MAGIC WKND WRAP: 2024 Betfred Super League Round 22

AJ Lucantonio's wrap of Magic Weekend with stats from Rugby League Project.

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

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

London raise the curtain with solid win

The London Broncos have kept their chances of avoiding relegation thanks to a 29-4 win over the London Broncos to kick-start Magic Weekend.

The Broncos crossed for the first try after just 6 minutes. A well worked set play saw Josh Rourke beat some disappointing defensive efforts from Hull FC to cross for the first try of the contest and make it 6-0. Hull have been savaged by injury, suspension, player unrest, you name it. But they stayed in the game, and countered thanks to a Lewis Martin try after an early kick was well grounded by the Hull winger.

Despite getting to within two points, that was as close as Hull got as London dictated terms for the remainder of the contest. A brilliant kick from London saw Hull go without it, some brilliant offloads under immense pressure saw the ball end up in the lap of Jack Campagnolo to score for London and the scores remained 12-4 at the break.

A penalty whilst in possession coming out of yardage allowed London to take a gift shot from in front. London extended the margin out to ten points. Hull had chances but the execution continued to let the black and whites down. A cheap escort penalty allowed London to add another penalty goal and extend the gap to two converted tries. A field goal put the game beyond doubt. Rourke continued his brilliant game when he leapt high and picked the pocket of the Hull fullback to make it 23-4. A last try in the dying moments to Campagnolo capped what was a brilliant victory for London.

Hull FC 4 London Broncos 29
Venue: Elland Road, Leeds

Date: Sat, 17th August.   Kickoff: 2:30 PM.   Halftime: London 12-4.   Penalties: London 9-5.   Referee: Liam Rush.   Crowd: 30,810.

Hull FC: Walker, Barron, Tuimavave, Briscoe, Martin; Charles, Smith; Ese'ese, Lane (C), Sao, Chamberlain, Cartwright, Aydin. Int: Balmforth, Eseh, Fash, Jebson.
London: Rourke, Kershaw, Bassett, Natoli, Miloudi; Campagnolo, Leyland; Kennedy, Davis, Butler, Lovell (C), Adebiyi, Stock. Int: Waine, Tison, Bienek, Jones.

Hull FC (4)
Tries: Lewis Martin
Goals: Jack Charles 0/1

London Broncos (29)
Tries: Josh Rourke 2, Jack Campagnolo, Oliver Leyland
Goals: Oliver Leyland 6/6
Field Goals: Oliver Leyland 1

Wigan claim derby spoils on Magic Wknd

Wigan have continued to put the pressure on Hull KR at the top of the table as they continued St Helens' mid-year collapse courtesy of a 20-0 verdict.

The Warriors set the tone early as Jacob Wardle found some space, a desperate Saints ankle tap was enough to deny the centre a certain try. On the ensuing possession, Adam Keighran took matters into his own hands with a magnificent cut-out pass to Liam Marshall and the flying winger continued his scoring run to touch down in the left corner.

Jack Farrimond continued his strong cameo with a brilliant individual try. A clever grubber kick saw him win the bounce of the ball to score an individual try and make it 12-0 for the Warriors. Keighran added a penalty goal in the shadows of half-time to extend the gap for Wigan going into the change of ends.

It was a tense second half as both sides tried to jostle for the momentum. But, the Saints had the better of the early second half scoring chances. A break saw St Helens in good scoring position but unfortunately Matt Whitely put it down with the line wide open. Wigan eventually did enough to claim victory in the dying stages when Sam Walters crossed to put an exclamation point on an emphatic victory for the Warriors.

Wigan Warriors 20 St Helens 0
Venue: Elland Road, Leeds

Date: Sat, 17th August.   Kickoff: 5:00 PM.   Halftime: Wigan 14-0.   Penalties: Wigan 9-5.   Referee: Jack Smith.   Crowd: 30,810.

Wigan: Field, Miski, Eckersley, Wardle, Marshall; Farrimond, Keighran; Havard, Leeming, Thompson, Nsemba, Walters, Ellis (C). Int: Byrne, Mago, Dupree, Forber.
St Helens: Robertson, Makinson, Blake, Batchelor, Ritson; Davies, Mbye; Delaney, Bell, Lees (C), Whitley, Sironen, Paasi. Int: Walmsley, Burns, Vaughan, Stephens.

Wigan Warriors (20)
Tries: Liam Marshall, Sam Walters, Jack Farrimond
Goals: Adam Keighran 4/4

St Helens (0)

Wire down Rhinos to end Day 1

The Warrington Wolves capped the first night of Magic Weekend with a superb 24-6 victory over the Leeds Rhinos.

Warrington capitalised on some early ill-discipline Rhinos defence to knock over a penalty goal and make it 2-0. Both sides had their chances early, but it was Warrington who capitalised to score for the first try. A crunching tackle by Roderick Tai forced the ball loose and it was George Williams who busted through to score the first try of the contest in the shadows of half-time to make it 8-0 at the break.

