WRAP: 2024 Betfred Super League Round 4

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A full wrap of the fourth round with AJ Lucantonio!

RELATED: See the full list of 2024 Betfred Super League Draw and Results.

Hull KR 20 Warrington Wolves 22
Venue: Sewell Group Craven Park, Hull

Hull Kingston Rovers (20)
Tries: Ryan Hall, Oliver Gildart, Tom Opacic, Tyrone May
Goals: Jez Litten 2/2

Warrington Wolves (22)
Tries: George Williams, Toby King, Matthew Ashton, Matt Dufty, Connor Wrench
Goals: Josh Thewlis 1/3

Date: Thu, 7th March.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Warrington 18-12.   Referee: Aaron Moore.

Hull KR: Hiku, Evalds, Opacic, Gildart, Hall; May, Lewis; Hadley, Litten, Whitbread, Tanginoa, Batchelor, Minchella. Int: Sue, King, Parcell, Luckley.
Warrington: Dufty, Thewlis, King, Wrench, Ashton; Williams, Hayes; Harrison, Walker, Vaughan, Holroyd, Fitzgibbon, Currie. Int: Philbin, Crowther, Musgrove, Powell.

Life under Sam Burgess continues to improve for Warrington after a narrow 22-20 win over Hull KR away from home.

Warrington opened the scoring after seven minutes when Matt Dufty schemed around before finding George Williams who beat some flimsy Rovers goal-line defence to crash over. Josh Thewlis added the extras for a 6-0 lead. Seven minutes later, Wire extended their lead when Leon Hayes delivered a clever kick into the in-goal which was spilled by Peta Hiku. Matty Ashton was jolly on the spot to collect the scraps and a 10-0 lead for the visitors.

Fortunately for the home crowd. Rovers woke up three minutes later and found their first try when Tyrone May outlept Dufty to cross for a great individual try. At the 25 minute mark, the left edge of Mikey Lewis and Oliver Gildart combined to send Ryan Hall sprinting away down the sideline and Rovers gained the lead for the first time courtesy of Jez Litten's boot to lead 12-10.

James Batchelor spilled a golden opportunity in the 32nd minute that would prove costly for the home side. Six minutes later, the Wire capitalised and Toby King crossed out wide after some great lead up work from Lachlan Fitzgibbon. Warrington weren't finished before the break when Connor Wrench toed the ball ahead and won the race to the loose ball to lead 18-12 at the break.

Rovers started strongly in the second half and got the rewards in the 57th minute. Lewis broke some fragile Wire defence with a rainbow pass to Hall before he kept the play alive with a miraculous ball to Gildart to cross. Five minutes later, the same set play worked on the right when May delivered a magic ball to Tom Opacic who crossed outwide and Rovers held a 20-18 lead.

Dufty stole victory for the visitors inside the final 10 minutes when he broke through off a scrum play to secure the Wire's third straight win.

St Helens 20 Salford Red Devils 24
Venue: Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens

St Helens (20)
Tries: Lewis Dodd 2, Mark Percival, Jack Welsby
Goals: Mark Percival 1/3, Lewis Dodd 1/1

Salford Red Devils (24)
Tries: Deon Cross 2, Nene Macdonald, Chris Atkin
Goals: Marc Sneyd 4/4

Date: Fri, 8th March.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: St Helens 14-6.   Referee: Tom Grant. Crowd: 11548  

St Helens: Welsby, Makinson, Blake, Percival, Bennison; Lomax, Dodd; Walmsley, Clark, Mata'utia, Whitley, Sironen, Knowles. Int: Mbye, Bell, Wingfield, Delaney.
Salford: Brierley, Hankinson, Macdonald, Lafai, Cross; Cust, Sneyd; Ormondroyd, Bourouh, Singleton, Stone, Watkins, Shorrocks. Int: Vuniyayawa, Atkin, Wright, Hellewell.

Salford have overcome a 20-6 victory to defeat a 12 man St Helens side by 24-20 at Totally Wicked Stadium winning at St Helens for the first time in 44 years. 

Both sides were guilty of making mistakes in the early going. But it was Salford's mistakes in their own end that proved most costly after ten minutes. From a scrum win, St Helens shifted the ball left and the ever dangerous Jack Welsby sprinted past the cover defence to score the opening points of the evening. Mark Percival's conversion attempt was unsuccessful. 

Eight minutes later, Saints were in again. Some simple shape saw Sione Mata'utia bust through the line before finding Lewis Dodd who sprinted away to add a second try on the board. Percival's conversion attempt bounced off the left hand upright and the score remained at 8-0. 

