Dismal Panthers Sneak home
10 hours ago | Andrew Ferguson
AJ Lucantonio and Rugby League Project bring you the weekly wrap of the UK's top flight.
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The Warrington Wolves have won three games on the bounce after a dominant first half to defeat the Leeds Rhinos by 30-18.
Warrington started with early field position and crashed over for the opening try of the contest. A well weighted grubber kick from George Williams was grounded first by Matty Ashton and the Wire had an early 6-0 lead after just two minutes. That lead was extended minutes later thanks to another Wire try. Danny Walker took off from dummy half through some amateur defence before linking up with Matt Dufty and the Wolves were already out to a 12-0 lead.
Leeds quickly responded in front of new acting coach Brad Arthur and were looking to stay competitive. Fortunately, they were next to score thanks to David Fusitu'a. Brodie Croft delivered a well-weighted cross-field kick, and it was caught spectacularly by Fusitu'a to get the margin back to eight points.
The rest of the first half was a slug fest, but four minutes before the break. The Wire struck with brutal efficiency. Dufty crossed (36th minute) after weaving his way through some poor defence. Roderick Tai added another before the half-time siren after Jack Sinfield nailed kick which was ricochet to Tai to make the scores 24-4 at the break.
Leeds responded well to start the second half with two tries in the opening 10 minutes of the second stanza. Lachie Miller crossed to give the Rhinos life, before Williams' sin-binning gave newfound energy to the Rhinos. This saw Ned McCormack cross for his maiden SL try and cut the gap further.
But, the Rhinos failed to execute and Warrington capitalised crossing through Tom Whitehead to put the game beyond doubt. A late try to Paul Momirovski did little to help Leeds' cause with Arthur having work to do in his limited cameo to try and get the Rhinos into semi-finalists.
Warrington Wolves 30 Leeds Rhinos 18
Venue: Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington
Date: Thu, 11th July. Kickoff: 8:00 PM. Halftime: Warrington 24-4. Referee: Jack Smith. Crowd: 8,471
Warrington: Dufty, Lindop, Tai, Ratchford, Ashton; Williams (C), Drinkwater; Harrison, Walker, Vaughan, Nicholson, Holroyd, Currie. Int: Musgrove, Crowther, Powell, Whitehead.
Leeds: Miller, Fusitu'a, Momirovski, McCormack, Handley; Croft, Sinfield; Oledzki, O'Connor, Eseh, McDonnell, Martin, Smith (C). Int: Ackers, Lisone, Goudemand, Edgell.
Warrington Wolves (30)
Tries: Matt Dufty 2, Tom Whitehead, Matthew Ashton, Rodrick Tai
Goals: Stefan Ratchford 5/5
Leeds Rhinos (18)
Tries: David Fusitu'a, Paul Momirovski, Lachlan Miller, Ned McCormack
Goals: Rhyse Martin 1/4
Wigan have continued St Helens' recent Super League collapse after dropping their third game in a row following a 16-12 loss this evening.
Matty Lees was yellow carded for high contact in the first set of the game. The decision looked incredibly harsh as the Wigan player was slipping and stayed down waiting for the video ref intervention. Despite the controversial start, the Saints were able to hang on and keep their line in tact.
After the roughening up period, Saints responded well and crossed for the first try after 19 minutes. Some creative work around the ruck from Daryl Clark put Curtis Sironen through a hole before finding Harry Robertson in space before linking up with Jack Welsby to make it 6-0.
Wigan responded efficiently and thoroughly three minutes later. A well worked set play to the left edge saw Zach Eckersley into space before passing to his support man in Jake Wardle to level the scores at the break.
The second half began in a tense affair, as both sides tried to gain ascendency. St Helens responded strongly and got themselves back in front. Johnny Lomax again hit a short ball to Sironen who stood in the tackle before finding Waqa Blake who touched down in the corner to make it 12-6 with just over 20 to play.
Wigan again responded with dynamic force to level the scores. Eckersley was causing chaos, he again stood in the tackle as Saints couldn't tackle him and he was almost over the line. But, from the next play the Warriors levelled the scores. Some interchanging passing saw the ball end up with Adam Keighran cross to make it 12-12.
The Warriors crossed to win the game with 12 and a half to go after a well worked move to the right edge. Eckersley was the hardest man to tackle all night, having eight tackle breaks and two line-breaks. After looking so damaging, he was rewarded with a try of his own that secured another win for Wigan as they charge towards the minor premiership.
Wigan Warriors 16 St Helens 12
Venue: The Brick Community Stadium, Wigan
Date: Fri, 12th July. Kickoff: 8:00 PM. Halftime: 6-all. Referee: Liam Moore. Crowd: 20,152.
Wigan: Eckersley, Miski, Keighran, Wardle, Marshall; Farrimond, Smith; Havard, Thompson, Dupree, Nsemba, Farrell (C), Ellis. Int: Byrne, Mago, Hill, Walters.
