WRAP: 2024 Betfred Super League Round 2

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AJ Lucantonio wraps up Round 2 of the Betfred Super League.

All times listed are local UK times.

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

Hull KR 22 Leeds Rhinos 12
Venue: Sewell Group Craven Park, Hull

Hull Kingston Rovers (22)
Tries: Ryan Hall, Sauaso Sue, Peta Hiku
Goals: Jez Litten 5/5

Leeds Rhinos (12)
Tries: Ash Handley, Harry Newman
Goals: Rhyse Martin 2/2

Date: Thu, 22nd February.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Hull KR 8-6.   Penalties: Hull KR 11-3.   Referee: Jack Smith.   

Hull KR: Hiku, Evalds, Opacic, Gildart, Hall; May, Lewis; Whitbread, Litten, King, Tanginoa, Batchelor, Minchella (C). Int: Sue, Storton, Aydin, Hall.
Leeds: Miller, Roberts, Newman, Momirovski, Handley; Croft, Frawley; Sangaré, Ackers, Goudemand, Bentley, Martin, Smith (C). Int: Donaldson, O'Connor, Lisone, Ruan.

Hull Kingston Rovers have continued their unbeaten start to 2024 downing the Leeds Rhinos 22-12 at Craven Park. 

It was a bad start for Leeds with new signing Lachie Miller missing the match, withdrawing with a virus but they quickly recovered when they forced a mistake from Peta Hiku at the back. The subsequent time wasting saw him sent to the sin-bin. Leeds capitalised on the extra man advantage when Harry Newman finished off some lovely second phase play for a 6-0 lead.

A scrappy period of the game ensued until the final ten minutes until Rovers started making some inroads. Jez Litten's grubber ricocheted off the upright into the waiting arms of Sauaso Sue to level the scores. Just before the break, James Donaldson made high contact on Oliver Gildart and under the new reforms, he was sent to the bin. Litten added the penalty goal for an 8-6 half-time lead.

Six minutes into the second half, second phase play was again the order of the day, this time Rovers shifted the ball across the left hand side. A lovely tip on from Gildart found Ryan Hall who had enough pace to beat the cover defence to the try-line. The Rhinos needed a spark and an early kick inside their own half in the 57th minute found Ash Handley who sprinted away from the cover defence to reduce the gap to within two points.

However, more sloppy tackling cost the Rhinos ten minutes later when Sam Lisone was pinned by Jack Smith for a high tackle. On advice from Ben Thaler in the video referee room, he was also dispatched to the sin-bin. Litten's penalty goal extended the margin out to four points. The game was secured in the dying moments when Tyrone May dabbed it on the toe for Hiku to cross and secure their second win on the year.

Warrington Wolves 36 Hull FC 10
Venue: Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington

Warrington Wolves (36)
Tries: Sam Powell, Toby King, James Harrison, Danny Walker, Matthew Ashton, Connor Wrench
Goals: Josh Thewlis 6/7

Hull FC (10)
Tries: Jack Walker, Lewis Martin
Goals: Darnell McIntosh 1/2

Date: Fri, 23rd February.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Warrington 8-6.   Penalties: Warrington 11-10.   Referee: Marcus Griffiths.   Crowd: 9,431.

Warrington: Dufty, Thewlis, King, Wrench, Ashton; Hayes, Drinkwater; Harrison, Walker, Vaughan, Holroyd, Fitzgibbon, Currie. Int: Philbin, Musgrove, Powell, Wood.
Hull FC: Walker, Barron, McIntosh, Sutcliffe, Martin; Hoy, Smith; Brown, Brown, Ashworth, Okunbor, Staveley, Lane. Int: Gardiner, Severs, Litten, Balmforth.

The Super League's new high tackle reforms have created controversy with Warrington running way convincing 36-10 winners.