Salford slowly began to work their way back into the contest and got their reward at the 24 minute mark after Saints failed to recover the kickoff. The ball began to move across the backline and Deon Cross got the ball with plenty of work to do, but he beat the sliding cover defence from Saints and crossed for the visitors. Marc Sneyd added the extras from touch and the margin was cut significantly down to just two points. 

With just 5 and a half to go until the break, Johnny Lomax schemed around the field before finding a man in Percival who crashed over to score. He converted his own try for a 14-6 lead to the Saints at the break. 

The second half started horrifically for Saints when Percival was given a red card for a forceful head high tackle off the ball. Saints edge defence held firm early in the send off period and held out several Red Devil raids. Despite being down to 12, Dodd crossed for his second try in the 58th minute with a dummy and run, fully capitalising on a controversial forward pass call against Salford. Dodd converted his own try and it was 20-6.

Salford did hit back 17 minutes from time when Nene MacDonald crashed his way over down the right hand side where Saints were vulnerable in defence. Sneyd converted for an eight point gap. 

Salford continued to close the gap when Chris Atkin stepped his way past some would-be defenders to crash over with 11 minutes to play. Tim Lafai showcased his silky skills delivering a miraculous flick pass which found Cross in the last five minutes to give the Salford Red Devils a narrow lead. Sneyd's conversion gave the Red Devils a four point lead. Saints had chances to win it late, but put the ball down in the critical moments to spill the chances of victory.

Leigh Leopards 16 Leeds Rhinos 22
Venue: Leigh Sports Village Stadium, Leigh

Leigh Leopards (16)
Tries: Gareth O'Brien, Kai O'Donnell, Umyla Hanley
Goals: Matt Moylan 2/4

Leeds Rhinos (22)
Tries: Ash Handley 2, Rhyse Martin, Matt Frawley
Goals: Rhyse Martin 3/4

Date: Fri, 8th March.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Leigh 16-0.   Referee: Chris Kendall.   

Leigh: O'Brien, Hanley, Hardaker, Leutele, Charnley; Moylan, Lam; Hughes, Dwyer, Mulhern, O'Donnell, Halton, Amone. Int: Norman, Davis, Trout, Nakubuwai.
Leeds: Miller, Roberts, Newman, Momirovski, Handley; Croft, Frawley; Oledzki, Ackers, Goudemand, McDonnell, Martin, Smith. Int: Holroyd, O'Connor, Sangaré, Ruan.

The Leeds Rhinos have come back from 16-0 down away from home to pull out a 22-16 win over the Leigh Leopards.

Leigh opened the scoring early despite early Leeds pressure on their own line. It was a well worked set move in the 13th minute which allowed Gareth O'Brien to burst through a gap down the left hand side to put Leigh up 4-0. The conversion attempt was waved away. 

Seven minutes later, the Rhinos were made to pay for conceding a seven tackle set. Zak Hardaker set his team up brilliantly before later in the set, the Aussie trio of Matt Moylan, Lachie Lam and Kai O'Donnell combined brilliantly for a move we saw end in points galore for Leigh last season. A crash ball from Lam to O'Donnell and the big backrower crashed over to score. Moylan finally gave Leigh a successful conversion in 2024 to lead 10-0. 

Leeds continued to make mistakes and the Leopards had the class to cross for their third try. Umyla Hanley crossed on his home debut finishing off a silky backline play, and the Rhinos were shellshocked conceding three tries in 14 minutes and trailed 14-0. Moylan added a penalty goal as Leeds discipline continued to let them down to extend the deficit to 16. Tom Amone was denied a try for a double movement just before the break, but it was still a handy 16-0 lead at the break. 

Rohan Smith's men started stronger in the second half and it was a good ball from Brodie Croft to Rhyse Martin who ran over the top of Moylan to score for the Rhinos in the 48th minute. He duly converted his own try and the gap was cut to just 10 points.

Leeds were starting to gain ascendency, Andy Ackers broke through a few moments later and following a shift, O'Brien ended up in the sin-bin for a professional foul to reduce Leigh to 12 men. Just past the hour mark, they made the Leopards pay for going down to 12 when Matt Frawley crossed for a great individual try with a dummy and run to cross under the posts.

Leeds continued their charge off the next set when Martin toed ahead, Ash Handley secured it and found Paul Momirovski who got it on back inside to Handley to level the scores at 16 all. Martin's kick just missed and we remained level.

