ESL Roundup - Round 6 Review

London Broncos 66 - Widnes Vikings 8

London Broncos climbed up to third place in Super League as they made it four home wins out of four with a 12-try demolition job on Widnes Vikings by 66-8.

Nick Bradley-Qalilawa got Broncos off to a flying start with a couple of tries in the first 16 minutes.

Zeb Luisi then went 80 metres following a London scrum in the shadows of their own posts.

And when John Kirkpatrick romped over for London?s fourth try on the half hour there was no way back for Widnes, who slumped to their fifth defeat of the season.

The Vikings? problems continued and before the break Broncos had moved out of sight with three more scores in quick succession from Solomon Haumono, Luke Dorn and Tyrone Smith.

In the second half Mark Tookey and Jon Wells went over for further Broncos tries before Widnes got a consolation score from Aaron Moule after 51 minutes.

Kirkpatrick got his second try after 59 minutes before Steve Trebor bulled his way over from close range after 63 minutes.

An incredible piece of handling from Mark McLinden set up London?s 12th try, Dorn finishing off the move.

Paul Sykes converted all of the second-half scores and finished with a total of nine goals from 12 attempts.

Widnes, who did not make a change in the second half due to injuries suffered, had the final word when Moule got his second try after good work from Sala Fa?Alogo.

London: Lucky Luisi, Bradley-Qalilawa, Smith, Sykes, Kirkpatrick, Dorn, Leuluai, Stephenson, McLinden, Trindall, Haumono, Hopkins, Mbu. Replacements: Wells, Tookey, Armour, Highton.

Widnes: Holmes, Emelio, Moule, Whittle, Rowlands, Finnigan, Hulse, O?Connor, Smith, O?Neill, Cassidy, Stankevitch, Frame. Replacements: Whitaker, Fa-alogo, Mills, Crook.

London (36) 66. Tries: Bradley-Qalilawa 2, Lucky Luisi, Kirkpatrick 2, Haumono, Dorn 2, Smith, Tookey, Wells, Trindall. Goals: Sykes 9.

Widnes (0) 8. Tries: Moule 2. ____________________ Warrington Wolves 14 - Huddersfield Giants 8

Warrington secured their second win of the season with a 14-8 win against Huddersfield on Sunday at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Wolves moved level on four points with the Giants but it was evident why neither side had set the engage Super League alight yet in the new campaign.

Warrington gave Chris Bridge, their close-season signing from Bradford Bulls, his debut and the scrum half did not take long to make his mark.

Bridge's neat pass sent Toa Kohe-Love sweeping over for the opening try after only five minutes, with skipper Lee Briers booting the conversion.

Stanley Gene, the Giants' centre, was placed on report by referee Ronnie Laughton after 23 minutes for an alleged use of the elbow.

Hefin O'Hare had a try disallowed for Huddersfield, who finally opened their account after 27 minutes with a Chris Thorman penalty.

Then the hosts? full-back Brent Grose produced the best moment of the match with a 50-yard solo try to make it 12-2 after 37 minutes.

Thorman cut the gap to 12-4 at the break with a penalty before the Giants dominated the opening 20 minutes of the second half but failed to grab a try.

Gene wasted a chance by passing inside with Marcus St Hilaire unmarked on the outside. Huddersfield did finally manage to score a try when Gene took Chris Nero's smart pass 12 minutes from time to go over and cut the gap to 12-8.

Warrington, with Logan Swann impressive in the forwards, kept Huddersfield at bay and stretched the lead to 14-8 through a Briers penalty in the 76th minute when Aussie hooker Brad Drew was sin binned for dissent.

Warrington: Grose, Faa'fili, M. Gleeson, Kohe-Love, Gaskell, Briers, Bridge, Westwood, Hilton, M. Gleeson, Swann, Wainwright, Clarke. Replacements: Appo, Bracek, Lima, Stevens.

