WRAP: 2024 Betfred Super League Round 15

Rob McHugh and Rugby League Project bring you a full wrap-up of Round 15 complete with match summaries and details, the table and the stats leaders as of this week.

All listed times are venue local.

The Super League season prepared itself to take another brief pause in round 15, with no games next weekend due to the France versus England international fixture, which forms part of the celebration of the 90th anniversary of Rugby League in France.

However, there was no drop in the intensity as the round featured some thrilling games and a moving tribute to Rob Burrow. 

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

Castleford Tigers 12 Hull KR 13
Venue: The Jungle, Castleford

Date: Thu, 20th June.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Hull KR 12-6.   Penalties: 2-all.   Referee: Aaron Moore.   Crowd: 7,897.

Castleford: Hoy, Qareqare, Hall, Wood, Senior; Milnes, Miller; Griffin, Horne, Westerman (C), Mellor, El-Zakhem, Hill. Int: Hall, Namo, Robb, English.
Hull KR: Evalds, Broadbent, Hiku, Opacic, Hall; May, Lewis; Sue, Litten, Brown, Hadley, Tanginoa, Minchella (C). Int: King, Luckley, Storton.

Castleford Tigers (12)
Tries: Sam Wood, Rowan Milnes
Goals: Rowan Milnes 2/2

Hull Kingston Rovers (13)
Tries: Elliot Minchella, Tom Opacic
Goals: Mikey Lewis 2/3
Field Goals: Jez Litten

The round opened up on Thursday night, as strugglers Castleford Tigers took on Hull KR. However, the logic of the league table was nearly turned on its head, as the Tigers pushed KR close, before succumbing to a late defeat, thanks to a Jez Litten Drop Goal. 

It was the Tigers who opened the scoring in the 13th minute, as Sam Wood scored the first try of the night. Rowan Milnes has been instrumental in Castleford's upturn in performance recently, and his dinked kick allowed Wood to outjump the KR defence and score in the left-centre channel. Milnes scored the conversion to give Castleford an early 6-0 lead.

The Robins were soon level though, as Tom Opacic touched down less than five minutes later. Though Opacic scored the try, it was created by another brilliant piece of play by Mikey Lewis, who jinked his way through the Tigers' defence before passing inside for Opacic to score. Lewis was on target with the conversion to level the scores.

Rovers were soon ahead, as influential loose forward, Elliot Minchella, touched down for their second try in quick succession. Litten broke through a broken Castleford defensive line on halfway from dummy half and took the ball deep into Castleford territory. He passed the ball to Minchella, who then weaved inside and outside of the covering defence, tying them in knots and scoring from 15 metres out. Lewis was on target again as KR took a 12-6 before halftime.

The score remained at 12-6 until midway through the second half, until the Tigers dragged themselves back into the contest. However, they should have been level before the 59th minute, as Sylvester Namo dropped the ball when trying to ground it with the line begging. Milnes eventually restored parity, dummying his way through Robins' defensive line from close range, before kicking a simple conversion.

With the scores level, both sides went in search of the game's decisive score, however, it would be KR who found it via a drop goal from Litten with four and a half minutes to play. The win keeps KR in third place in the Super League table, and very much in contention for the top two. Defeat does little to change Castleford's position, they remain in 10th place, as the bottom four in Super League all lost over the weekend. 

Wigan Warriors 36 London Broncos 0
Venue: The Brick Community Stadium, Wigan

Date: Fri, 21st June.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Wigan 24-0.   Penalties: Wigan 6-5.   Referee: Liam Rush.   Crowd: 14,280.

Wigan: French, Miski, Eckersley, Wardle, Marshall; Hampshire, Farrimond; Mago, O'Neill, Byrne, Nsemba, Farrell (C), Ellis. Int: Havard, Leeming, Hill, Walters.
London: Walker, Kershaw, Storey, Bassett, Miloudi; Leyland, Meadows; Bienek, Davies, Stock, Lovell (C), Adebiyi, Jones. Int: Tison, Williams, Hughes, Waine.

Wigan Warriors (36)
Tries: Jacob Wardle 2, Jack Farrimond 2, Liam Marshall, Abbas Miski
Goals: Jack Farrimond 6/6

London Broncos (0)
No scorers

It feels strange to ask the question, when is a 36-0 defeat not a bad result? But we may have found the answer at the DW Stadium on Friday night, as the Wigan Warriors beat the London Broncos without ever getting out of second gear. With the bookies setting the handicap mark at around +43 for London before the game, avoiding a cricket score seems to be a victory in itself.

