WRAP: 2023 Betfred Super League Round 26

Justin Davies and Rugby League Project bring you all the action from Round 26 of the Betfred Super League.

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

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

Wigan Warriors 48
Castleford Tigers 6

Venue: DW Stadium, Wigan
Crowd: 13109
Date: Saturday 16 September 2023 at 5:00am

Wigan Warriors (48)
Tries: Abbas Miski 5, Sam Powell, Jacob Wardle, Bevan French, Jai Field, Kai Pearce-Paul
Goals: Ryan Hampshire 3/5, Harry Smith 1/5

Castleford Tigers (6)
Tries: Jason Qareqare
Goals: Blake Austin 1/1

Wigan: Field, Miski, King, Wardle, Marshall; French, Smith; Ellis, Powell, Dupree, Pearce-Paul, Nsemba, Smithies. Int: Shorrocks, Mago, Hill, Hampshire.
Castleford: Eden, Wallis, Broadbent, Turner, Qareqare; Austin, Miller; Watts, Horne, Mustapha, Mellor, Lawler, Hall. Int: Griffin, Massey, Martin, Johnstone.

Wigan Warriors ran rampant in their 48-6 win over Castleford Tigers down at DW Stadium on Friday night.

The Warriors remain in prime position to take out the League Leaders shield headed into the final weekend after their dominant win.

It was a Miski magic night in Wigan. The winger scored five tries in the comfortable win to become equal top scorer in the Super League.

He started off the scoring for Wigan with back-to-back tries through both hand and foot to give the hosts a 10-nil lead.

Next, Jake Wardle got into the action. He was able to take the inside pass from Liam Marshall to touch down in the left corner.

Castleford Tigers got their sole try in the first half. Jason Qareqare finished off the backline move from a scrum to get them on the board.

Miski bookended the half with two more tries to bring his tally to four including another acrobatic winger finish to make it 22-6 at the break.

The Warriors came out firing in the second half. Sam Powell and Kai Pearce-Paul both found their way over the stripe while Ryan Hampshire took over kicking duties.

It was party time for Wigan in the later stages. Jai Field weaved past the defense to score followed by a late tries from Bevan French and Miski completed the scoring.

Leigh Leopards 20
Wakefield Trinity 19

Venue: Leigh Sports Village Stadium, Leigh
Crowd: 5565
Date: Saturday 16 September 2023 at 5:00am

Leigh Leopards (20)
Tries: Tom Briscoe, Josh Charnley, Jack Hughes
Goals: Ben Reynolds 3/4
Field Goals: Gareth O'Brien 2

Wakefield Trinity (19)
Tries: Lee Kershaw 2, Liam Hood
Goals: Mason Lino 3/4
Field Goals: Luke Gale 1

Leigh: O'Brien, Briscoe, Gildart, Chamberlain, Charnley; Reynolds, Lam; Amone, Ipape, Mulhern, O'Donnell, Hughes, Davis. Int: Mellor, Wardle, Nakubuwai, Holmes.
Wakefield (Trinity): Jowitt, Kershaw, Croft, Franco, Lineham; Gale, Lino; Battye, Hood, Whitbread, Ashurst, Griffin, Pitts. Int: Tanginoa, Kay, Proctor, Salabio.

Leigh Leopards won a golden point thriller 20-19 against Wakefield Trinity at Leigh Sports Village on Friday night.

The result confirms that Wakefield Trinity will be relegated to the RFL Championship for next season after a tough season.

It was a quick fire opening to the game. Leigh opened the scoring through winger Tom Briscoe before Wakefield responded as Liam Hood scooped up a loose ball to make it 6-all.

Leigh were able to retake the lead before half-time. Josh Charnley stepped inside his defender after an offload to touch down.

Coming out of the break, Leigh felt just fine. Jack Hughes was able to power his way over from close range for 16-6.

Wakefield needed to win to keep their hopes alive. Lee Kershaw produced a quickfire double to put the visitors into the lead.

The Leopards levelled things up again after Ben Reynolds piloted through a penalty goal on the hour mark to make it 18-all.

Drama was at a high in the closing stages. Both teams traded field goals through Gareth O'Brien and Luke Gale which sent the game to Golden Point.

Leigh were triumphant in the extra period. O'Brien nailed his second field goal of the game and gave the Leopards a 20-19 win.

