WRAP: 2024 Betfred Super League Round 19

A full wrap of Super League Round 19 with AJ Lucantonio and stats from Rugby League Project.

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

Resurgent Leeds humble Huddersfield

Brad Arthur has his first win as Leeds coach courtesy of a 34-6 win over the Huddersfield Giants away from home.

It was a fast and furious start for the visitors who crossed for the first try of the contest after just two minutes of play. It was a clever cross-field kick which was well taken by Ash Handley who outleapt the opposing winger to cross for the first try after just two minutes of play. The Giants answered back just minutes later. A clever grubber was awfully defused by Lachie Miller which allowed Aidan McGowan to level the scores after 11 minutes.

Five minutes later, the Rhinos thought they had a second but they were denied via a double movement spotted by Liam Moore in the video box. The game went into a lull right up to the half hour mark. A routine bomb defusal went awfully wrong for Jake Connor which saw him ice-skating in the in-goal and Harry Newman grounded the ball for a Rhinos lead. This was added to before the break when Matt Frawley backed up in support after Miller broke through some poor edge defence and it was 18-6 at the break.

The second half then entered into a slow start as both sides jostled for field position and overall ascendency. Huddersfield were made to pay for their aggressiveness in defence when the Rhinos shifted it left and Handley crossed for his second just before the hour mark.

The Rhinos added two later tries in the second half to put the exclamation point on what was a dominant display away from home. The first came with 13 to go as Brodie Croft got his way through some horrific goal line defence to put the game beyond the reach of the Giants. This was followed through Miller's effort with six minutes to play. Sam Lisone might face the wrath of the MRC following a nasty incident where he appeared to use his elbow illegally.

Huddersfield Giants 6 Leeds Rhinos 34
Venue: John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield

Date: Thu, 25th July.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Leeds 18-6.   Penalties: Huddersfield 6-1.   Referee: Marcus Griffiths.   Crowd: 4,924.

Huddersfield: Connor, McGowan, Halsall, Naiqama, Wallis; Lolohea, Clune; Hill, Milner, English, Bibby, Cudjoe (C), Rushton. Int: Golding, Russell, Salabio, Rogers.
Leeds: Miller, Handley, Newman, Momirovski, Edgell; Croft, Frawley; Oledzki, Ackers, Eseh, McDonnell, Martin, Smith (C). Int: Bentley, O'Connor, Lisone, Donaldson.

Huddersfield Giants (6)
Tries: Aidan McGowan
Goals: Jake Connor 1/1

Leeds Rhinos (34)
Tries: Ash Handley 2, Brodie Croft, Matt Frawley, Harry Newman, Lachlan Miller
Goals: Rhyse Martin 5/6

Wire wrestle Wigan to go top

The Warrington Wolves have inflicted Wigan with their biggest Super League defeat since Rd 20 2022 with a 40-4 win over the reigning premiers.

The visitors got off to a strong start when they crossed for the first try after just two minutes of action. A clever Matt Dufty grubber was grounded just in time by Arron Lindop to give the Wire an early advantage. This didn't last long as Wigan were keen on impressing their 15,000 strong crowd. A clever cross-field kick was hauled in by Liam Marshall and the gap was just two points.

Despite the early resistance, Warrington were on fire in the opening 40 minutes of action. A short ball to Adam Holyrod put him into space and it was 12-4 to the Wire after 20 minutes. Wigan didn't go down quietly trying their best to play free-flowing football but a cut-out pass by Farrimond was intercepted by Matty Ashton who raced away to make it 18-4 at the change of ends.

The second half didn't make things better for the Warriors. Dufty delivered a cracking pass to Lindop who had some clear space to work with and he beat the chasing defenders to score after 43 minutes. Dufty's pass selection was on song with another brilliant pass to Ashton who crossed in the corner and Wigan were in all sorts.