Wigan youngster, Jack Farrimond, was the star of the show, as he grabbed two tries and kicked all six goals, in a memorable appearance for the talented young player. Farrimond helped himself to the first two tries of the game, with his first coming in the third minute. 

The first was a piece of brilliance as he stepped inside the onrushing Lee Kershaw, before ghosting between two London defenders to go over from around 30 metres out. The second showed his smarts as a support player, as he kept pace with Junior Nsemba as he powered through the London line, before passing inside to Farrimond to run in unopposed, as two of Wigan's brightest talents combined in the 13th minute.

Wigan soon extended their lead, this time through Super League's leading try scorer, Liam Marshall. Although Marshall touched the ball down, the try was created by a wonderful, bullet pass from Bevan French, which must have travelled 20 metres through the air as it cut out four London defenders, to find Marshall on the wing. Marshall had the simple job of jogging in from 20 metres and touching the ball down. 

London appeared to have scored a try of their own after 66 minutes, however, French hooker, Ugo Tison dropped the ball under little pressure to deny him a score. And Wigan immediately made them pay, as Abbas Miski scored in the next few minutes. French was again the creator, this time sending one of his trademark passes out to the other wing for Miski to collect and score. The pass may have been less spectacular this time, but the outcome was the same, as Wigan led 24-0 at half-time.

London restricted Wigan to 12 points in the second half, with Wigan scoring two tries through centre, Jake Wardle. Farrimond played a big part in the first, again breaking through the London defence with a brilliant pass on halfway before passing inside to Wardle in support, who scored under the posts. 

Wigan's final try came in the 55th minute, as they caught London cold from the base of the scrum. London, inexplicably, chose to make a substitution with Wigan packing down for the scrum under the posts, 10 metres out. As the substitute tried desperately to get back into the defensive line on the far side, Wigan worked the ball to Wardle, who scored a simple try. The win means Wigan open up a two-point lead at the top of the table. With a game in hand, they are ominously placed to lift more silverware this year. 

Leeds Rhinos 18 Leigh Leopards 10
Venue: AMT Headingley Stadium, Leeds

Date: Fri, 21st June.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Leeds 12-0.   Penalties: Leeds 5-3.   Referee: Chris Kendall.   Crowd: 17,535.

Leeds: Miller, Fusitu'a, Momirovski, McCormack, Edgell; Croft, Frawley; Oledzki, O'Connor, Sangaré, McDonnell, Martin, Smith (C). Int: Eseh, Johnson, Goudemand.
Leigh: Moylan, Hanley, Hardaker, Leutele, Charnley; Chamberlain, Lam (C); Amone, Ipape, Trout, O'Donnell, Halton, Hughes. Int: Norman, Davis, Dwyer, Pene.

Leeds Rhinos (18)
Tries: Brodie Croft 2, Matt Frawley
Goals: Rhyse Martin 3/4

Leigh Leopards (10)
Tries: Matt Moylan, Edwin Ipape
Goals: Matt Moylan 1/2

In the week they parted company with head coach, Rohan Smith, the Leeds Rhinos produced their best performance in months to see off playoff hopefuls, Leigh Leopards, and keep their own hopes of making the top six alive. However, in truth, it feels almost secondary to the moving and emotional tributes to Rob Burrow which took centre stage on the night.

A full house, including 80 of Burrow's former teammates made the trip to Headingley to observe a wonderful celebration of Burrow's life. It was a true mark of the man that so many people wanted to share in the moment and it must be a great comfort to his family that he gave so many people so much joy.

The Rhinos players were clearly fired up by the occasion and their half-backs scored all three tries on the night in a fitting tribute to Burrow. Brodie Croft, who was visibly emotional in both his celebrations and his post-match interview, did his best impression of Burrow to open the scoring for Leeds. Receiving the ball 15 metres out, Croft stepped, dummied and then burst his wat to the line, just touching the ball down on the whitewash at full stretch. He then let out a visceral roar of celebration before making a number seven gesture at the camera in honour of Burrow. Rhyse Martin kicked the conversion to give Leeds a 6-0 lead.