Huddersfield: Reilly, O'Hare, Evans, Gene, St Hilaire, Thorman, March, Jackson, Drew, Gannon, Nero, Smith, Jones. Replacements: Slicker, Morrison, Crabtree, White.

Warrington (12) 14. Tries: Kohe-Love, Grose. Goals: Briers 3.

Huddersfield (4) 8. Tries: Gene. Goals: Thorman 2. _________________________________ St Helens 64 - Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 16

Sizzling St Helens turned on the style to hand engage Super League play-off hopefuls Wakefield an 11-try, 64-16 hammering and stay on the heels on unbeaten leaders Leeds.

Poor Wakefield had no answer to the free-flowing rugby served up by the great entertainers who twice got on a roll to put their visitors to the sword.

The Wildcats had their moments, particularly through the admirable efforts of half-backs Jamie Rooney and Sam Obst, but Saints destroyed them with the aid of two purple patches that clinched a 100th home win in Super League.

Three tries in six minutes midway through the first half put the home side in control by the break, when they led 24-12, and they shrugged off the absence of inspirational skipper Paul Sculthorpe for the entire second half to run in seven more tries.

Vinnie Anderson opened his account for the club and Darren Albert maintained his record of scoring in every match this season with a brace.

Saints struck after only four minutes when centre Willie Talau pounced on a dropped pass by Julian O'Neill and raced 50 metres unopposed to the line. O'Neill's misfortune was compounded by a wrist injury that forced onto the sidelines and, although he was able to return in the second half, the game was well and truly over by then.

The visitors were not afraid to give the ball air and their enterprise paid off when prop forward Steve Snitch finished off a superb handling move in which the ball went through nine pairs of hands.

Stand-off Rooney levelled the scores with the conversion but Saints created further clear-cut opportunities when Jamie Lyon twice got past his opposite number, 20-year-old rookie Kevin King. But Lyon lost the ball in Obst's tackle as he went to touch down and then scrum-half Sean Long was held up on his back over the line.

Wakefield were hanging onto their hosts by their fingertips at that stage but they lost their grip as St Helens cut loose for the first time.

Ade Gardner took Long's pass to cut inside a wrong-footed Colum Halpenny on 22 minutes and two minutes later second rower Lee Gilmour broke free to get Talau over for his second try. The Wildcats had barely recovered for that double blow when James Roby raced onto Keiron Cunningham's pass out of the tackle to grab his side's fourth try of the half, to which Sculthorpe added his fourth goal.

Wakefield hit back four minutes before half-time when Obst switched the direction of play and winger Andy Kirk squeezed over at the corner for his first try for the club.

Rooney's touchline conversion made it 24-12 and it could have been even closer had King not been held up over the line in the last minute of the half, but they were finally swept away as Saints hit their second purple patch of the game.

Albert got on the end of another quality pass from Lyon to cross at the corner for his seventh try of the season and substitute forward Mark Edmondson then charged over after Halpenny had dropped Long's high kick. Worse was to come for the shell-shocked visitors after two flashes of brilliance from Anderson set up second tries for both Albert and Roby.

With Sculthorpe failing to appear for the second half, Lyon took over the goalkicking and he succeeded with two of his four conversion attempts. Lyon also added a penalty after Roby was fouled in the act of scoring, turning his score into a rare eight-point try, and Cunningham deservedly got on the scoresheet on 61 minutes when he forced his way over from acting half-back.

Halpenny grabbed a consolation try on 64 minutes but Saints finished in total command with two more tries in the last eight minutes. Anderson forced his way over from close range and Cunningham grabbed his second, with Lyon taking his goal tally to six.

St Helens: Wellens, Albert, Lyon, Talau, Gardner, Roby, Long,Fozzard, Cunningham, P. Anderson, Gilmour, V. Anderson,Sculthorpe. Replacements: Edmondson, Graham, Bennett, Mason.