St Helens: Robertson, Ritson, Percival, Davies, Blake; Welsby, Lomax (C); Delaney, Clark, Lees, Sironen, Bell, Paasi. Int: Royle, Burns, Vaughan, Stephens.
Wigan Warriors (16)
Tries: Jake Wardle, Adam Keighran, Zach Eckersley
Goals: Harry Smith 2/3
St Helens (12)
Tries: Jack Welsby, Waqa Blake
Goals: Mark Percival 2/2
The Castleford Tigers have recorded back to back victories, downing the hapless London Broncos away from home today.
Cas had all the early running, crossing for the game's opening two tries inside the first ten minutes. Tex Hoy has found himself at home since departing Hull FC and crossed for the first try after just four minutes. Hoy crossed for an individual try when he scooped the ball out of dummy half and caught London asleep at the wheel to score. Five minutes later, the run continued when the halves and Hoy combined to send Innes Senior away down the sideline to score in the corner to make it 12-0.
London responded well and were next to score after 23 minutes. A cross-field kick from Oliver Leyland couldn't be defused and Josh Rourke was there to take the ball and score, this reduced the gap to just eight points. The Tigers added two quick tries before the break to put the game seemingly out of London's reach. Alex Mellor crossed for the first of his two tries after 29 minutes after hitting a great hole from a scrum.
Cas were having strong success down their left edge and went there again as Senior was able to capitalise and cross for his second try and it was 22-4. The Broncos were on the ropes but fortunately for them, they crossed for a try before the break to stay in the contest. Leyland again turned provider with a lovely pass to Will Lovell to cut the gap to 14 at the break.
The Tigers started strongly in the second half, adding the hammer blows after 53 minutes. Jacob Miller was carving up and set up another try with a clean break before finding Mellor to score. Miller had his fourth try-assist of the game and Mellor had his second try. Two minutes later, Rowan Milnes backed up another break down the left edge to make the score 34-8.
London added two consolation tries in the last twenty to make the score competitive. Marcus Stock crossed with twenty to go. Stock had the ball stripped from him legally, but he was able to win the race to the loose ball. After several replays, he video referee awarded the try for the London interchange forward. Lewis Bienek crossed with ten to go crashing through some soft defence to reduce the gap to 14 points.
London Broncos 20 Castleford Tigers 34
Venue: Kufflink Stadium, Ebbsfleet
Date: Fri, 12th July. Kickoff: 8:00 PM. Halftime: Castleford 22-8. Referee: James Vella. Crowd: 2,050
London: Rourke, Kershaw, Bassett, Storey, Macani; Leyland, Meadows; Kennedy, Davis, Bienek, Lovell (C), Adebiyi, Jones. Int: Tison, Butler, Natoli, Stock.
Castleford: Hoy, Qareqare, Hall, Mellor, Senior; Milnes, Miller; Griffin, Horne, Mustapha, El-Zakhem, Lawler, Westerman (C). Int: Watts, Robb, Johnson, English.
London Broncos (20)
Tries: Lewis Bienek, Marcus Stock, Will Lovell, Josh Rourke
Goals: Oli Leyland 2/4
Castleford Tigers (34)
Tries: Innes Senior 2, Alex Mellor 2, Rowan Milnes, Tex Hoy
Goals: Rowan Milnes 5/6
The Hull Derby has ended in triumph for Rovers with a 24-10 win over Hull FC.
Rovers opened in flying style. A brilliant out the back pass from Matt Parcell sent Sauaso Sue over the line after just four minutes. The front rower crashed his way over, beating several defenders on his way to the line to lead 6-0.
The hot start continued just nine minutes later. Mikey Lewis joined the scorers sheet after Parcell continued causing havoc around the play the ball. Once again scheming around the ruck, the Aussie hooker timed his offload to Lewis perfectly to cross the stripe and it was looking like a repeat of earlier this season.
It was soon giving the black and whites PTSD when Matty Storton crossed in the seventeenth minute of action. Another brilliant dart from Parcell gave Rovers quick ruck speed. This gave Rovers momentum and Tyrone May was able to link up with Storton to cross and the Rovers were keeping pace with the clock after 18 minutes.
Fortunately, Hull FC stemmed the bleeding for the remainder of the first half and it remained 18-0 as the teams enjoyed a rest. Clearly what Simon Grix said struck a nerve with the black and whites as they crossed for two quick tries in the second half to reduce the gap.
A well worked set play to the left saw the opening try of the half. Lewis Martin was on the end of a sweeping move which saw him touch down in the corner. FC quickly got a second, capitalising on Joe Burgess' sin-binning for a professional foul. Jordan Lane and Ligi Sao linked up to break the Rovers line. From the ensuing play, Logan Moy then crossed and after a lengthy video referral, the try was given and the gap was eight.