Despite Wigan trying all they could with the football, their chances were coming unstuck and leading to Wire tries. Yet another intercept was thrown as Thewlis sprinted 90 metres to cross for the Wire. Roderick Tai added further salt into the wound late with a cracking individual try, Tai was able to beat some ragged Warriors defenders to put quite the exclamation point on what was a dominant Wire victory.

Wigan Warriors 4 Warrington Wolves 40
Venue: The Brick Community Stadium, Wigan

Date: Fri, 26th July.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Warrington 18-4.   Penalties: Warrington 6-3.   Referee: Liam Moore.   Crowd: 15,764.

Wigan: Eckersley, Miski, Farrell (C), Wardle, Marshall; Farrimond, Smith; Byrne, O'Neill, Thompson, Nsemba, Walters, Ellis. Int: Havard, Mago, Dupree, Hill.
Warrington: Dufty, Thewlis, Tai, Lindop, Ashton; Williams (C), Drinkwater; Yates, Powell, Vaughan, Nicholson, Holroyd, Currie. Int: Musgrove, Crowther, Walker, Wood.

Wigan Warriors (4)
Tries: Liam Marshall

Warrington Wolves (40)
Tries: Matthew Ashton 2, Arron Lindop 2, Josh Thewlis, Adam Holroyd, Rodrick Tai
Goals: Josh Thewlis 6/7

Robins railroad bumbling Broncos

A Mikey Lewis hat-trick has guided Hull KR to a commanding 40-16 victory over the struggling London Broncos.

Hull KR started with a flurry, posting the game's first three tries in the space of 15 minutes. Sauaso Sue got the scoring underway after five minutes when he charged over from close range to give Rovers a dream start. Seven minutes later, Rovers crossed for their second when Ryan Hall crossed after leaping highest to take a Lewis cross-field kick and it was 10-0 early.

Lewis joined in crossing for the first of his three with a great individual effort and it was all one way traffic at Craven Park. To London's credit, they did well to stem the bleeding and were able to get one prior to the half-time break. It was a scintillating and rampaging individual effort by Lewis Bienek to cross down the right edge to give the Broncos some life going into the break.

London had a new lease of energy and cut the gap further just after the break. A terrific short pass to Josh Rourke sent him on his way and the gap was remarkably cut to just six. However, Rovers were quickly awoken after the London ambush and soon had their commanding lead back.

Matt Parcell crossed after 56 minutes thanks to a crazy passage of play and a horrific kick defusal. Two quick tries to Lewis and Tanginoa put the margin beyond doubt before London added a consolation try with three minutes to play courtesy of Iliess Macani. The night however belonged to Rovers' cheeky and clever half who crossed late to seal his hattrick and man of the match performance.

Hull KR 40 London Broncos 16
Venue: Sewell Group Craven Park, Hull

Date: Fri, 26th July.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Hull KR 16-6.   Penalties: Hull KR 8-6.   Referee: Tom Grant.   

Hull KR: Evalds, Burgess, Hiku, Gildart, Hall; Richardson, Lewis; Sue, Litten, Whitbread, Storton, Batchelor (C), Hadley. Int: Parcell, Luckley, Tanginoa, Brown.
London: Rourke, Miloudi, Natoli, Bassett, Macani; Leyland, Campagnolo; Butler, Davis, Kennedy, Lovell (C), Adebiyi, Jones. Int: Parata, Tison, Stock, Bienek.

Hull Kingston Rovers (40)
Tries: Mikey Lewis 3, Ryan Hall, Sauaso Sue, Kelepi Tanginoa, Matt Parcell
Goals: Daniel Richardson 6

London Broncos (16)
Tries: Iliess Macani, Lewis Bienek, Josh Rourke
Goals: Oliver Leyland 2

Saints stumble as Leigh lap up the spoils

Leigh have placed further pressure on embattled St Helens coach Paul Wellens with a 46-4 massacre of the Saints at home, subjecting the Saints to five losses on the trot.