Wakefield: Halpenny, Kirk, Demetriou, King, Tadulala, Rooney,Obst, Griffin, March, Snitch, Solomona, J. Field, O'Neill. Replacements: Korkidas, Wrench, M. Field, Feather.

St Helens (24) 64 Tries: Talau 2, Roby 2, Albert 2, Cunningham 2, Edmondson, Gardner, V Anderson Goals: Sculthorpe 4, Lyon 6

Wakefield (12} }16 Tries: Snitch, Kirk, Halpenny Goals: Rooney 2 _______________________________ Bradford Bulls 32 - Hull FC 22

Bradford held off a resilient Hull side 32-22 at Odsal to grind out a fourth successive engage Super League win.

The Bulls twice led a tense encounter by 10 points but each time Hull fought back until substitute Andy Lynch killed them off with the decisive try 11 minutes from time.

Karl Pryce?s late touchdown gave the Bulls a score their overall dominance deserved but the home side were also indebted to the kicking of scrum-half Paul Deacon.

Deacon persistently pegged Hull back with eight goals and there were further tries from Iestyn Harris and Leon Pryce.

Nathan Blacklock claimed two for Hull but the Bulls did enough to take the points.

The Bulls, playing in their Irish-themed green kit as part of the St Patrick?s Day celebrations, dominated the early proceedings.

Deacon missed a penalty shot at goal in the second minute but the Bulls did not dwell on it as they charged into a 10-point lead within 13 minutes.

The opening try came after just five minutes when a Shaun Briscoe error gifted the Bulls possession and Harris worked his way past three tackles to touch down.

Deacon converted and then landed two penalties as the Bulls continued to press the visiting defence.

But after almost 20 minutes soaking up pressure, Hull suddenly burst into life with two tries in the space of three minutes.

Richard Horne sparked the revival with a break from halfway and then fed Blacklock for a try against the run of play.

Another followed almost immediately as Blacklock beat Lesley Vainikolo to a Horne kick and knocked the ball back for Michael Eagar to crash over in the corner.

Paul Cooke converted the first to level the scores but Hull?s indiscipline continued to cost them and two more Deacon penalties gave Bradford a 14-10 half-time lead.

The Bulls again stretched the lead to 10 for a second time early in the second half when Leon Pryce ran through a weak tackle by Chris Chester and crossed for another Deacon-converted try.

But again Hull, despite labouring when in their own half, produced some moments of brilliance on their rare attacking forays and again levelled the match.

Blacklock claimed his second try - awarded after lengthy consideration by the video referee over possible obstruction - when he cut inside from a Shayne McMenemy pass and squeezed over in the corner.

Gareth Raynor then slid onto a superb kick from Cooke into the opposite corner for a converted try that made it 20-20.

Had the onrushing Briscoe reached another well-weighted grubber kick from Horne, Hull might have been clear but they did claim the lead for the first time with a Cooke penalty on the hour.

Bradford were threatening to make heavy weather of a match they had dominated territorially but Deacon got them back level with yet another penalty.

The game-clinching try came when Blacklock failed to deal with a Robbie Paul kick under pressure from Karl Pryce and Lynch pounced on the loose ball.

The home fans were given an anxious wait as the video referee checked to see if Karl Pryce had knocked on.

A positive verdict was eventually given and Deacon converted to give the Bulls a lead this time they did not relinquish.

Karl Pryce wrapped up proceedings with a late touchdown on the wing.

Bradford: L. Pryce, Reardon, Langley, K. Pryce, Vainikolo, Harris, Deacon, Vagana, Paul, Fielden, Peacock, Meyers, Radford. Replacements: Ferres, Pratt, Lynch, Parker.

Hull: Briscoe, Blacklock, Eagar, Yeaman, Raynor, Cooke, R. Horne, Dowes, Swain, Thackray, McMenemy, Kearney, Chester. Replacements: Bailey, Saxton, Higgins, Lupton.

Bradford: (14) 32. Tries: Harris, L. Pryce, Lynch, K. Pryce. Goals: Deacon 8.

