WRAP: 2023 Betfred Super League Round 18

A full wrap of Super League Round 18 with Justin Davies and with stats thanks to Rugby League Project.

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

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

Wakefield Trinity 27
Wigan Warriors 26

Venue: Be Well Support Stadium, Wakefield
Crowd: 4185
Date: Saturday 8 July 2023 at 4:45am

Wakefield Trinity (27)
Tries: Tom Lineham, Renouf Atoni, Jai Whitbread, Lee Kershaw
Goals: Will Dagger 5/5
Field Goals: Will Dagger 1

Wigan Warriors (26)
Tries: Jai Field 2, Toby King, Bevan French, Liam Marshall
Goals: Harry Smith 3/5

Wakefield (Trinity): Jowitt, Lineham, Lyne, Langi, Kershaw; Dagger, Kay; Bowden, Hood, Whitbread, Pitts, Ashurst (C), Battye. Int: Bowes, Proctor, Atoni, Fifita.
Wigan: Field, Miski, King, Thornley, Marshall; French, Smith; Havard, O'Neill, Byrne, Shorrocks, Farrell (C), Smithies. Int: Singleton, Nsemba, Mago, Cust.

Trinity shocks Warriors to fuel survival hopes

Wakefield Trinity upset Wigan Warriors 27-26 in an extra time thriller down at Belle Vue on Friday night.

The hosts sprung into action early with a backline movement which ended with Tom Lineham diving over in the right corner for 6-0.

Wakefield was punished for letting a bomb bounce, especially to Jai Field, who strode away quickly to level things.

The visitors took their first lead of the contest through Bevan French. He sliced through from a scrum play to make it 12-6.

The game was evenly poised going into halftime when Lee Kershaw snaffled an intercept and strode away for the four-pointer.

Wigan looked to keep relegation threatened Wakefield at bay with a pair of scores through Field who sliced through for his second and Liam Marshall to make it 20-12.

Wakefield scored tries either side of the hour mark through Renouf Atoni and Jai Whitbread to snatch back the lead and on course for an upset.

The Warriors took advantage again in the see-sawing contest when they stretched the ball left to right and put Toby King over to make it 26-24.

There was one more twist to the tale. Wakefield got a penalty in the final minute which Will Dagger duly converted to send us to extra time.

The upset was complete when Will put the Dagger into the Warriors hearts with his field goal to hand Wakefield their third win of the season.

Castleford Tigers 16
Leigh Leopards 34

Venue: Mend-A-Hose Jungle, Castleford
Crowd: 6344
Date: Saturday 8 July 2023 at 5:00am

Castleford Tigers (16)
Tries: Elliot Wallis 2, Gareth Widdop
Goals: Gareth Widdop 2/3

Leigh Leopards (34)
Tries: Lachlan Lam 2, Josh Charnley 2, Tom Briscoe, Tom Amone
Goals: Ben Reynolds 5/6

Castleford: Widdop, Faraimo, Broadbent, Turner, Wallis; Dean, Miller; Watts, Johnstone, Griffin, Edwards, Mellor (C), Westerman. Int: Sutcliffe, Mustapha, Robb, Hall.
Leigh: O'Brien, Charnley, Leutele, Hardaker, Briscoe; Reynolds, Lam; Amone, Ipape, Nakubuwai, Chamberlain, Holmes, Asiata (C). Int: Mellor, Hughes, Davis, Wilde.

Leigh beat Tigers to move into second spot

Leigh Leopards defeated Castleford Tigers 34-16 in their game down at Mend-A-Hose Jungle on Friday night.

The Leopards leapt to an 18-0 lead in the opening quarter of the contest with tries to Tom Amone, Lachlan Lam and Tom Briscoe.

Castleford struck back with a double blow before the break to get back into the game. Gareth Widdop snatched a grubber for the first then Elliot Wallis finished off a backline for the second.

Leigh stretched their advantage again with a score just after half-time. Prolific winger Josh Charnley dived over in the left corner to make it 22-12.

The Tigers remained in the hunt with a score of their own. Wallis picked up his second four-pointer of the contest finishing off another backline move.