Croft then produced another spectacular effort to extend Leeds' lead. This time he received a short pass from Lachie Miller inside his own 20-metre line, before turning on the afterburners and running almost the full length of the pitch to score. No Leigh defenders could get near him for past as he scored his, and Leeds' second of the night. 

Martin missed the conversion, however, he was on target with a subsequent penalty to give Leeds a 12-0 lead at half-time. Leeds then extended their lead in the 49th minute, fittingly through the man wearing number seven, Matt Frawley. Frawley has come in for some criticism in recent weeks, however, he produced one of his best performances in a Leeds shirt on Friday. A half break by Miller allowed him to pass the ball to young winger, Alfie Edgell, who ran a smart inside line to cut through the defence. He passed inside to Frawley for a simple touchdown. Martin's goal gave Leeds an 18-0 lead.

However, Leeds were fielding a weakened side, thanks to six absences due to the symptoms of concussions, and they began to tire as Leigh grew into the game late on. Matt Moylan gave the Leopards in the 57th minute as he touched down to reduce the deficit. The try came from a scrum 10 metres out, under the Leeds posts. When the ball came out of the scrum, Lachlan Lam found Matt Moylan who stepped through the line to score. However, he missed the conversion, reducing the deficit to 14 points.

When Ipape broke through the Leeds line from close range it appeared that Leigh may have a route back in the game, but Leeds' defence held firm. The Rhinos clung on for an 18-10 win, in a game which was a perfect tribute to Burrow. Burrow's wife, Lindsay and two of their children were applauded off the field, through a guard of honour made by both sides, at the end of the game and there was not a dry eye left in the house. 

There's only one Rob Burrow.

Hull FC 18 Warrington Wolves 24
Venue: MKM Stadium, Hull

Date: Sat, 22nd June.   Kickoff: 3:00 PM.   Halftime: Warrington 12-0.   Penalties: Hull FC 3-2.   Referee: Ben Thaler.   Crowd: 10,083.

Hull FC: Moy, Briscoe, Tuimavave, Sutcliffe, Martin; Trueman, Reynolds; Ese'ese, Smith, Aydin, Scott, Lane, Sao. Int: Fash (C), Ashworth, Gardiner, Balmforth.
Warrington: Dufty, Thewlis, King, Tai, Ashton; Williams (C), Drinkwater; Harrison, Walker, Vaughan, Nicholson, Holroyd, Currie. Int: Musgrove, Bullock, Powell, Wood.

Hull FC (18)
Tries: Tom Briscoe, Liam Sutcliffe, Denive Balmforth
Goals: Ben Reynolds 3/3

Warrington Wolves (24)
Tries: Matt Dufty 2, Toby King, Danny Walker
Goals: Josh Thewlis 4/4

Hull FC came into their game against defeated Challenge Cup finalists, Warrington Wolves, full of confidence, following their second win of the season in the previous round. However, they fell just short of securing another Super League scalp, as Sam Burgess' Warrington side nicked the win in the last minute to break FC's hearts. The win breaks a three-game losing run for the Wolves and steadies a ship which seemed to be entering choppy waters.

Warrington took the lead after six minutes, through centre, Toby King. After Paul Vaughan was stopped near the Hull line, Warrington worked the ball to their left wing, where full-back, Matt Dufty, juggled and then offloaded to King who touched down to score. Josh Thewlis kicked the first of four successful conversions to give Warrington a 6-0 lead.

Despite being behind, Hull were largely the better side in the next phase of the game, in part thanks to a yellow card to Adam Holroyd on the half-hour mark. However, after wasting several good positions, found themselves 12-0 down before half-time. With Warrington attacking down the Hull right, Dufty threw a one-two with half-back, George Williams, before stepping his way past several Hull defenders to score a brilliant solo try. Thewlis added the conversion and FC were 12-0 down at half-time.

However, an interception try from young hooker, Denive Balmforth gave them hope. Balmforth read the play perfectly to intercept on halfway. He then broke towards the line with an open field in front of him. By the end, he looked like he was running pulling a cart to the try line, however, he had just enough legs to make it to the line. Ben Reynolds kicked his first of three successful conversions to cut the deficit back to 6 points. 