Hull: (10) 22. Tries: Blacklock 2, Eagar, Raynor. Goals: Cooke 3. __________________________ Leeds Rhinos 30 - Salford City Reds 12

Reigning champions Leeds overcame spirited Salford 30-12 at The Willows to maintain their 100% start to the season and extend their unbeaten Super League run to 19 matches.

First-half tries from Marcus Bai, Ali Lauitiiti and Barrie McDermott put Leeds in control, before Keith Senior and Rob Burrow grounded after the interval to ensure that Simon Baldwin?s 20th-minute effort for Salford was little more than consolation.

While this was not Leeds at their free-flowing best, the success nevertheless ensures that they now require just two more victories to equal the overall Super League record of 21 straight wins set by fierce rivals Bradford in 1996.

Salford were again deprived of the services of influential full-back Karl Fitzpatrick through injury, and with loose forward Chris Charles having also joined the casualty list, coach Karl Harrison gave a full debut to 18-year-old Darren Bamford at full-back.

Leeds coach Tony Smith changed the Leeds pack due to Gareth Ellis and Chris McKenna being ruled out through injury and brought Willie Poching in at second row and Jamie Jones-Buchanan in at loose forward.

The visitors began brightly and took just six minutes to resume where they left off during last Friday?s second-half demolition of Warrington.

Sloppy defending by Salford allowed Senior and Lauitiiti to work the ball out wide on the left to Bai, and the former Melbourne Storm winger showed great footwork to weave his way through and ground.

Kevin Sinfield, who was outstanding from start to finish, converted from a difficult angle before Leeds extended their lead 10 minutes later.

A high kick from scrum-half Burrow was tapped back by Lauitiiti, collected by Sinfield and played out to Senior.

The in-form Great Britain centre found Bai out wide and more delightful footwork took him close to the line before a perfect close-range offload allowed Lauitiiti to crash over the whitewash from close range.

Sinfield again successfully converted before Salford threw themselves a lifeline in the 20th minute when Baldwin showed fierce determination to shrug off the attention of three Leeds players to cross the line in the left corner.

Stuart Dickens converted, but Leeds remained in control, and although Chev Walker had an effort disallowed, veteran substitute McDermott was soon on hand to finish off an excellent pass from Sinfield, who again converted.

After a scrappy start to the second period, Leeds again breached the home rearguard when Senior collected Sinfield?s kick before grounding in the left corner to give his side further breathing space.

Sinfield goaled superbly from close to the touchline for his fourth straight success with the boot as Leeds began to find their form.

The outstanding Senior then created another opening which allowed Burrow to scamper over, before another immaculate conversion from Sinfield handed Leeds a 30-6 advantage.

Walker then made a lung-bursting run which saw him stopped by Anthony Stewart, who was subsequently sin-binned by referee Ian Smith for not allowing Walker to play the ball.

With five minutes remaining, winger David Hodgson briefly raised home spirits when he grounded in the corner, and although Luke Robinson converted admirably, Leeds had long since secured the points.

Salford: D. Bamford, Hodgson, Littler, Sibbit, Stewart, McGuinness, Robinson, Dickens, Alker, Rutgerson, Coley, Baldwin, Jonkers. Replacements: Haggerty, Clough, Brocklehurst, Stringer.

Leeds: Mathers, Calderwood, Walker, Senior, Bai, Sinfield, Burrow, Bailey, Dunemann, Ward, Lauitiiti, Poching, Jones-Buchanan. Replacements: McDermott, McDonald, Scruton, Botham.

Salford: (6) 12. Tries: Baldwin, Hodgson. Goals: Dickens, Robinson.

Leeds: (18) 30. Tries: Bai, Lauitiiti, McDermott, Senior, Burrow. Goals: Sinfield 5. ____________________________ Wigan Warriors 62 - Leigh Centurions 6

Wigan captain Kris Radlinski grabbed a hat-trick as the Warriors got their campaign back on track with a 62-6 victory over local rivals Leigh in front of over 15,000 spectators at the JJB Stadium.