Despite their best efforts, the black and whites couldn't strike. Elliott Minchella sealed the deal for Rovers in the game's dying moments. Ryan Hall broke away down the right and kicked back in field. An awful mix-up allowed Minchella to touch down and seal a win for Rovers by 24-10.
Hull FC 10 Hull KR 24
Venue: MKM Stadium, Hull
Date: Sat, 13th July. Kickoff: 3:00 PM. Halftime: Hull KR 18-0. Referee: Chris Kendall. Crowd: 15,392.
Hull FC: Moy, Briscoe, Tuimavave (C), Sutcliffe, Martin; Trueman, Charles; Ese'ese, Smith, Aydin, Lane, Sao, Gardiner. Int: Fash, Litten, Balmforth, Chan.
Hull KR: Evalds, Burgess, Hiku, Gildart, Hall; May, Lewis; Sue, Parcell, Hadley, Storton, Tanginoa, Minchella (C). Int: Opacic, Litten, Whitbread, Brown.
Hull FC (10)
Tries: Lewis Martin, Logan Moy
Goals: Liam Sutcliffe 1/2
Hull Kingston Rovers (24)
Tries: Sauaso Sue, Elliot Minchella, Matthew Storton, Mikey Lewis
Goals: Mikey Lewis 4/4
It was a controversial affair in Leigh as the Leopards did just enough to down Huddersfield by 20-16 who themselves capped off a dramatic week after the dismissal of Ian Watson.
Huddersfield had that new coach bounce early with Luke Robinson's men crossing for the first try after just six and a half minutes. A well worked move down the left edge caught the Leigh defence asleep and it was Elliott Wallis who crossed untouched to give the Giants a 4-0 lead.
It took Leigh a while to warm into the contest despite some near misses. From a scrum move in attacking territory, the Leopards struck back after 26 minutes of action. Umaya Hanley drew in some shaky edge defence to find Darnell McIntosh to cross in the right corner and it remained level after Matt Moylan's missed conversion. Moylan atoned for the miss when he added a penalty shot after a high shot from Harry Rushton and it remained 6-4 at the break.
The second half started well for the Giants as Jake Connor split the shaky Leigh defence to restore the lead for Huddersfield back to two points. The refereeing entered the spotlight in the second half, after Leigh thought they got the ball back from a penalty kick. But in an officiating blunder, the touch judge waved a kick for touch out, despite the ball not bouncing over the sideline.
Tempers erupted further after 55 minutes after a dangerous tackle from Chris Hill, this saw the front rower and Jack Hughes (for flaring the situation up) binned and we were 12 v 12, Moylan added a penalty goal to level the scores. It wasn't that way for long with Andre Savelio sent off with 20 to go after a high shoulder charge to the head of Robbie Mulhern.
Despite being down to 11, Connor put the Giants in front with a penalty goal with 17 to go and Leigh had to act quickly. Lachie Lam got through a half-gap before unloading to Kai O'Donnell who ran the best part of 15 metres to restore the lead back in favour of the Leopards. The Leopards sealed the deal with 10 to go when Zak Hardaker crossed following brilliant lead-up work by Moylan. The Giants managed a consolation try with Wallis awarded a penalty try following a professional foul by Hughes. Despite the late efforts, Huddersfield couldn't get the last play to stick and had to settle for another loss.
Leigh Leopards 20 Huddersfield Giants 16
Venue: Leigh Sports Village Stadium, Leigh
Date: Sat, 13th July. Kickoff: 3:00 PM. Halftime: Leigh 6-4. Referee: Tom Grant. Crowd: 7,160.
Leigh: Moylan, Hanley, McIntosh, Leutele, Hardaker; O'Brien, Lam; Amone, Ipape, Mulhern, O'Donnell, Halton, Trout. Int: Pene, Asiata, Hughes, Dwyer.
Huddersfield: Connor, McGowan, Bibby, Halsall, Wallis; Lolohea, Clune; Hill, Milner, Greenwood, Hewitt, Rushton, Yates. Int: Golding, Wilson, Savelio, Rogers.
Leigh Leopards (20)
Tries: Zak Hardaker, Darnell McIntosh, Kai O'Donnell
Goals: Matt Moylan 3/4, Zak Hardaker 1/1
Huddersfield Giants (16)
Tries: Elliot Wallis 2, Jake Connor
Goals: Jake Connor 2/4
Catalans have put a week of controversy behind them to shut out the Salford Red Devils by 20-0 at home. The club had sacked Sio Siua Taukeiaho, Jayden Nikorima and Damel Diakhate after allegedly skipping training and club events to attend a concert.
