WRAP: 2024 Betfred Super League Round 9

A full detailed wrap on each Round 9 Super League match plus table and stats leaders, thanks to Rugby League Project and the fantastic Rob McHugh.

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

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

St Helens 13 Huddersfield Giants 12
Venue: Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens

Date: Thu, 25th April.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Huddersfield 12-6.   Penalties: Huddersfield 4-3.   Referee: Liam Moore.   Crowd: 9,888.

St Helens: Bennison, Makinson, Hurrell, Percival, Blake; Welsby, Lomax; Mata'utia, Mbye, Lees, Whitley, Batchelor, Knowles. Int: Clark, Bell, Sironen, Delaney.
Huddersfield: Connor, Swift, Bibby, Naiqama, Wallis; Lolohea, Clune; Wilson, Milner, Greenwood, Cudjoe, Rushton, Yates. Int: Golding, English, Ikahihifo, Halsall.

St Helens (13)
Tries: Thomas Makinson, Daryl Clark
Goals: Mark Percival 2/2
Field Goals: Jonny Lomax

Huddersfield Giants (12)
Tries: Kevin Naiqama, Adam Swift
Goals: Jake Connor 2/2

Huddersfield Giants, who have been in excellent form recently, threatened to pull off an upset in the first game of the weekend. However, they ultimately suffered a heart-breaking defeat against St Helens, thanks to a late Jonny Lomax drop goal. 

Huddersfield took an early lead, through ex-Saints man, Kevin Naiqama. Huddersfield worked the ball left for Adam Swift, who was tackled close to the St Helens line. But the field position allowed Tui Lolohea to hoist a cross-field kick towards the right touchline. The ball was contested in the air, and eventually dropped to Harry Rushton, who played a simple pass for Naiqama to score. Jake Connor added the extras to give Huddersfield a 6-0 lead.

The Giants quickly extended their lead, through in-form winger, Adam Swift. Swift brushed off a Saints tackle deep in his own half, after a half break from Connor. Swift then kicked forward for Tui Lolohea to chase. But both Lolohea and Waqa Blake, covering in defence, missed the bouncing ball and Swift was first to react to touch down. Connor made no mistake with the conversion to give the Giants a 12-0 lead.

The Giants were 12 points behind against Leeds in last week's win, but it was their turn to throw away a lead. Tommy Makinson got the Saints back into the game. Huddersfield were attacking the Saints line, but Makinson read their move to perfection and intercepted. No one got close to stopping him, and the Saints veteran ran in 60 metres to score. Percival converted to reduce the Giants' lead to 6 points, with the score at 12-6 at half time.

St Helens scored first in the second half, in controversial circumstances. Morgan Knowles appeared to lash out at Connor, who was stood at marker. Connor turned to complain to the referee, who did not stop the game, and Saints hooker Daryl Clark nipped through the gap to score from dummy half. Connor continued to remonstrate with the officials after the try was awarded, but the decision stood. Percival was on target with the conversion to level the scores.

And Saints pinched the points in the final minute of the game. Saints had the ball in the Huddersfield half, and Lomax attempted a drop goal. The Giants charged the kick down, but them stopped as there was confusion over who should retain possession. In the pause, Lomax seized his second chance, kicking the goal and securing the points for the Saints.

The result puts them back to the top of the Super League table, on 14 points from 9 games. Huddersfield drop out of the play off places into 7th place, two points behind Salford Red Devils.

Hull KR 26 Wigan Warriors 10
Venue: Sewell Group Craven Park, Hull

Date: Fri, 26th April.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Hull KR 18-0.   Penalties: Hull KR 4-3.   Referee: Tom Grant.   

Hull KR: Evalds, Burgess, Hiku, Gildart, Hall; May, Lewis; Sue, Litten, Whitbread, Hadley, Batchelor, Minchella (C). Int: Parcell, Luckley, Storton, Tanginoa.
Wigan: Field, Miski, Keighran, Wardle, Marshall; French, Smith; Thompson, O'Neill, Dupree, Nsemba, Farrell (C), Ellis. Int: Havard, Cooper, Mago, Leeming.