When Danny Walker burrowed over from close range for Warrington to restore a 12-point lead, it appeared that Warrington had finally established a decisive lead. However, this is a different FC side from the one which fell to so many humiliating defeats in the early part of the season. 

Liam Sutcliffe handed them a lifeline after 61 minutes, which sparked FC into life. Sutcliffe picked up a neat grubber kick from Balmforth to touchdown. Then, FC's Tom Briscoe brought them level with just 10 minutes to play. Hull worked the ball from left to right from the base of a scrum under the posts and quick hands from full-back, Logan Moy, put Briscoe in to score in the corner. 

With the scores level, the stage was set for a grandstand finish, and it was Warrington who emerged with the points, although in controversial circumstances. With Hull in FC possession near the Warrington line, a Warrington hand appeared to touch the ball, before it landed in the FC attacker's hands, before the last tackle was completed. The touch was missed by the officials, meaning a turnover was given, rather than a repeat set, and a potential FC shot for a drop goal.

Instead, Warrington took the ball up to the other end of the field and set up their own drop goal attempt, through George Williams. The field goal attempt was charged down, but the ball landed with Dufty, who stepped his way through the broken defensive line to score the decisive try late on and break FC's hearts. 

Catalans Dragons 22 Huddersfield Giants 18
Venue: Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan

Date: Sat, 22nd June.   Kickoff: 6:30 PM.   Halftime: Catalans 22-0.   Penalties: Catalans 3-2.   Referee: Liam Moore.   Crowd: 8,254.

Catalans: Mourgue, Davies, Romano, Ikuvalu, Johnstone; Abdull, Fages; Navarrete, McIlorum, Bousquet, Sims, Séguier, Garcia (C). Int: Nikorima, Satae, Dezaria, Maria.
Huddersfield: Lolohea, Halsall, Marsters, Naiqama, Wallis; Russell, Clune; Hill, Milner, Greenwood, Hewitt, Rushton, Yates (C). Int: Golding, Wilson, Savelio, Ikahihifo.

Catalans Dragons (22)
Tries: Théo Fages, Tom Johnstone, Tom Davies, Arthur Romano
Goals: Arthur Mourgue 3/4

Huddersfield Giants (18)
Tries: Harry Rushton 2, Ashton Golding
Goals: Oliver Russell 3/3

The Catalans Dragons finally registered another win in what was a textbook game of two halves. Defeat leaves Huddersfield Giants with just one win in eight games in all competitions, and heads coach, Ian Watson, facing major questions over his future. 

After 25 minutes, it appeared that the Dragons were cruising to victory, with four tries on the board and a healthy 22-0 lead. However, whatever Watson said at half-time nearly pulled off the shock comeback of the weekend, before the Giants fell agonisingly short. 

Catalans opened the scoring through departing winger, Tom Davies. Theo Fages' kick across the field was taken acrobatically by Matt Ikuvalu, who then offloaded to Romain Navarette. Navarette passed to Davies on the right wing, who dived into the corner to score a well-worked try. Arthur Mourgue missed the kick from the touchline, as the Catalans took an early lead in the second minute.

They only needed five minutes to extend their lead, with Fages turning from creator to scorer. Jordan Abdull's kick-through bounced off the padding on the goalpost into the grateful arms of Fages, who had reacted fastest to the deflection. Fages touched down for a simple try and Mourgue kicked the conversion to give Les Dracs a 10-point lead.

A fast start threatened to become a rout in the 14th minute when Arthur Romano touched down for their third try in quick succession. A quick play the ball close to the line allowed Abdull to find Romano, who stepped in from his left foot to send the defence the wrong way to score. Abdull was beginning to pull the strings from half-back, as Catalans scored their final points of the night. Abdull's chip to the wing was collected by Tom Johnstone, who touched down in the corner. Mourgue converted all three of these quickfire tries to give the Dragons a 22-0 lead. 

Watson was reported to have called the first half a total mess and torn into his players at half-time. Whatever he said appeared to have an immediate impact as the Giants went about building their way back into the game. They got their rewards in the 55th minute as Harry Rushden, who was their standout player on the night, brushed off some weak Catalans defence to score from close range. Olly Russell scored his first of three goals from three attempts to reduce the deficit to 16 points. 

When Ashton Golding scored the Giants' next try four minutes later, a seemingly hopeless situation had turned into a fightback. A brilliant move saw Golding collect a chip over the top of the Catalans defence with their full-back out of position. Golding touched down and Russell added the extras to bring the Giants back within 10.