Leeds recovered quickly and it was again another move down the left edge where Martin, Croft and Handley combined to send the winger away for his second and put the Rhinos in front by six points. To further compound the collapse, Lam was carried off in the 71st minute with a lower leg injury. Justin Sangare was sin-binned for Leeds after repeated foul play penalties, but Leigh lacked direction late without Lam on and Leeds were able to survive and hang on for a tenacious comeback victory. 

Castleford Tigers 8 Huddersfield Giants 50
Venue: The Jungle, Castleford

Castleford Tigers (8)
Tries: Innes Senior 2

Huddersfield Giants (50)
Tries: Leroy Cudjoe 2, Adam Swift 2, Sam Halsall 2, Kevin Naiqama, Sam Hewitt, Adam Clune
Goals: Oliver Russell 7/10

Date: Fri, 8th March.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Huddersfield 24-4.   Referee: Liam Moore.   Crowd: 7040

Castleford: Hooley, Simm, Mellor, Wood, Senior; Milnes, Miller; Lawler, Horne, Namo, Johnson, Tasipale, Westerman. Int: Broadbent, Putt, Hall, Vete.
Huddersfield: Connor, Halsall, Marsters, Naiqama, Swift; Russell, Clune; Hill, Golding, Ikahihifo, Murchie, Hewitt, Cudjoe. Int: Lolohea, Yates, Wilson, Salabio.

The Huddersfield Giants have compounded Castleford's woes by piling on the points in a 50-8 massacre of the Tigers at the Jungle.

The Giants crossed for the opening try inside 7 minutes when Adam Swift crossed for the first of his two tries in the corner after some slick hands. Oli Russell added the extras for an early 6-0 lead. This was soon doubled when Adam Clune chipped over the top and regathered for the visitors to cross for a second try in fifteen minutes, with Russell's conversion it was 12-0 rather quickly.

Castleford hit back when Innes Senior crossed after 25 minutes when he showcased his power to cross down the left edge. Luke Hooley's kick hit the post and it remained a tight contest at 12-4. But, Huddersfield showed their class late in the half to extend their lead. 

Sam Halsall crossing in the corner for the visitors (33rd minute) with Russell's kick missed. This was made up for a penalty goal by Russell three minutes later for an 18-4 lead. Sam Hewitt crossed before the half to make the score 24-4. 

Senior crossed for the Tigers ten minutes after the resumption after showcasing some stepping and skill to put the ball down for the home side. Hooley's kick was again narrowly wide to reduce the gap to 16 but that was as close as they got. Huddersfield ran in five tries in the last 20 minutes of play with Leroy Cudjoe crossing for a double while further tries for Swift, Halsall (adding to their first half tries) and Naiqama crossing to add some further salt into the wound for the Castleford Tigers looking for their first win of the season. 

That being said, there are still some major question marks for the side as they look to avoid the relegation battle yet again in 2024.

London Broncos 22 Wigan Warriors 60
Venue: The Cherry Red Records Stadium, Wimbledon

London Broncos (22)
Tries: Lee Kershaw 2, Jacob Jones, Jordan Williams
Goals: Oliver Leyland 3/4

Wigan Warriors (60)
Tries: Harvie Hill 2, Ryan Hampshire, Jacob Wardle, Patrick Mago, Abbas Miski, Adam Keighran, Tyler Dupree, Bradley O'Neill, Zach Eckersley
Goals: Adam Keighran 10/11

Date: Sat, 9th March.   Kickoff: 3:00 PM.   Halftime: Wigan 22-10.   Referee: James Vella.   Crowd: 4,116.

London: Miloudi, Kershaw, Storey, Bassett, Macani; Leyland, Meadows; Kennedy, Davis, Rogers, Lovell, Jones, Stock. Int: Butterworth, Butler, Williams, Walker.
Wigan: Field, Miski, Keighran, Wardle, Eckersley; Hampshire, Farrimond; Thompson, O'Neill, Dupree, Isa, Farrell, Mago. Int: Hill, Nsemba, Chan, Forber.

The London Broncos tough initiation back into the grind of Super League football continued with a 60-22 loss to the defending champions Wigan. 

A tough challenge was made harder early when an unforced error from London gave Wigan possession. They immediately capitalised and crossed after shifting the ball fast and efficiently to find Jacob Wardle who crossed for the opening try. Five minutes later, Abbas Miski charged across from dummy half and it was a quick fire 10-0 lead after 10 minutes.