Hull Kingston Rovers (26)
Tries: Ryan Hall, Sauaso Sue, Kelepi Tanginoa, Peta Hiku, Oliver Gildart
Goals: Mikey Lewis 3/6

Wigan Warriors (10)
Tries: Liam Farrell, Abbas Miski
Goals: Adam Keighran 1/2

Hull KR bounced back from their heavy defeat at the hands of the Catalans Dragons, by producing one of the shock results of the round. The Robins outclassed champions Wigan, in a game which featured a sensational 100 metre try from an unlikely source.

Hull KR took the lead in the 6th minute, as Sauaso Sue crashed his way over from close range. Mikey Lewis kicked the conversion to make the score 6-0. The Robins had soon extended their lead, through Oliver Gildart, who dummied 10 metres out before holding off the Wigan defence to score. Lewis missed the kick meaning the Robins led by 10.

Wigan came into the game as favourites, but it was the Robins who were dominating, and they extended their lead from long range in the 30th minute. Peta Hiku broke the Wigan on his own 30 metre line and broke toward halfway. He passed inside to Niall Evalds, who took the ball deep into the Wigan half, before passing back to Hiku who saw off Liam Marshall to score a brilliant try, which Lewis converted to make the score 16-0.

Wigan scored first in the second half, to show that they should not be written off. A strong carry from Ethan Havard set up a good position under the posts, which gave Bevan French the space to loop a brilliant pass, over the grasping hands of Ryan Hall, out to Miski on the wing to score in the corner. Keighran missed the conversion. 

Wigan threatened to score again, with a Jake Wardle kick into the in-goal area somehow evading several Wigan attackers. But Hall re-established the Robins' dominance, by scoring the game's decisive try. Lewis bounced off a tackle from French before finding Gildart. Gildart's pass released Hall, and the powerful winger is almost unstoppable from close range. 

Then Kelepi Tanginoa scored the standout try of the night. With Wigan attacking the KR line, the ball hit the ground inside the Robins' 10 metre line, coming backwards off Hall's hand. Everybody stopped, except Tanginoa, who picked up the ball, and set off on a mammoth sprint for the line. The prop appeared to be running through treacle as he approached the Wigan line but had just enough in the tank to make it over the line.

Liam Farrell scored the final try of the night in the 75th minute, but by this stage the game was over. Hull KR were deserved winners, and victory solidifies their place in the top six. The Robins are now level on points with Wigan and Warrington, just two points behind joint leaders, St Helens and Catalans Dragons. 

Castleford Tigers 40 London Broncos 0
Venue: The Jungle, Castleford

Date: Fri, 26th April.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Castleford 30-0.   Penalties: London 6-5.   Referee: Jack Smith.   Crowd: 6,996.

Castleford: Hoy, Senior, Hall, Wood, Senior; Milnes, Miller; Watts, McShane (C), Westerman, Mellor, El-Zakhem, Hill. Int: Horne, Hall, Robb, Martin.
London: Walker, Kershaw, Storey, Bassett, Miloudi; Leyland, Meadows; Kennedy, Davis, Stock, Lovell (C), Jones, Parata. Int: Adebiyi, Williams, Makin, Tison.

Castleford Tigers (40)
Tries: Innes Senior 2, Paul McShane, Jacob Miller, Alex Mellor, Louis Senior, Rowan Milnes
Goals: Rowan Milnes 6/7

London Broncos (0)

Castleford Tigers secured their second win of the season, with a routing victory over bottom side London Broncos. London appeared to be moving in the right direction in last week's narrow defeat against Salford. But a heavy defeat at the Jungle means they stay firmly rooted to the bottom of the table.