The first half was a competitive game and was an arm-wrestle. Warrington crossed for the first try inside the opening five minutes when Danny Walker crossed from dummy half after some poor defence into the middle field. Josh Thewlis added the extras for a 6-0 lead. Lachlan Fitzgibbon was denied moments later when the video ref ruled he knocked the ball on. 

Midway through the first half, Lewis Martin crossed from a scrum play that was well worked by Tony Smith's men. Darnell Mcintosh nailed the kick from the sideline to level the scores at 6-6. The drama began with five minutes to go. Fa'amanu Brown had a head clash with Ben Currie and was controversially sent off under the new reforms. The decision sparked outrage from everyone within the game. Thewlis added the penalty goal to get Wire up by 8-6 at the break. 

The drama continued when Matty Ashton was taken high as he was running down the sideline and a penalty was promptly blown. As replays began to be shown at the ground, the referee referred the decision upstairs as a penalty try. Video referee Liam Moore couldn't overturn the live decision and it was 14-6. 

Hull wouldn't go down without a fight and Jack Walker showed his pace and crossed with half an hour to go to reduce the gap to four points. Five minutes later, Sam Powell charged over for a soft try out of dummy half for the Wire and any hope of an unlikely victory was quickly extinguished. 

The Wire would continue their scoring rampage with three tries in the final twenty minutes despite losing Powell to a yellow card in that period. Toby King crossed in the 62nd minute after some enterprising second phase play caught out the tiring defence of Hull to cross in the left corner. James Harrison finished off some incredible second phase play showing cohesion and creative play. Connor Wrench showed some great speed down the right edge in the final moments to get the score out to 36-10.

London Broncos 0 Catalans Dragons 34
Venue: The Cherry Red Records Stadium, Wimbledon

London Broncos (0)

Catalans Dragons (34)
Tries: Tariq Sims 2, Théo Fages 2, Julian Bousquet, Jayden Nikorima
Goals: Arthur Mourgue 5/6

Date: Fri, 23rd February.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Catalans 16-0.   Penalties: Catalans 6-5.   Referee: Tom Grant.   Crowd: 5,102.

London: Leyland, Kershaw, Storey, Miloudi, Macani; Campagnolo, Meadows; Butler, Davis, Kennedy, Lovell (C), Adebiyi, Parata. Int: Jones, Stock, Williams, Bassett.
Catalans: Mourgue, Johnstone, Romano, Ikuvalu, Yaha; Abdull, Fages; Navarrete, Da Costa, Bousquet, Sims, Sironen, Garcia (C). Int: McMeeken, Nikorima, Satae, Dezaria.

The London Broncos have tried valiantly in their home opener, but as will be the case in 2024 the class of the opposition simply was too much for them to overcome. Catalans proved too strong winning convincingly 34-0.

It was clear in the early stages that it was going to be a tough slog for the Broncos. Catalans charged ahead inside the first two minutes when Theo Fages showed and goed to cross for the first try of the contest. Eight minutes later, Tariq Sims crashed over from point blank range and it was 10-0 after the opening 15 minutes.

Sustained pressure on the London line was defended brilliantly but their fatigue was obvious when they struggled to get out of their own end. Fages again crossed from relatively easy range and with Mourgue's conversion. It was 16-0 at the change of ends.

Eight minutes into the second half, Sims completed his double after getting a lovely pass from Jordan Abdull. Sims ran a great line to cross for the first try of the second half to extend the margin out to 22-0. London's defence showed some resilience, doing a great job to hold Ben Garcia up.

Shortly afterwards, Jayden Nikorima crashed over from dummy half to cross and extend the margin to 28. Julien Bosquet wrapped the game up with 10 minutes to go crashing over to make it 34-0. Despite some attacking brilliance late, London couldn't crack the Catalans defence and the passionate home crowd left with a duck egg next to their name in their home opener.