London were able to hit back four minutes later, Oliver Layland stepped through some defenders before finding Jacob Jones to give London some much needed points on the board and cut the margin to 4.  But a team like Wigan were always going to pose a threat. Tyler Dupree crashed over three minutes later after a tenacious effort to get the ball to the ground. 

Ten minutes later, Harvie Hill made an impact with his first touch to crash over the top of some would be tacklers for a try, making the score quickly blow out to 22-4. London would get the final try of the half, Lee Kershaw finishing off acrobatically in the left corner making it a 22-10 half-time deficit for the home side. 

London miraculously scored first in the second half, a misfielded kick was recovered by Rhys Kennedy who found Jordan Williams to crash over and cut the gap to six. Rob Butler was sent to the sin-bin for a dangerous tackle, Adam Keighran added two points to extend the margin to eight.

The Warriors took full advantage of the 12 man Broncos side, crossing for two tries courtesy of a dummy half dart by Brad O'Neill in the 49th minute and Patrick Mago in the 54th minute from short range and the game quickly fell out of London's grasp. Zach Eckersley added his name to the scorer's list after backing up a break on the hour mark. 

Ryan Hampshire added another five minutes later, breaking through some pedestrian and fatigued London defence. London added a try in the final ten when Kershaw again finished off spectacularly in the corner before two quick ones from Hill and Keighran saw the Warriors put 60 on London for the third time since 2013.

Catalans Dragons 26 Hull FC 12
Venue: Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan

Catalans Dragons (26)
Tries: Jayden Nikorima, Tom Davies, Arthur Mourgue, Matthieu Laguerre
Goals: Arthur Mourgue 3/3, Jordan Abdull 2/3

Hull FC (12)
Tries: Fa'amanu Brown, Jack Walker
Goals: Darnell McIntosh 2/2

Date: Sat, 9th March.   Kickoff: 6:30 PM.   Halftime: Catalans 14-6.   Referee: Jack Smith.   Crowd: 9,104.

Catalans: Nikorima, Davies, Ikuvalu, Laguerre, Johnstone; Abdull, Fages; Navarrete, Da Costa, Bousquet, Sims, McMeeken, Garcia. Int: Mourgue, Séguier, Satae, Dezaria.
Hull FC: Walker, Russell, Tuimavave, McIntosh, Martin; Smith, Brown; Ese'ese, Houghton, Sao, Okunbor, Staveley, Lane. Int: Ashworth, Bullock, Gardiner, Hoy.

Catalans have rebounded from last week's loss to Leeds with a 26-12 win over Hull FC at home.

The Dragons crossed after barely any time at all. Theo Fages turned Mike McMeekan on an unders play and he broke through before finding Jayden Nikorima and after 36 seconds of play, the Dragons had a 6-0 lead. Ten minutes later, they added a second try when Nikorima this time turned provider with a lovely short pass to Matthieu Laguerre to slide over. Abdull's two conversions gave the home side a nice 12-0 cushion. 

Hull were competitive and made Catalans earn their victory, fighting back in the 18th minute courtesy of Fa'amanu Brown. Brown finished off a clever little grubber kick that failed to be taken care of by the Dragons and touched down for the visitors to cut the lead in half.

Arthur Mourgue added a penalty goal five minutes from time. The penalty also resulted in Jack Ashworth being yellow carded for a high tackle to give the home side an eight point lead (14-6). 

Hull FC again started strong in the second half and got rewarded. Jack Walker finished off a bizarre movement when the pass was touched by Catalans but came off the head of a Hull player. The ball landed in Walker's arms for a fair try and with the sideline conversion, it was well and truly game on. 

However, the second half from there was all Catalans as they added two tries to run away comfortable winners. First, Mourgue added to his tally of points with a solo piece of brilliance. Receiving the ball 5 or so metres away from the line, he broke through a handful of tackles to cross and put the margin beyond two scores (58th minute). The match was sealed 11 minutes from time when Fages delivered a peach of a pass to Tom Davies to secure a 26-12 verdict.

Table after Round 4

RELATED: Click here to view the current Betfred Super League table.

Stats leaders

Most tries

7 tries: Ash Handley (Leeds)

5 tries: Liam Marshall (Wigan)

4 tries: Jack Welsby (St Helens), Matty Ashton (Warrington)

Most points

38 points: Arthur Mourgue (Catalans) 2T, 15G

35 points: Marc Sneyd (Salford) 17G, 1 FG

30 points: Rhyse Martin (Leeds) 1T, 13G

28 points: Ash Handley (Leeds) 7T

26 points: Adam Keighran (Wigan) 1T 11G