Castleford only needed two minutes to open the scoring, as Jacob Miller scored the first of their seven tries. Miller found new signing, Tex Hoy, who broke the line on halfway. Hoy then returned the ball to Miller, who ran in unopposed to score from 30 metres out. Rowan Milnes scored the first of six successful conversions to make the score 6-0.

Milnes then added Castleford's second try, reacting quickest to Paul McShane's grubber kick through from close range in the 25th minute. McShane turned from creator to scorer almost immediately, scoring in the 28th minute. McShane scored s trademark try from dummy half, reacting to a gap in the London defensive line. Milnes kicked both goals to make the score 18-0 before the half hour mark.

The Tigers were on a roll, and they added two more scores before half time. First, in a near carbon copy of Miller's first try, Hoy again exploited a weakness on London's right wing. He broke the line and passed inside, this time to Alex Mellor who was in support. Castleford's final try before half time came down the same with, this time through winger, Innes Senior. The London right edge over committed on the inside, which gave Senior space. He handed off the desperate attempted try from James Meadows to score. Milnes was on target with both conversions to make the score 30-0 at half time.

Castleford's domination continued in the second half, and they took just three minutes to open the scoring after the break. With the ball deep in London territory, Miller floated a brilliant kick over the top for Innes Senior to collect for a simple finish, with Milnes adding the conversion off the touchline. Castleford's final try of the night came after 50 minutes, this time through Louis Senior on Castleford's right edge. Senior picked up Milnes' deft kick through and touched down in the corner to round off the corner, as Milnes missed his only unsuccessful kick of the night.

Leigh Leopards 30 Catalans Dragons 2
Venue: Leigh Sports Village Stadium, Leigh

Date: Fri, 26th April.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Leigh 6-2.   Penalties: Catalans 7-3.   Referee: Aaron Moore.   Crowd: 7,321.

Leigh: Moylan, Hanley, Hardaker, Leutele, Charnley; McNamara, Lam; Amone, Davis, Trout, O'Donnell, Halton, Hughes. Int: Norman, Holmes, Asiata (C), Dwyer.
Catalans: Mourgue, Davies, Ikuvalu, Romano, Johnstone; Rougé, Fages; Séguier, Da Costa, Navarrete, Sims, Sironen, Garcia (C). Int: Laguerre, Nikorima, Satae, Maria.

Leigh Leopards (30)
Tries: Kai O'Donnell 2, Josh Charnley, Matt Moylan, Umyla Hanley
Goals: Matt Moylan 5/5

Catalans Dragons (2)
Goals: Arthur Mourgue 1/1

Leigh Leopards backed up a narrow defeat against Warrington, in which they produced a much-improved performance, to record a huge victory over the Catalans Dragons. Leigh had won just once this season, having suffered from a number of injuries to high profile players, but were the much stronger side and registered a famous victory over an out of sorts Catalans side.

The first half was tight, with the sides trading sets until the Leopards broke the deadlock in the 26th minute. Tom Amone picked up a bouncing ball deep in his own half and carried the ball beyond halfway before being caught be the retreating defence. However, the Leopards worked the ball wide to winger Josh Charnley on the next play and he scored a simple try to open the scoring, which Matt Moylan converted. Arthur Mourgue kicked a penalty before half time to reduce the deficit to four points, making the score 6-2 at half time. But Les Dracs were about to be blown away by a rampant Leigh display in the second half.

Leigh extended their lead in the 46th minute through Kai O'Donnell. Leigh had a play the ball 10 metres out, near to the left-hand touchline. They played the ball down the blindside, with Moylan and Lachlan Lam exchanging passes, before putting O'Donnell over for a try. The next try came down Leigh's right-hand side and was, again, the product of smart work by Lam. Leigh worked the ball from left to right before Lam looped a brilliant pass over the top for Umyla Hanley to score. 

