WRAP: 2023 Betfred Super League Round 13

SL2024

Thanks to AJ Lucantonio and Rugby League Project, catch up on the weekend's Super League action with a full wrap of every game, plus the current table and stats leaders.

All listed times are AEST (NSW/QLD/VIC/ACT).


RELATED: See the full list of 2023 Betfred Super League Draw and Results.


Hull KR 22
Wigan Warriors 26

Venue: Sewell Group Craven Park, Hull
Crowd: not supplied
Date: Friday 26 May 2023 at 5:00am

Hull Kingston Rovers (22)
Tries: Ryan Hall, Matt Parcell, James Batchelor, Luis Johnson
Goals: Mikey Lewis 3/4

Wigan Warriors (26)
Tries: Liam Farrell 3, Liam Marshall 2, Abbas Miski
Goals: Harry Smith 1/5

Hull KR: Ryan, Hall, Opacic, Kenny-Dowall, Hall; Lewis, Litten; Sue, Parcell, Hadley, Batchelor, Linnett, Minchella. Int: Storton, Wood, Johnson, Luckley.
Wigan: French, Miski, King, Wardle, Marshall; Hampshire, Smith; Ellis, Powell, Byrne, Smithies, Farrell, Shorrocks. Int: Mago, O'Neill, Hill, Nsemba.

A golden point classic has opened Round 13 of the Super League season with Wigan pipping Hull KR by 26-22.

Wigan opened the scoring in the twelfth minute of play when Liam Farrell crossed for the first of his three tries. Liam Marshall ran away before getting the pass to Farrell to score for the Warriors. Ten minutes later, Rovers responded with noted try scorer Ryan Hall crossing after burrowing his way through the Wigan defence.

Farrell responded with a virtual carbon copy of his first, taking a brilliant ball from Bevan French. Harry Smith kicked the first successful conversion of the evening to take Wigan 10-4 clear at the break.

Wigan extended their lead straight after the break when they pressured Rovers and ran a simple backline play which allowed Marshall to cross. The sides had to endure two-minute delay after the try when a drone temporarily hovered over the stadium. After the resumption, Rovers hit back when Matt Parcell scored out of dummy half to reduce the gap to 14-12.

Rovers were dealt a blow when Hall was dispatched to the sin-bin for a jag back on French. However, Rovers were the better side in the sin bin period and James Bachelor crossed to give the lead for Rovers. Luis Johnson then pounced on Jez Litten's clever cross-field grubber with Lewis' third conversion stretching Rovers beyond one-score range at 22-14.

However, Rovers collapsed in the last ten minutes conceding two late tries as Marshall and Abbas Miski crossed. Smith proved to not be the hero for Wigan missing both kicks at goal taking his tally for the day at a measly 1/5 as the game went to golden point. After Mikey Lewis had hit the posts with a drop-goal attempt. Wigan capitalised and went down field to score with Farrell crossing for his third and sealing the come from behind win for the Warriors.


Catalans Dragons 36
Wakefield Trinity 6

Venue: Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan
Crowd: 8123
Date: Saturday 27 May 2023 at 3:00am

Catalans Dragons (36)
Tries: Tom Johnstone 2, Mike McMeeken, Arthur Mourgue, César Rougé, Tanguy Zenon
Goals: Arthur Mourgue 6/7

Wakefield Trinity (6)
Tries: Liam Kay
Goals: Will Dagger 1/1

Catalans: Mourgue, Yaha, Romano, Ikuvalu, Johnstone; May, Rougé; Navarrete, McIlorum, Bousquet, McMeeken, Whitley, Garcia. Int: Goudemand, Taukeiaho, Dezaria, Zenon.
Wakefield (Trinity): Jowitt, Kay, Croft, Dagger, Taufua; Smith, Lino; Proctor, Hood, Bowden, Tanginoa, Ashurst, Pitts. Int: Bowes, Battye, Crowther, Eseh.

Catalans have heaped the pain on a winless Wakefield side thrashing the Wildcats by 30 points at home.

The Dragons crossed for their first try after a rough opening quarter to the contest. Tom Johnstone crossed for the first of his two tries after a break down field which he backed up some clever passing. Two quick tries added to their 6-0 advantage when Cesar Rouge and Mike McMeeken crossed from relatively easy range to put Catalans up 18-0 at the break.

Wakefield were the first side to cross after the resumption when Liam Kay gave the Wildcats a chance after a lovely cut-out pass from Mason Lino. However, that would be the only joy their fans would have.

Three second half Catalans tries were more then enough to give the Dragons victory. Johnstone's second try was a clear stand-out, beating his way through some quite frankly horrible defence to run 70 metres to score. Two late tries in the last ten minutes to Arthur Mourgue and Tanguy Zenon added more salt to the Wakefield wound who also lost Kelepi Tanginoa with a broken arm.