Once again, Leigh showed why they are a top team in Super League this year as they put away the game and moved into second spot.

Both Lam and Charnley picked up doubles of their own in the success. Charnley crashed over from close range then Lam sliced through to make it 34-16.

Warrington Wolves 20
St Helens 24

Venue: Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington
Crowd: 12385
Date: Saturday 8 July 2023 at 5:00am

Warrington Wolves (20)
Tries: Matthew Ashton 2, Matt Dufty
Goals: Stefan Ratchford 4/5

St Helens (24)
Tries: Jonny Lomax, Mark Percival, James Bell, Lewis Dodd
Goals: Mark Percival 4/4

Warrington: Dufty, Russell, Minikin, Ratchford (C), Ashton; Mata'utia, Drinkwater; Dudson, Clark, Vaughan, Currie, Whitehead, Philbin. Int: Walker, Bullock, Holroyd, Green.
St Helens: Welsby, Hopoate, Hurrell, Percival, Bennison; Lomax, Dodd; Walmsley, Roby (C), Lees, Mata'utia, Bell, Knowles. Int: Lussick, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Paasi, Delaney.

Saints down Wolves to maintain their spot in the top four.

St Helens beat Warrington Wolves 24-20 in a closely fought game at Halliwell Jones Stadium on Friday night.

The Wolves were the first side to hit the scoreboard from the tee. Stefan Ratchford piloted home a penalty goal to make it 2-0.

St Helens responded with a four-pointer through Mark Percival. He found a gap after some slick handling before wrongfooting the Wolves fullback for 6-2.

Wolves kept on the front foot and scored their first four-pointer. From a set restart, they swept it to the left and Matty Ashton dived over in the corner.

The two sides tussled for the lead again with the Saints breaking through. The inside ball created the gap which ended with James Bell to make it 12-6.

Warrington struck twice in ten minutes to stun the reigning champions. Ashton snatched an intercept from the air and ran away for the score.

Livewire back Matt Dufty followed it up a score when he supported a long break from the Wolves side to make it 20-12 for the hosts.

The Saints regained their composure and took the points. Jonny Lomax sliced through for a score then his halves partner Lewis Dodd rounded off the win.

Catalans Dragons 14
Huddersfield Giants 22

Venue: Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan
Crowd: 9182
Date: Sunday 9 July 2023 at 3:00am

Catalans Dragons (14)
Tries: Tom Davies 2
Goals: Arthur Mourgue 3/3

Huddersfield Giants (22)
Tries: Chris McQueen 2, Kevin Naiqama
Goals: Oliver Russell 5/5

Catalans: Mourgue, Davies, Ikuvalu, Romano, Johnstone; May, Keighran; McMeeken, McIlorum, Bousquet, Whitley, Séguier, Garcia (C). Int: Da Costa, Goudemand, Dezaria, Ma'u.
Huddersfield: Connor, Halsall, Bibby, Naiqama, McGillvary; Russell, Lolohea; Hill, Milner, Wilson, Livett, McQueen, Yates (C). Int: Peats, Ikahihifo, Hewitt, English.

Huddersfield produce a Giant upset over leaders Catalans

Huddersfield Giants upset Catalans Dragons 22-14 in a pulsating contest at Stade Gilbert Brutus on Saturday night.

The visitors had a spring in their step early in the south of France when Kevin Naiqama weaved past the Dragons defense to make it 6-0.

Catalans struck back with a slick move of their own. They gave the ball some air and found Tom Davies who scored in the corner.

Oliver Russell inched the Giants ahead with a penalty goal before former Rabbitoh Chris McQueen finished off an inside move to make it 14-6.

The Dragons got themselves within two points before the break. Once again, Davies was on the end of the move to get his second four-pointer.

Catalans brought the game level again with a penalty goal. Arthur Mourgue slotted the goal and made it 14-all with all to play.

Huddersfield got themselves on the cusp of the upset through McQueen's second four-pointer. Russell added a further two from the tee to complete the feat.