The home side started strongly and crossed for first points in bizarre fashion. A clearing kick by César Rougé was ricochet into a Salford player before Bayley Sironen picked the ball up on half-way. Sironen ran to the 30m line before giving a suspect pass back to Rougé to cross for the opening try after six minutes of play. The conversion attempt by Arthur Mourgue was successful and things looked promising from the home side's point of view.
Five minutes later, the Dragons shifted the ball to the left edge and came up with yet another try. A Rougé cross-field kick was collected by Fouad Yaha, who then kicked the ball back in field. The ball was cleverly scooped up by Arthur Romano who crossed for the first of his two tries. Despite having to go upstairs, the video referee quickly gave the green lights to the Dragons' centre. Mourgue converted for 12-0.
After a back and forth affair for the remainder of the first half. Catalans decided to play some expansive football in Salford's end and crossed for their third of the opening forty. Ben Garcia stood in the tackle and offloaded to Chris Satae. He managed to find a pass to Mike McIlorum who shifted it again to the right and a clever Rougé grubber found Romano to cross for his second of the half and the Dragons led 18-0 at the change of ends.
An early second half penalty saw the Dragons extend their margin to 20 points in the second half and that's where it stayed. Salford didn't offer much in attack throughout the second half and despite a near miss, they didn't allow Catalans to cross the line for the remainder of the second half. The Devils remain in the top six with critical matches to come in their season.
Catalans Dragons 20 Salford Red Devils 0
Venue: Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan
Date: Sat, 13th July. Kickoff: 5:30 PM. Halftime: Catalans 18-0. Referee: Aaron Moore. Crowd: 7,750
Catalans: Mourgue, Davies, Romano, Ikuvalu, Yaha; Rougé, Fages; Navarrete, McIlorum, Bousquet, Sims, Sironen, Garcia. Int: Da Costa, Séguier, Satae, Dezaria.
Salford: Brierley, Ryan, Stone, Hankinson, Cross; Atkin, Sneyd; Singleton, Mellor, Lewis, Wright, Watkins, Partington. Int: Bourouh, Vuniyayawa, Shorrocks, Dudson.
Catalans Dragons (20)
Tries: Arthur Romano 2, César Rougé
Goals: Arthur Mourgue 4/4
Salford Red Devils (0)
# | Team | P | W | D | L | B | +/- | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wigan | 16 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 261 | 28 |
2 | Warrington | 17 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 205 | 24 |
3 | Hull KR | 17 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 195 | 24 |
4 | St Helens | 17 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 255 | 22 |
5 | Catalans | 17 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 89 | 22 |
6 | Salford | 17 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 0 | -11 | 22 |
7 | Leeds | 17 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 0 | -7 | 18 |
8 | Leigh | 16 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 24 | 13 |
9 | Huddersfield | 17 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 0 | -71 | 12 |
10 | Castleford | 17 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 0 | -175 | 11 |
11 | Hull FC | 17 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | -292 | 4 |
12 | London | 17 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | -473 | 2 |
RELATED: Click here to view the current Betfred Super League table.
Rank | Player | Team | P | T |
1 | Liam Marshall | Wigan | 15 | 17 |
=2 | Matt Dufty | Warrington | 16 | 13 |
=2 | Innes Senior | Castleford | 17 | 13 |
=4 | Ash Handley | Leeds | 14 | 12 |
=4 | Jack Welsby | St Helens | 17 | 12 |
=6 | Adam Swift | Huddersfield | 10 | 11 |
=6 | Bevan French | Wigan | 14 | 11 |
=6 | Peta Hiku | Hull KR | 17 | 11 |
Rank | Player | Team | P | G/A | % |
1 | Marc Sneyd | Salford | 17 | 55 / 64 | 86% |
2 | Mark Percival | St Helens | 15 | 52 / 66 | 79% |
3 | Arthur Mourgue | Catalans | 16 | 51 / 58 | 88% |
4 | Rhyse Martin | Leeds | 17 | 48 / 61 | 79% |
5 | Mikey Lewis | Hull KR | 16 | 41 / 53 | 77% |
6 | Matt Moylan | Leigh | 16 | 40 / 53 | 75% |
7 | Stefan Ratchford | Warrington | 9 | 37 / 42 | 88% |
Rank | Player | Team | P | T | G | FG | Pts |
1 | Mark Percival | St Helens | 15 | 5 | 52 | - | 124 |
2 | Marc Sneyd | Salford | 17 | 2 | 55 | 3 | 121 |
3 | Arthur Mourgue | Catalans | 16 | 4 | 51 | - | 118 |
4 | Mikey Lewis | Hull KR | 16 | 8 | 41 | - | 114 |
5 | Rhyse Martin | Leeds | 17 | 4 | 48 | - | 112 |
6 | Matt Moylan | Leigh | 16 | 4 | 40 | - | 96 |
7 | Josh Thewlis | Warrington | 12 | 8 | 29 | - | 90 |