Huddersfield Giants 0 St Helens 28
Venue: John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield

Huddersfield Giants (0)

St Helens (28)
Tries: Sione Mata'utia, Matt Whitley, Morgan Knowles, Jack Welsby, Jon Bennison
Goals: Mark Percival 3/3, Thomas Makinson 1/2

Date: Sat, 24th February.   Kickoff: 5:30 PM.   Halftime: St Helens 12-0.   Penalties: Huddersfield 7-4.   Referee: Aaron Moore.   Crowd: 6,812.

Huddersfield: Lolohea, Swift, Marsters, Naiqama, Wallis; Clune, Russell; Hill, Milner, Ikahihifo, Murchie, Hewitt, Cudjoe. Int: Golding, English, Wilson, Salabio.
St Helens: Welsby, Makinson, Blake, Percival, Bennison; Lomax, Dodd; Walmsley, Clark, Lees, Whitley, Sironen, Knowles. Int: Mata'utia, Bell, Wingfield, Delaney.

St Helens have maintained their undefeated start to 2024 after shutting the Huddersfield Giants out by 28-0.

Saints started fast and crossed for their first try after just 10 minutes. A clever Johnny Lomax grubber was grounded by Matt Whitely and the Catalans recruit had his third try in just the opening two games. Mark Percival converted for a 6-0 lead. Percival had a chance to extend the lead with a long range penalty 15 minutes later, but was waved away.

Huddersfield had some chances to hit back and reduce the deficit. Adam Swift ran down field but was taken by new recruit Waqa Blake in the corner. A few minutes from the break, Saints collected their second when Sione Mata'utia crashed onto James Bell's pass to score. Percival converted for a 12-0 lead at the half.

Saints crossed 11 minutes after the resumption when Jack Welsby grounded Daryl Clark's well waited grubber. Saints went down to 12 men after Clark was sin binned for a professional foul jagging Esan Marsters off the ball. Huddersfield threatened the line, but would remain scoreless during the sin bin period and the remainder of the match. 

Despite being down to 12, Saints finished with a flurry of tries. Welsby turned provider when he broke through before finding Jon Bennison. Morgan Knowles finished off the shutout charging over under the sticks in the closing stages. 

Salford Red Devils 26 Castleford Tigers 22
Venue: Salford Stadium, Barton-upon-Irwell

Salford Red Devils (26)
Tries: Sam Stone 2, Nene Macdonald, Amir Bourouh
Goals: Marc Sneyd 5/5

Castleford Tigers (22)
Tries: Joe Westerman, Sam Wood, Jack Broadbent, Liam Horne
Goals: Luke Hooley 2/2, Daniel Richardson 1/2

Date: Sun, 25th February.   Kickoff: 3:00 PM.   Halftime: Salford 18-10.   Penalties: Castleford 9-6.   Referee: James Vella.   Crowd: 4,770.

Salford: Brierley, Hankinson, Macdonald, Lafai, Cross; Cust, Sneyd; Ormondroyd, Bourouh, Singleton, Stone, Watkins, Shorrocks. Int: Atkin, Vuniyayawa, Wright, Hellewell.
Castleford: Hooley, Qareqare, Broadbent, Wood, Senior; Richardson, Miller; Lawler, Horne, Putt, El-Zakhem, Tasipale, Westerman. Int: Milnes, Hall, Mustapha, Kibula.

Salford have held on against a fast finishing Castleford side for a 26-22 victory which sees the Red Devils get off the mark for their first victory of 2024. 

The Red Devils got the scoring underway inside the opening ten minutes when Marc Sneyd drew in the defence and delivered a wonderful pass to Sam Stone to cross for the opening try. Sneyd converted for a 6-0 lead. Three minutes later, the Red Devils continued their dominance with their second try. Brad Singleton attracted defenders to him, but Cas couldn't wrap the ball up and he found Amir Bourough to cross for their second and a 12-0 advantage.

Castleford wouldn't let the fast start by their opponents get to them. In the 22nd minute, Jacob Miller delivered a wonderfully timed pass to Sam Wood who hit the gap superbly. Danny Richardson converted to cut the gap in half. 