Hull KR 6
Hull FC 16

Venue: Sewell Group Craven Park, Hull
Crowd: not supplied
Date: Sunday 9 July 2023 at 9:00pm

Hull Kingston Rovers (6)
Tries: Jack Walker
Goals: Rowan Milnes 1/1

Hull FC (16)
Tries: Adam Swift 2, Ligi Sao
Goals: Jake Clifford 2/3

Hull KR: Walker, Ryan, Opacic, Kenny-Dowall, Hall; Milnes, Lewis; Kennedy, Litten, King, Keinhorst, Linnett, Hadley. Int: Parcell, Storton, Johnson, Luckley.
Hull FC: Hoy, Swift, Scott, Tuimavave, McIntosh; Trueman, Clifford; Taylor, Houghton, Sao, Fash, Lane, Cator. Int: Satae, Brown, Gardiner, Dwyer.

Hull FC take derby spoils against Hull KR

Hull FC took bragging rights in the derby with their 16-6 win over Hull KR at Craven Park on Sunday afternoon.

The Robins got off to a flying start and posted first points. Mikey Lewis cut through the defense before he found Jack Walker to touch down.

Hull KR continued to pile on the pressure looking to further extend their lead in front of a huge crowd but were repelled by the Hull FC defense.

The rest of the first half was a tight affair befitting a derby but there wasn't any further scoring as the Robins held a six-point lead at the break.

Hull FC roared into life in the second half and took the points. Adam Swift was there to support and score followed by Jake Clifford's conversion to make it 6-all.

The hosts had a chance to take back the lead through the boot. Rowan Milnes stepped up and sent his kick wide of the mark.

There was further misery for the Robins when Shaun Kenny-Dowall was sent to the sin bin for a tackle on Hull FC halfback Clifford.

Hull FC made an instant impact from the extra man. Forward Ligi Sao powered over from close range to give them a 12-6 lead.

The visitors sealed the derby win late in the contest. Swift again was the main man after taking a Danny Houghton pass to give the Hull FC fans a delightful trip home.

Salford Red Devils 14
Leeds Rhinos 16

Venue: Salford Stadium, Barton-upon-Irwell
Crowd: 5157
Date: Monday 10 July 2023 at 12:00am

Salford Red Devils (14)
Tries: Tim Lafai 2, Ken Sio
Goals: Ryan Brierley 1/2

Leeds Rhinos (16)
Tries: Ash Handley, Cameron Smith
Goals: Rhyse Martin 4/5

Salford: Brierley, Sio, Cross, Lafai, Burgess; Croft, Sneyd; Ormondroyd, Ackers, Gerrard, Addy, Hellewell, Partington. Int: Vuniyayawa, Atkin, Dupree, Costello.
Leeds: Myler, Handley, Martin, Macdonald, Fusitu'a; Johnson, Sezer; Oledzki, O'Connor, Walters, Bentley, McDonnell, Smith. Int: Lisone, Holroyd, Roberts, Donaldson.

Rhinos beat Red Devils to move closer to the top six

Leeds Rhinos edged out Salford Red Devils 16-14 in a thriller down at Salford Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Rhinos stampeded out of the gates in this vital contest for their top six hopes. Cameron Smith pushed through the Red Devils defense to score.

Salford recovered from their slow start to make it 6-4. Marc Sneyd punched through a grubber which experienced back Tim Lafai touched down.

The visitors extended their advantage through Ash Handley. It was a superb long ball from Richie Myler which found the winger to dive over.

Rhyse Martin added two more from the tee to give the Rhinos an eight point lead headed into the break in a tense contest.

Coming out of the break, Salford felt just fine. Lafai added a second try quickly followed by Ken Sio to hand the hosts the lead at 14-12.

The pressure built in the game, and it spilled out in an angry exchange between the two sides which saw Chris Atkin and Mikolaj Oledzki sent to the bin.

It was the Rhinos who held their nerve to take the points. Martin piloted home a pair of penalty goals to get them home 16-14 and help their finals chances.

Table after Round 18

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

RLP stats leaders

Top tries

Top points

Thanks to Rugby League Project