The Leopards opened proceedings early as they capitalised on a St Helens yellow card to Mark Percival. Umaya Hanley gave Leigh a dream start over the Saints after just 16 minutes. A well worked move caught the Saints edge short and it was Hanley who crossed out wide for the hosts. On the 23 minute mark, Leigh had a second try when Tom Amone crashed over for a 12-0 cushion.

With Saints back to 13, Leigh were finding holes through their recently fragile defence and it wasn't long before they posted try number three. Matt Moylan's Crossfield kick wasn't defused at the back, and Darnell McIntosh crossed to extend Leigh's healthy lead.

St Helens had one of those moments where they had to score and didn't when Waqa Blake came back in-field instead of going for the corner and a golden chance was squandered before the break. McIntosh broke away down the right just before the break and was in space. He came back inside to find several support players and went to the other side of the ground and Kai O'Donnell crossed to give Leigh a commanding half-time cushion.

St Helens started the better and despite almost giving up a try, they went coast to coast to give themselves a chance early in the second stanza. Harry Robertson picked up and errant Leigh pass and sprinted away. The young fullback then kicked across the field to a wide open Ben Davies to score a cracking try.

Johnny Lomax was sent to the bin for a late high tackle and Leigh ran riot. A late second half double to Josh Charnley and a cracking try to Lachie Lam put more salt into the Saints wound in a disastrous effort. More questions will be asked about Paul Wellens' future as the Saints' finals chances appear on life support.

Leigh Leopards 46 St Helens 4
Venue: Leigh Sports Village Stadium, Leigh

Date: Fri, 26th July.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Leigh 24-0.   Penalties: Leigh 5-1.   Referee: Aaron Moore.   Crowd: 8,021.

Leigh: Moylan, Charnley, Leutele, Hanley, McIntosh; O'Brien, Lam; Amone, Ipape, Mulhern, O'Donnell, Halton, Asiata (C). Int: Pene, Trout, Hughes, Dwyer.
St Helens: Robertson, Makinson, Davies, Percival, Blake; Welsby, Lomax (C); Delaney, Clark, Lees, Sironen, Bell, Paasi. Int: Mbye, Whitley, Vaughan, Stephens.

Leigh Leopards (46)
Tries: Josh Charnley 2, Matt Moylan, Darnell McIntosh, Lachlan Lam, Tom Amone, Kai O'Donnell, Umyla Hanley
Goals: Darnell McIntosh 7/9

St Helens (4)
Tries: Ben Davies

Devils do away with tenacious Tigers

The Salford Red Devils have bounced back after two straight defeats to record a 30-22 win over the Castleford Tigers at home.

Salford thought they crossed for the first try of the contest after eight minutes of play. Deon Cross was able to finish off a brilliantly executed backline play to put the Red Devils, but the last pass was called forward. A clever grubber from Jacob Miller turned the game on it's head when Jason Qareqare won the race to the ball and crossed first for Castleford against the run of play after 14 mins.

Salford hit back despite a shaky start and it was Nene MacDonald who made Cas pay with a strong determined run to get Salford back on level terms. MacDonald was denied a second minutes later after knocking the ball on in a tightly contested contest. Salford soon got the lead back, capitalising on the yellow card given to Liam Horne. A well worked scrum play caught Cas out and it was Ryan Brierley who broke the spirit of the Tigers to give the Red Devils a 12-6 lead at oranges.

Castleford were first to score after the intermission when Qareqare crossed for his second try of the match. A quick set of hands caught the Red Devils out and the flying Fijian got himself a double to tie us up. On the 55 minute mark, former Parramatta back-rower Elie El-Zakhem took a gamble running out of dummy half, but it paid off when he ran 30 metres to score a cracking individual try.

Castleford's aggressiveness soon came back to bite when a pass was intercepted by Ethan Ryan. Ryan was able to beat the fast moving cover to level the scores. The conversion put Salford in the lead by 18-16. The Tigers' defensive tactics came under further fire when Sylvester Namo was given 10 in the bin for high contact. Oliver Partington and Chris Hankinson scored to put the game out of reach for the Tigers. A last ditch consolation try to Luis Johnson added some score-board respectability for the struggling Tigers.