After last week?s poor display at London, Wigan seemed desperate to make amends from the outset.

And they were well and truly out of sight by half-time to leave the Centurions still pointless and contemplating a long and difficult debut season in the engage Super League.

Wigan, again lacking Andrew Farrell, Danny Orr and Gaz Hock, were boosted by the return from injury of Great Britain winger Brian Carney and youngster Harrison Hansen, with Martin Aspinwall and Bob Beswick dropping to the bench.

The visitors, who pushed Wigan agonisingly close at Hilton Park in the Challenge Cup three years ago, welcomed back full-back John Wilshere, although they were again without new signing Dom Feaunati and playmaker Jason Ferris.

The opening exchanges were predictably fast and furious given the huge amount of local pride at stake, the visiting supporters taking every opportunity to find their voices on their first-ever Super League trip to the JJB Stadium.

It was Wigan, though, who took the lead with barely 10 minutes on the clock when Danny Tickle finished off a superb passing move down the right flank.

The young second-rower converted his own touchdown for a 6-0 lead, although Leigh spurned a golden opportunity to pull two points back almost immediately when the normally trusty boot of Phil Jones sliced a penalty attempt from an eminently kickable position.

Wigan made them pay 10 minutes later, the returning Carney flying in at the corner thanks to a superb flick pass from Sean O?Loughlin and good centre play from Stephen Wild.

Despite strong backing from the terraces, and lacking nothing in effort and endeavour, Leigh were finding it hard to match their on-song opponents.

Terry Newton?s flat pass found an unmarked Brett Dallas in the left-hand corner, with Tickle?s excellent goal stretching the lead to 16-0 as the half-hour approached.

Wayne Godwin then took advantage of some sloppy play around the play-the-ball to grab the fourth try of the night, before Radlinski put the game out of Leigh?s reach by finishing off a tremendous team move on the stroke of half-time.

A great break by New Zealander David Vaealiki created the field position, Newton, Godwin, Moran carried the move on, before Kevin Brown?s bullet pass put Radlinski over, with Tickle?s boot ensuring a 28-0 half-time score.

Radlinski grabbed his second try three minutes into the second half, after a tremendous break inside his own half from O?Loughlin, with Tickle continuing his impressive night with the boot to make it 34-0.

Leigh got on the scoresheet shortly after, two quickfire penalties giving them the field position to send Oliver Wilkes in out on the left flank, with Jones finding the mark from the touchline.

Back came Wigan, though, and Godwin cut the marker defence to shreds with a great dart from dummy-half to send Dallas racing under the sticks and hand Tickle his sixth and easiest goal of the night to make it 40-6.

Dennis Moran was next to cross the whitewash, taking advantage of a neat offload from Danny Sculthorpe as Wigan ran riot against a tiring defence.

The one-way traffic continued as the impressive Brown created the next score, Vaealiki providing the support to bring the 50 up, before Radlinski and then finally Brown in the dying seconds completed the rout to send the home fans delirious.

Wigan: Radlinski, Dallas, Wild, Vaealiki, Carney, Brown, Moran, Seu Seu, Newton, Guisset, Hansen, Tickle, O'Loughlin. Replacements: Aspinwall, Sculthorpe, Godwin, Beswick.

Leigh: Wilshere, Smyth, Cooper, Kent, Maden, Jones, Duffy, Stapleton, Rowley, Sturm, Leafa, Knott, Wilkes. Replacements: Fleary, Moore, Govin, Marshall.

Wigan: (28) 62. Tries: Tickle, Carney, Dallas 2, Godwin, Radlinski 3, Moran, Vaealiki, Brown. Goals: Tickle 9.

Leigh: (0) 6. Tries: Wilkes. Goals: Jones.

Thanks to: http://www.superleague.co.uk for another excellent article.