Huddersfield Giants 20
Castleford Tigers 4

Venue: John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield
Crowd: 4206
Date: Saturday 27 May 2023 at 4:45am

Huddersfield Giants (20)
Tries: Kevin Naiqama, Esan Marsters, Innes Senior
Goals: Jake Connor 4/5

Castleford Tigers (4)
Tries: Alex Mellor

Huddersfield: Lolohea, Bibby, Naiqama, Marsters, Senior; Connor, Fages; Hill, Peats, English, Cudjoe, McQueen, Yates. Int: O'Brien, Greenwood, Rushton, Ikahihifo.
Castleford: Widdop, Faraimo, Mellor, Turner, Wallis; Broadbent, Miller; Matagi, McShane, Massey, Edwards, Lawler, Westerman. Int: Mustapha, Martin, Hall, Watts.

The Huddersfield Giants have rebounded with a 20-4 victory over the Castleford Tigers at home.

The scoring got started nice and early as a high bomb from Theo Fages was spilt by Gareth Widdop into the waiting arms of Tui Lolohea who fired pass to Esan Marsters who jinked inside and cross for the first try of the game.  The Giants were awarded a penalty 10 metres out due to a ball strip from the Castleford defence, which Jake Connor duly dispatched over the posts to make it 8-0.

Another penalty gave the Giants another opportunity to take the two points. Conner made no mistake for a 10-0 lead. Castleford bounced back when Alex Mellor scored from a relatively easy scrum play and made his way through some would-be tacklers to make the margin six.

In a relatively quiet second half. The Giants picked up two tries within a seven minute period to put the issue beyond doubt. Innes Senior crossed after some fast hands across the Huddersfield back-line to put the score out to 14-4. Kevin Naiqama continued his happy UK revival crossing after a lovely short ball from Theo Fages to slip through some would be defence to score and put it out of reach at 20-4.


Leeds Rhinos 12
St Helens 13

Venue: Headingley Stadium, Leeds
Crowd: 14161
Date: Saturday 27 May 2023 at 5:00am

Leeds Rhinos (12)
Tries: Ash Handley, Cameron Smith
Goals: Rhyse Martin 2/3

St Helens (13)
Tries: Thomas Makinson, Curtis Sironen
Goals: Thomas Makinson 2/3
Field Goals: Lewis Dodd

Leeds: Myler, Handley, Newman, Macdonald, Olpherts; Gannon, Sezer; Walters, O'Connor, Holroyd, McDonnell, Martin, Smith. Int: Oledzki, Donaldson, Johnson, Sangaré.
St Helens: Welsby, Makinson, Hurrell, Hopoate, Ritson; Lomax, Dodd; Walmsley, Roby, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Sironen, Batchelor, Bell. Int: Mata'utia, Lussick, Paasi, Wingfield.

A Lewis Dodd field goal in the dying seconds of golden point has lifted St Helens to a 13-12 victory over Leeds.

The Rhinos crossed for the first try in the first five minutes, Rhyse Martin got through some tacklers before finding Ash Handley to get across the white line for the first try. Martin converted for a 6-0 scoreline.

Six minutes later, Tommy Makinson hit back for the three time champs crossing in the corner but missed the kick to keep his side behind. However, he turned from hero to villain when he collided with Jack Welsby in trying to defuse a bomb. Cam Smith was on the spot to score and take the score out to 12-4. That's the way the score stayed at half-time.

St Helens were able to crack the Leeds defence five minutes after the resumption. Curtis Sironen crashed over from short range. Makinson made no mistake this time to reduce the gap to two. Justin Sangare made a cardinal sin, taking Jake Wingfield late off the ball, Makinson took the penalty goal for 12-12.

There was more drama to come. A mass brawl saw Liam Moore's patience run out. James McDonnell was sent off and we were off to golden point. However, the drama continued. Sione Mata'utia was sin-binned in golden point, and we were down to 12 v 12. Dodd made no mistake with the field goal in the final seconds of time and sealed the win for the Saints.


Leigh Leopards 30
Warrington Wolves 12

Venue: Leigh Sports Village Stadium, Leigh
Crowd: 8120
Date: Saturday 27 May 2023 at 5:00am

Leigh Leopards (30)
Tries: Gareth O'Brien 2, Tom Briscoe, Josh Charnley, Ben Reynolds
Goals: Ben Reynolds 5/6

Warrington Wolves (12)
Tries: George Williams, Joe Philbin
Goals: Stefan Ratchford 2/2

Leigh: O'Brien, Briscoe, Leutele, Hardaker, Charnley; Reynolds, Lam; Amone, Ipape, Mulhern, Holmes, O'Donnell, Asiata. Int: Mellor, Seumanufagai, Halton, Davis.
Warrington: Dufty, Russell, Mata'utia, Ratchford, Ashton; Williams, Dean; Harrison, Walker, Vaughan, Currie, McGuire, Clark. Int: Kasiano, Philbin, Dudson, Minikin.