Huddersfield's next try was a remarkable one, which may have brought a tear to the eye of Warrington-bound try scorer, Luke Yates. Adam Milner broke through a gap and passed back inside to Yates. The ball then hit Yates square in the face before bouncing through a gap in the defence. Yates somehow kept his composure, collected the ball and touched down for a remarkable try, which was confirmed with the help of the video referee.

However, the Giants were unable to complete a most remarkable of comebacks and, with every side ahead of them, apart from St Helens, winning on the weekend, this result may end their playoff hopes. For the Dragons, the win consolidates their place in the top six after a poor run of form. They are two points ahead of Leeds in seventh.

Salford Red Devils 20 St Helens 18
Venue: Salford Stadium, Barton-upon-Irwell

Date: Sun, 23rd June.   Kickoff: 3:00 PM.   Halftime: Salford 10-6.   Penalties: St Helens 9-5.   Referee: Jack Smith.   Crowd: 5,724.

Salford: Hankinson, Ryan, Macdonald, Stone, Cross; Atkin, Sneyd; Singleton, Mellor, Wright, Lewis, Watkins (C), Partington. Int: Vuniyayawa, Shorrocks, Dudson, Connell.
St Helens: Welsby (C), Bennison, Hurrell, Percival, Blake; Mbye, Dodd; Delaney, Clark, Lees, Sironen, Mata'utia, Bell. Int: Paasi, Davies, Royle, Stephens.

Salford Red Devils (20)
Tries: Deon Cross 2, Kallum Watkins, Chris Hankinson
Goals: Marc Sneyd 2/5

St Helens (18)
Tries: Curtis Sironen, Mark Percival, James Bell
Goals: Mark Percival 3/4

Salford Red Devils produced the shock result of the round, in the only game of the weekend where the lower-placed side won the game. Man of Steel contender, Marc Sneyd, was once again Salford's inspiration, as they completed a league double over St Helens for the first time in 60 years, tightening their grip on a play-off spot in the process. 

Salford coach, Paul Rowley, has been heavily linked with a move to Leeds in recent days, however, his side showed no signs of the speculation getting to them in another brilliant display. It was St Helens who took the lead in the game in the sixth minute, through James Bell. Bell was the first person to get on the end of a neat kick-through from Jack Welsby to open the scoring, with Percival adding the extras to give the Saints a six-point lead. 

However, Salford were soon back in the game, thanks to a Deon Cross try in the 17th minute. A high shot by Konrad Hurrell gave Salford a good field position and they did not waste the opportunity. A quick tap penalty from Joe Mellor got the Red Devils on the front foot before Mellor exchanged a quick one-two of passes with Shane Wright before putting Cross in to score in the corner.  The excellent Sneyd kicked the goal to level the scores.

Sneyd was instrumental in Salford's second try, this time with the boot. Cross got on the end of Sneyd's pinpoint kick, which was perfectly weighted, to score Salford's second of the game, with Sneyd off target this time. Cross then tackled Jon Bennison into touch to save a near-certain try and keep the score at 10-6 to Salford at half-time. 

But the Saints would come fighting back after half-time, scoring the first points of the half after 53 minutes. Curtis Sironen was the scorer, getting on the end of a Lewis Dodd pass to burst through the line and score, with Percival again on target. But Salford soon took the lead again in a topsy turvy encounter, this time through the evergreen Kallum Watkins, after Sneyd's towering kick had caused chaos in the Saints' defence. Sneyd missed the target once more, meaning Salford led by just two points.

A Percival penalty levelled the scores before the Saints thought they might have won the game. This time Percival scored the try, running onto a Sironen offload at pace to put Saints in front. However, he missed the crucial conversion which left the door ajar for Salford to nick the points. 

And they did not need a second invitation, thanks to a piece of magic from Ethan Ryan. Ryan burst down the right wing with just minutes left to play and passed to Chris Hankinson, who fought his way over the line to score. Sneyd kicked the conversion and sparked jubilant scenes amongst the Salford players and fans. The victory was a well-deserved win for one of Super League's perennial over-achievers and a perfect end to a brilliant weekend of Super League action. 

Round 15 table

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

RLP Stats Leaders

Most tries

Most goals

Most points