Warrington Wolves 6
St Helens 18

Venue: Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington
Crowd: 12855
Date: Saturday 16 September 2023 at 5:00am

Warrington Wolves (6)
Tries: Daryl Clark
Goals: Stefan Ratchford 1/1

St Helens (18)
Tries: Curtis Sironen, Mark Percival, Moses Mbye
Goals: Mark Percival 3/3

Warrington: Dufty, Russell, Wrench, Ratchford, Ashton; Hayes, Drinkwater; Mikaele, Clark, Vaughan, Currie, Nicholson, Crowther. Int: Harrison, Kasiano, Philbin, Walker.
St Helens: Welsby, Makinson, Percival, Davies, Bennison; Lomax, Dodd; Lees, Roby, Mata'utia, Sironen, Batchelor, Knowles. Int: McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Bell, Royle, Mbye.

St Helens won 18-6 against Warrington Wolves in a gritty game down at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Friday night.

The chase for the League Leader Shield goes down to the final weekend with Wigan, Catalans and St Helens all tied on 38 points.

Warrington's loss in this game also left their hopes for the top six hanging by a threaded headed into the final weekend.

Saints marched over for the first score. Jonny Lomax found a charging Curtis Sironen who went over for a four-pointer on his return.

They went to the right for their second try which made it 12-0. It was a superb line ran by Mark Percival to slice through.

The Wolves showed some signs of life in the second half. Daryl Clarke scooted over from close range to get them on the board.

There were some late nerves for the visitors after Jon Bennison was sin binned late in the contest and left them with twelve.

Mid-season signing Moses Mbye iced the game for the Saints despite being a man down. He spied a gap and dived over to make it 18-6.

Hull FC 10
Huddersfield Giants 52

Venue: MKM Stadium, Hull
Crowd: 10451
Date: Sunday 17 September 2023 at 12:00am

Hull FC (20)
Tries: Scott Taylor, Andre Savelio, Darnell McIntosh, Tex Hoy
Goals: Jake Clifford 1/3, Scott Taylor 1/1

Huddersfield Giants (52)
Tries: Kevin Naiqama 3, Jermaine McGillvary 2, Will Pryce 2, Sebastine Ikahihifo, Esan Marsters
Goals: Jake Connor 8/9

Hull FC: McIntosh, Swift, Scott, Sutcliffe, Barron; Hoy, Clifford; Fash, Houghton, Satae, Lane, Savelio, Cator. Int: Brown, Lovodua, Staveley, Taylor.
Huddersfield: Pryce, Halsall, Marsters, Naiqama, McGillvary; Connor, Lolohea; Ikahihifo, Milner, Greenwood, Hewitt, Livett, English. Int: O'Brien, Wilson, McQueen, Cudjoe.

Huddersfield Giants won 52-20 over Hull FC in an open game down at MKM Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The visitors struck first in the game. Jermaine McGilvary strolled over from a scrum play to make it 6-0 early in the contest.

Hull FC hit back with a pair of tries. Tex Hoy sliced through the defense to level then Darnell McIntosh finished off a long range effort to make it 10-6.

Tries continued to come in bunches in the game. Steven Marsters went over then Sebastian Ikahihifo charged over for a 16-10 half-time lead.

Hull FC were the first side to get on the board in the second stanza. Andre Savelio took Hoy's short pass to go over.

The Giants turned into a steamroller and piled on the points. Both Kevin Naiqama and Leon Pryce notched up doubles to make it 40-14.

Naiqama completed his hat-trick with a strong effort then McGilvary got himself a double with a late score in the one-sided rout.

Hull FC did find some late consolation through Scott Taylor. He barged over from close range to complete the 52-20 scoreline.

Catalans Dragons 61
Leeds Rhinos 0

Venue: Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan
Crowd: 9162
Date: Sunday 17 September 2023 at 2:00am

Catalans Dragons (61)
Tries: Adam Keighran 3, Tom Johnstone 2, Tom Davies 2, Mitchell Pearce, Benjamin Garcia, Matt Ikuvalu
Goals: Adam Keighran 9/10, Sam Tomkins 1/1
Field Goals: Sam Tomkins

Leeds Rhinos (0)

Catalans: Tomkins, Davies, Ikuvalu, Keighran, Johnstone; May, Pearce; McMeeken, McIlorum, Navarrete, Whitley, Séguier, Garcia. Int: Bousquet, Da Costa, Chan, Ma'u.
Leeds: Hooley, Fusitu'a, Newman, Handley, Olpherts; Martin, Sinfield; Oledzki, O'Connor, Holroyd, McDonnell, Gannon, Smith. Int: Lisone, Johnson, Ruan, Donaldson.