Ten minutes later, the gap was cut to just two points when a shift down the right found points, Jack Broadbent managed to keep his feet in the field of play and ground the ball. Salford delivered a blow on half time when Sneyd put up a bomb and a flying Nene MacDonald jumped up and over Luke Hooley for an amazing try on the half time break to extend the margin to eight. 

Eight minutes after the resumption, Sneyd and Stone combined once more. This time it was Sneyd's boot providing the assist, a instinctive grubber was grounded by Stone for his second try of the contest. With 25 minutes to go, George Lawler found a gap, before offloading the Joe Westerman who finished the job and scored.

Sneyd added a penalty goal in the final quarter to give Salford a 10 point cushion, and those points would be critical. In the final moments of the game, Liam Horne was scouring around the ruck and collected another well timed offload to reduce the gap to just four points. However, they couldn't rally another attack and they would narrowly lose the match. 

Wigan Warriors v Leigh Leopards
Venue: DW Stadium, Wigan
Postponed due to World Club Challenge

Table after Round 2

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

Most tries

3: Ash Handley (Leeds), Matt Whitley (St Helens)
2: Niall Evalds (Hull KR), Theo Fages (Catalans), Liam Marshall (Wigan), Tariq Sims (Catalans), Sam Stone (Salford), Jack Welsby (St Helens)

Most points

22: Arthur Mourgue (Catalans)
18: Marc Sneyd (Salford)
14: Rhyse Martin (Leeds)

Disciplinary charges

Following Round Two of the Betfred Super League, the Match Review Panel have issued the following sanctions:

Jack Brown (Hull FC) - Grade B Dangerous Contact - £250 Fine
Harvey Barron (Hull FC) - Grade B Dangerous Contact - £250 Fine
Will Gardner (Hull FC) - Grade B Dangerous Contact - £250 Fine
Liam Sutcliffe (Hull FC) - Grade D Contact with Match Officials - 2 Match Penalty Notice and £250 Fine
James Donaldson (Leeds Rhinos) - Grade D Head Contact - 2 Match Penalty Notice and £250 Fine
Sam Lisone (Leeds Rhinos) - Grade D Head Contact - 3 Match Penalty Notice and £250 Fine

Operational rules tribunal

The independent Operational Rules Tribunal has made the following decisions following incidents in Rounds One and Two from the Betfred Super League.

Jack Hughes of Leigh Leopards successfully challenged a Grade B Dangerous Contact charge from the Round One fixture against Huddersfield Giants. He was found not guilty, meaning a punishment of a £250 fine no longer applies.

Tom Amone, also of Leigh Leopards, had been charged with Grade C head contact following an incident in the same Round One fixture, but the charge was amended to a Grade B. Amone's challenge against the Grade B charge was rejected, meaning he will serve a one-match suspension, with a £500 fine.

Ricky Leutele, also of Leigh Leopards, successfully challenged a Grade C head contact charge, again from the Round One fixture, which would have carried a one-match suspension. His not guilty plea was upheld.

Sam Lisone of Leeds Rhinos was unsuccessful in his challenge against a Grade D head contact charge following last Thursday's Round Two fixture at Hull KR. He must therefore serve a three-match suspension, with a £250 fine.

Liam Sutcliffe of Hull FC was unsuccessful in his challenge against the grading of a Grade D charge of contact with a match official in last Friday's Round Two fixture at Warrington. He must therefore serve a two-match suspension, and pay a £250 fine.

An independent Operational Rules Tribunal considered two cases on Wednesday February 28.

Luke Broadbent of Barrow Raiders was found guilty of a Grade E charge of punching in the Betfred Challenge Cup Third Round tie against Oldham, and suspended for four matches.

The ORT ruled that Tom Amone of Leigh Leopards did not have grounds to appeal against the Grade B head contact charge of which he was found guilty by a separate ORT on Tuesday (February 27). Therefore his one-match suspension stands, with a £500 fine.