The Leigh Leopards have continued an impressive winning streak downing the Warrington Wolves 30-12. Today's win made it five wins on the trot for the newly promoted club.

The scoring began in the first six minutes of play when Gareth O'Brien sold the Wolves defence a huge dummy to run away to score. That gave Leigh the early 6-0 advantage. On the halfway mark of the opening 40, Tom Briscoe crossed after Ben Reynolds drew in the defence to make the score 12-0. Reynolds added a penalty goal to extend the margin out beyond three converted tries.

Warrington hit back when George Williams backed up a great run from Daryl Clark to beat the cover and get to the try line and the Wire back in the contest. However, O'Brien's second try gave Warrington fans little hope after Edwin Ipape cut the defence open before finding his fullback to score.

Joe Philbin's try before the break brought some hope to the Wolves fans as the forward reached out from close range to reduce the margin to 20-12 at the break.

The second half started slowly, but Leigh got the tries that mattered at critical moments. Josh Charnley continued his try scoring form when he was on the end of a cutout ball from Lachie Lam to cross in the corner. Reynolds sealed the result in the last minutes of play with a runaway effort to make the score 30-12.


Salford Red Devils 29
Hull FC 22

Venue: Salford Stadium, Barton-upon-Irwell
Crowd: 4569
Date: Monday 29 May 2023 at 12:00am

Salford Red Devils (29)
Tries: Marc Sneyd, Ken Sio, Ryan Brierley, Deon Cross, Tyler Dupree
Goals: Marc Sneyd 4/6
Field Goals: Marc Sneyd 1

Hull FC (22)
Tries: Jacob Trueman 2, Josh Griffin, Darnell McIntosh
Goals: Jake Clifford 3/4

Salford: Brierley, Sio, Cross, Lafai, Burgess; Croft, Sneyd; Dupree, Ackers, Vuniyayawa, Watkins, Stone, Partington. Int: Atkin, Ormondroyd, Sidlow, Hellewell.
Hull FC: Hoy, McIntosh, Scott, Sutcliffe, Swift; Trueman, Clifford; Sao, Houghton, Fash, Griffin, Lane, Cator. Int: Satae, Brown, Taylor, Dwyer.

Salford have returned to winning ways in the Super League downing Hull FC 29-22 in an enduring match at AJ Bell Stadium.

Hull FC opened the scoring inside the first five minutes of play. Adam Swift broke clear after some strong lead up work and he found Jake Clifford to give the black and whites an early 4-0 lead. This lead lasted just twelve minutes when Salford found a bounce back. Tylor Dupree scored from point blank range to give the Red Devils back to level pecking.

Hull FC responded just after the half-way mark of the first half. Jake Trueman took on the Salford defence and won the battle, giving the black and whites a 10-6 advantage. The remaining first half luck and play belonged to Salford. Brodie Croft's well angled cross-field kick was taken by Deon Cross who collected the ball and scored for the Red Devils. Just before the break, a scrum play paid off when Marc Sneyd's kick sat up inch perfectly for the flying Ryan Brierley to touch down and give Salford an 18-10 half-time lead.

Just like the start of the first half, Hull FC started the second in flying style. Darnell McIntosh was on the end of a lovely Trueman cut-out ball to score in the corner to reduce the gap down to just two points. Salford hit back with half an hour to play, Sam Stone did well to get his pass away in the tackle to the supporting Sneyd who raced in for a try he also converted to make it 24-16.

Hull refused to go down without a fight as Josh Griffin found himself in space after taking Clifford's pass and he strolled over for a try which Clifford converted to make it 24-22. Ken Sio put the icing on the Salford victory with an incredible finish in the corner. Snyed missed the kick to keep Hull in touch before a field goal in the last five minutes ended any hope of a Hull revival in this fixture.


Table after Round 13

#TeamPWDLB+/-Pts
1Warrington131003013020
2Wigan13904012218
3Catalans13904011618
4Hull KR13805010616
5Leigh1380506916
6Salford1380502816
7St Helens*1270506214
8Leeds136070912
9Huddersfield*125070110
10Hull FC135080-15710
11Castleford1320110-1874
12Wakefield1300130-2990

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


RLP stats leaders

Top tries

RankPlayerTeamPT
1Josh CHARNLEYLEI1315
2Tom JOHNSTONECAT1314
3Liam MARSHALLWIG1011
4Matthew ASHTONWTN1310
5Bevan FRENCHWIG139

Top points

RankPlayerTeamPTGFGPts
1Marc SNEYDSAL133483111
2Stefan RATCHFORDWTN13152-108
3Adam KEIGHRANCAT11636-96
4Ben REYNOLDSLEI10536-92
5Harry SMITHWIG13339191
6Rhyse MARTINLEE13632-88

Thanks to Rugby League Project.