Salford Red Devils 30 Castleford Tigers 22
Venue: Salford Stadium, Barton-upon-Irwell

Date: Sat, 27th July.   Kickoff: 3:00 PM.   Halftime: Salford 12-6.   Penalties: Castleford 5-3.   Referee: Chris Kendall.   Crowd: 3,146.

Salford: Brierley, Ryan, Macdonald, Lafai, Cross; Nikorima, Sneyd; Singleton, Shorrocks, Bullock, Stone, Watkins (C), Partington. Int: Wright, Hankinson, Mellor, Lewis.
Castleford: Hoy, Qareqare, Hall, Mellor, Senior; Milnes, Miller; Griffin, Horne, Mustapha, Lawler, El-Zakhem, Westerman (C). Int: Hall, Namo, Robb, Johnson.

Salford Red Devils (30)
Tries: Ryan Brierley, Nene Macdonald, Chris Hankinson, Ethan Ryan, Oliver Partington
Goals: Marc Sneyd 5/5

Castleford Tigers (22)
Tries: Jason Qareqare 2, Luis Johnson, Elie El-Zakhem
Goals: Rowan Milnes 3/4

'Sam I can' as Catalans down Hull

Sam Tomkins' return to Catalans was overshadowed by two first half send-offs in Catalans unconvincing 24-16 victory over Hull FC.

It was the Dragons who crossed after 3 minutes and it was a scrappy effort at that. A banana kick from Tomkins wasn't marked and it was then kicked ahead by Michael McIlorum. The Dragons hooker then won the race to the loose ball to score first. Tariq Sims was sent off by Liam Rush after making direct contact to the head and picking the injured player up.

The black and whites capitalised on the extra man advantage and were beginning to work over the Dragons. This saw some space out-wide for Carlos Tuimavave to cross in the right corner. The match saw it's second sensation when Tomkins was taken high in a forceful tackle by Ligi Sao and he joined Sims in the dressing sheds via the red card.

Tomkins capped his return with a solo try after 22 minutes to restore the lead for the home side. The home side added a penalty goal to head into the sheds with a two possession lead. Catalans stayed in the sheds for a little too long, as Hull ambushed the home side right out of the gates. A break exposed the Dragons defence and despite Tomkins knocking down the support pass, Jack Walker was on the spot to make it 14-12.

Ben Garcia led by example with a brilliant try, supporting the strong bust by Julien Bosquet when he was on the spot to collect the prop's offload to touch-down underneath the posts. Tom Davies put the match beyond doubt with his try outwide, capping off a resilient team victory having played a significant portion a man down. Hull got consolation with a late try to Lewis Martin, but they fell agonisingly short to lose by 8 points.

Catalans Dragons 24 Hull FC 16
Venue: Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan

Date: Sat, 27th July.   Kickoff: 7:00 PM.   Halftime: Catalans 14-6.   Penalties: Catalans 8-7.   Referee: Liam Rush.   Crowd: 9,214.

Catalans: Tomkins, Davies, Romano, Laguerre, Ikuvalu; Mourgue, Fages; Navarrete, McIlorum, Bousquet, Sims, Sironen, Garcia (C). Int: Satae, Dezaria, Wallace, Bichett.
Hull FC: Walker, Barron, Tuimavave, Sutcliffe, Martin; Trueman, Charles; Ese'ese, Smith, Sao (C), Lane, Chamberlain, Aydin. Int: Balmforth, Fash, Gardiner, Vuniyayawa.

Catalans Dragons (24)
Tries: Mike McIlorum, Sam Tomkins, Benjamin Garcia, Tom Davies
Goals: Arthur Mourgue 4/6

Hull FC (16)
Tries: Carlos Tuimavave, Jack Walker, Lewis Martin
Goals: Jack Charles 2/3

Round 20 ladder

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

RLP Stats Leaders

TOP TRYSCORERS

TOP GOALKICKERS

TOP POINTSCORERS