Catalans Dragons thumped Leeds Rhinos 61-0 in their game at Stade Gilbert Brutus on Saturday night.

The Dragons won back-to-back games which keeps silverware in their sights headed into an epic final weekend.

They blew the Rhinos away early doors to set the tone. Adam Keighran, Benjamin Garcia and Tom Davies to make it 18-0.

Catalans kept their foot on the throat with a further two scores to lead 28-0. Davies picked up his second four-pointer alongside winger Tom Johnstone.

After announcing his retirement mid-week, Mitch Pearce got involved in the scoring after taking a Tyrone May offload to touch down.

The points kept flowing for the hosts. Keighran got his second try alongside a good solo effort from Johnstone to make it 27 tries for the year.

Matt Ikavlau got himself a four-pointer after some patient football from the Dragons as the score blew past the half century mark.

Catalans were in pure pointscoring mode. Sam Tomkins kicked a field goal to make it 53-0 then added a penalty goal on the buzzer to push them past 60.

Keighran put the icing on the cake for Catalans. The centre completed his hat-trick latching onto a chip kick from Tomkins against a 12-man Rhinos.

Hull KR 12
Salford Red Devils 0

Venue: Sewell Group Craven Park, Hull
Date: Sunday 17 September 2023 at 4:30am

Hull Kingston Rovers (12)
Tries: Ryan Hall, James Batchelor
Goals: Brad Schneider 2/3

Salford Red Devils (0)

Hull KR: Walker, Senior, Opacic, Kenny-Dowall, Hall; Lewis, Schneider; Hadley, Parcell, King, Batchelor, Linnett, Minchella. Int: Abdull, Sue, Kennedy, Luckley.
Salford: Brierley, Sio, Cross, Lafai, Burgess; Croft, Sneyd; Hellewell, Ackers, Ormondroyd, Watkins, Stone, Partington. Int: Vuniyayawa, Atkin, Addy, Bourouh.

Hull KR won 12-0 against Salford Red Devils in their game down at Craven Park on Saturday night.

The Rovers were flying high after this game which confirmed they will finish inside the top six and make the finals.

They had some early chances in the contest but Brad Schneider wasn't able to handle an offload from Shaun Kenny-Dowall with the line open.

Schneider made up for that error to set up the opener. He turned the ball inside before it found James Batchelor to went over for a 6-0 lead.

Both sides had chances to get on the scoreboard before the half. Mikey Lewis was wrapped up after his break then Salford had theirs chalked off for a forward pass.

Salford were reduced to twelve when King Vuniyayawa was binned after a late hit on a Robins player but they held on to only trail by six.

Lewis was involved again when he won a penalty after a high tackle. Schneider stepped up and converted to make it 8-0.

Hull KR confirmed their top six spot with a late score. Veteran winger Ryan Hall rampaged down the sideline to get on the board and make it 12-0.

Table after Round 26

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

Top Tryscorers
Abbas Miski (27)
Tom Johnstone (27)

Top Pointscorers
Harry Smith (190)
Stefan Ratchford (190)
Adam Keighran (190)

Final round fixtures

Times AEST

Huddersfield Giants v Warrington Wolves
Sat 23 Sep 5:00AM at John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield

St Helens v Hull FC
Sat 23 Sep 5:00AM at Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens

Salford Red Devils v Catalans Dragons
Sat 23 Sep 5:00AM at Salford Stadium, Barton-upon-Irwell

Wakefield Trinity v Hull KR
Sat 23 Sep 5:00AM at Be Well Support Stadium, Wakefield

Leeds Rhinos v Castleford Tigers
Sat 23 Sep 5:00AM at Headingley Stadium, Leeds

Leigh Leopards v Wigan Warriors
Sat 23 Sep 5:00AM at Leigh Sports Village Stadium, Leigh