O'Donnell scored his second of the night, after an inside pass put hooker Brad Dwyer into space. Dwyer is always a threat in open field, and he ran through the Catalans defence, before releasing O'Donnell to score. Influential forward, John Asiata, was back in the Leigh side following an injury, and he created the final score of the night. He burst through a tackle before offloading to Moylan who ran in to score. Moylan converted all five tries, to make the score 30-2 to Leigh and cap off a dominant win. 

Salford Red Devils 17 Warrington Wolves 12
Venue: Salford Stadium, Barton-upon-Irwell

Date: Sat, 27th April.   Kickoff: 3:00 PM.   Halftime: Salford 11-10.   Penalties: 6-all.   Referee: James Vella.   Crowd: 5,910.

Salford: Brierley, Ryan, Macdonald, Lafai, Cross; Atkin, Sneyd; Ormondroyd, Mellor, Vuniyayawa, Wright, Watkins (C), Partington. Int: Cust, Shorrocks, Dixon, Dudson.
Warrington: Dufty, Thewlis, King, Ratchford (C), Russell; Williams, Hayes; Harrison, Walker, Vaughan, Nicholson, Fitzgibbon, Currie. Int: Philbin, Crowther, Bullock, Powell.

Salford Red Devils (17)
Tries: Joe Mellor, Tim Lafai, Ryan Brierley
Goals: Marc Sneyd 2/4
Field Goals: Marc Sneyd 1

Warrington Wolves (12)
Tries: George Williams, James Harrison
Goals: Stefan Ratchford 2/3

Salford Red Devils came out on top of a tight encounter against Warrington Wolves, in a game marred by a serious injury to young Warrington playmaker, Leon Hayes. Sam Burgess confirmed after the game that Hayes had suffered a dislocated ankle and was set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines. The game was a thoroughly absorbing contest and featured several contentious calls by the video referee.

Salford opened the scoring in the 10th minute, through Tim Lafai, thanks in part to some weak Warrington defence. Lafai picked up the ball 30 metres out and brushed off a weak Warrington tackle. The defence appeared to have him covered, but they were unable to bring Lafai down, as he somehow crashed his way over the line, handing off three attempted tackles in the process. The usually reliable Marc Sneyd missed the kick, meaning Salford led by four points. 

Warrington soon hit back, through prop forward James Harrison. Danny Walker was quick out of dummy half, picking up the ball and running through a gap in the Salford defence. He released Harrison who brushed off an attempted tackle to score from close range. Stefan Ratchford made no mistake with the conversion to give Warrington the lead after 17 minutes.

Warrington then extended their lead, through England captain George Williams. Walker was involved again, playing the ball quickly and passing to Williams who chipped through. Salford full back, Ryan Brierley, will be disappointed with his effort in defence. He seemed to switch off while chasing the ball into the in-goal area, unaware that Williams was bearing down on him. Williams managed to get to the ball ahead of Brierley, who should have dealt with the kick, to score. The on-field call to award the try was crucial, as the video referee has insufficient evidence to overturn it, despite the ball appearing to leave Williams' hand during the grounding.

Salford struck back before half time, thanks to some quick thinking from stand-in hooker, Joe Mellor. Salford has a play the ball on the Wigan line and Wigan's markers appeared to switch off. This allowed Mellor to pick up the ball and dive over in one motion, grounding the ball next to the posts. Sneyd added an easy conversion to level the scores. The game seemed to be drifting to half-time with the scores level, but Sneyd showed all his experience, kicking a drop goal on the stroke of half time to give Salford a narrow 11-10 lead.

The second half was a tight affair, with both sides afraid to make a decisive mistake. Sneyd turned down a kickable penalty which could have given Salford a three-point lead, electing to run the ball instead. Salford were unable to score from the resulting play. Warrington elected to kick the goal when they received a penalty in 10 metres from the Salford line, and Ratchford was on target to give the Wolves a one-point lead. Paul Vaughan then had a try controversially ruled out by the video referee, which may have but Warrington in an insurmountable lead.

