leeds a fortnight ago and was forced off after a tackle by Widnes skipper Andy Hay.

But Betts said: "It was more concussion than another whack on the nose.

"He wanted to come back on but it wasn't worth the risk and everyone stepped forward when he left the field."

Hooker Terry Newton scored four of Wigan's nine tries as the Warriors extended their unbeaten run in the Tetley's Super League to six games.

"I must admit I didn't expect such a scoreline but this has been coming for some time," Betts added. "It was great to watch and we attacked with great flair.

"Terry Newton has a tremendous workrate and is always around the ball when breaks are made.

"We've done it tough with three games in eight days but uncovered another couple of new stars.

"Liam Colbon did better than OK and was exceptional. He was running Terry Newton and Stephen Wild close for the man of the match before Terry's fourth try."

But Widnes boss Neil Kelly admitted he was shell-shocked and said: "I feel sorry for some of the players but it was a gutless performance the way we defended.

"We lacked imagination with the ball and it's time to do some deep soul searching.

"I've called the players in for training tomorrow which was not a scheduled session.

"I'm a very honest person and maybe I have to dispense with some of the dishonest people."

Kelly added: "We didn't bring Willie Peters over to defend and having him around in a performance like this was superfluous in many ways." ************************