But it was Salford who eventually scored the game's decisive try, again with the help of the video referee. Nene McDonald broke down the line and kicked in goal for the Salford players to chase. The video referee ruled that Brierley had been tackled without the ball and rightly awarded Salford a penalty try. Sneyd kicked the extras to make the final score 17-12 and continue Salford's strong start to the season. The Red Devils were expected to struggle by many, but find themselves in the top six after nine games. The defeat is only Sam Burgess' second as Warrington head coach, but they remain in the mix at the top of the table, just two points behind the leaders. 

Hull FC 12 Leeds Rhinos 18
Venue: MKM Stadium, Hull

Date: Sun, 28th April.   Kickoff: 3:00 PM.   Halftime: Leeds 12-6.   Penalties: Hull FC 7-1.   Referee: Liam Rush.   Crowd: 10,505.

Hull FC: Walker, Martin, Chamberlain, Sutcliffe, Tindall; Smith, Charles; Ese'ese, Houghton (C), Brown, Lane, Sao, Cator. Int: Pele, Gardiner, Moy, Aydin.
Leeds: Miller, Lumb, Momirovski, Martin, Roberts; Croft, Frawley; Oledzki, Ackers, Sangaré, McDonnell, Goudemand, Smith (C). Int: O'Connor, Lisone, Ruan, Edgell.

Hull FC (12)
Tries: Morgan Smith, Lewis Martin
Goals: Jack Charles 2/2

Leeds Rhinos (18)
Tries: Riley Lumb 2, Cameron Smith
Goals: Rhyse Martin 3/3

Strugglers Hull FC hosted Leeds Rhinos, in desperate need of an upturn in form. Hull FC have conceded more than 50 points on four occasions this season and are currently without a head coach. Leeds were looking for a lift having thrown away two 12 point leads the previous week against Huddersfield.

Leeds set the scene early, forcing Morgan Smith out of play with the first carry of the game. But it was Hull FC who opened the scoring in the 7th minute. Jack Walker broke the Leeds line 30 metres out, finding Morgan Smith in support to touch down and open the scoring. Jack Charles kicked the conversion to give Hull FC a 6-0 lead.

However, Leeds debutant Riley Lumb marked his first appearance with a brilliant try. Leeds worked the ball out to Lumb, 30 metres out. Lumb stepped inside, beating two Hull defenders before rounding full back, Jack Walker, to score. Rhyse Martin added the extras to level the score.

The game as an error strewn, but entertaining contest with Walker, in particular, shining for Hull FC. Luis Roberts thought he had given the Leeds, but his diving finish was ruled out by the video referee. The Rhinos did extend their lead shortly before half time, and it was debutant, Lumb, who got his second. He got on the end of Brodie Croft's kick through to touch down to score. Rhyse Martin added the conversion to give Leeds a 12-6 lead on the stroke of half time.

Leeds extended their lead in the 52nd minute, through captain Cameron Smith. Croft registered his 12th try assist of the season, as his short pass put Smith through the line for a close range try. Rhyse Martin scored a simple conversion to extend Leeds' lead to 12 points. However, Hull FC struck back immediately from the kick off. A mix up between Matt Frawley and Alfie Edgell saw Leeds spill the kick off. From the resulting possession,

Lewis Martin went in to score in the corner after a flowing passing move. Jack Charles converted from the touchline to narrow Leeds' advantage to six points.

While the intensity of the game remained, the quality deteriorated, as both teams continued to make errors. Hull FC looked more likely to score an equalising try, but they were unable to break Leeds' resistance and the game ended with a Leeds win. Interim Hull coach, Simon Grix, will be hoping they can carry through this much improved performance into their upcoming fixtures. Debutant Riley Lumb was the one bright spark for Leeds in a turgid performance. 

Round 9 table

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RLP stats leaders

Most tries

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