The second half began with a frantic pace as Warrington continued to search for the hammer blow. A near try for Matty Ashton saw him taken off the ball by David Fusitu'a. The winger was denied a penalty try and the Leeds winger went to the sin-bin. Matt Dufty capitalised on the extra man advantage almost immediately and added to Warrington's commanding advantage.

The Warrington spine combined to put Williams away again before he found Dufty and the flying Australian fullback scored and it was 18-0 in the blink of an eye. Warrington put the game beyond doubt as Fusitu'a failed to defuse a bomb and Ashton crossed to make it 24-0. Leeds did get a consolation try through Paul Momirovski but it was in vain as Warrington continued to push Wigan and Rovers all the way at the top of the table.

Warrington Wolves 24 Leeds Rhinos 6
Venue: Elland Road, Leeds

Date: Sat, 17th August.   Kickoff: 7:30 PM.   Halftime: Warrington 8-0.   Penalties: Warrington 7-2.   Referee: Chris Kendall.   Crowd: 30,810.

Warrington: Dufty, Thewlis, Tai, King, Ashton; Williams (C), Drinkwater; Vaughan, Powell, Yates, Bateman, Nicholson, Currie. Int: Musgrove, Harrison, Walker, Crowther.
Leeds: Miller, Fusitu'a, Momirovski, Newman, Handley; Sinfield, Frawley; Sangaré, Ackers, Lisone, McDonnell, Martin, Smith (C). Int: Bentley, O'Connor, Donaldson, Nicholson-Watton.

Warrington Wolves (24)
Tries: Matt Dufty 3, George Williams
Goals: Josh Thewlis 4/6
Sin Bin: Rodrick Tai

Leeds Rhinos (6)
Tries: Paul Momirovski
Goals: Rhyse Martin 1/1

Leopards keep alive with important win

Leigh have kept pace with the bottom half of the top six after an impressive 26-0 shut-out win over the Salford Red Devils.

Leigh started the game with intent and with purpose. This was rewarded when Edwin Ipape capitalised out of dummy half after six minutes for the opening try. Salford suffered further blows when they had two players sent to the sin-bin for separate incidents within five minutes of each-other for high tackles. The Leopards eventually capitalised on the extra men advantage when Umaya Hanley burst through some pedestrian defence to make it 12-0 at half-time.

Salford did try their hardest but they eventually strung too close to the mark with their kick pressure. A late tackle penalty gave the Leopards a penalty next to the posts, Zak Hardaker made no mistakes with the penalty goal and Leigh led 14-0.

The Leopards put the game beyond doubt in the dying moments of the second half when Ipape broke into space, he found Hardaker in support. Hardaker raced away under the posts to seal the deal for Leigh. Ricky Leutele added another in the dying moments to score in the left corner to keep in touch with the top six.

Leigh Leopards 26 Salford Red Devils 0
Venue: Elland Road, Leeds

Date: Sun, 18th August.   Kickoff: 1:30 PM.   Halftime: Leigh 12-0.   Penalties: Leigh 8-6.   Referee: Liam Moore.   Crowd: 22,293.

Leigh: Hardaker, McIntosh, Hanley, Leutele, Brand; O'Brien, Lam; Amone, Ipape, Mulhern, O'Donnell, Halton, Asiata (C). Int: Hughes, Trout, Dwyer, Pene.
Salford: Brierley, Ryan, Watkins (C), Lafai, Cross; Nikorima, Sneyd; Singleton, Mellor, Wright, Stone, Macdonald, Partington. Int: Shorrocks, Hankinson, Lewis, Bullock.

Leigh Leopards (26)
Tries: Ricky Leutele, Zak Hardaker, Edwin Ipape, Umyla Hanley
Goals: Zak Hardaker 5/5

Salford Red Devils (0)

KR cull Catalans on Sunday

The Hull Kingston Rovers have returned to the top of the ladder after recording a 36-4 win over fellow finals hopefuls the Catalans Dragons in the penultimate match of Magic Weekend.

It was a tight start to the game with both sides struggling to gain ascendency. Rovers crossed for the first try after capitalising on some disappointing edge defence which allowed Peta Hiku to break away. On the next play, Elliot Minchella charged across to score first. The Dragons hit back brilliantly following a brilliant set play which allowed Bayley Sironen to cross and level the scores at 4-4.

Rovers were the dominant side throughout the first half and eventually, the weight of possession took its toll and we saw two tries in the shadow of half-time break the spirit of the Dragons. Peta Hiku had too much class on the outside of the makeshift left edge of Catalans (after Matt Ikuvalu left injured). Right before the break, Ryan Hall crossed out wide, continuing his good run of scoring at Magic Weekend. However, the goal-kicking of Mikey Lewis kept the Dragons firmly in touch.

Rovers started brilliantly as Minchella went straight through some paper-thin Catalans defence to score and make it a three possession game. It was one-way traffic in the second half as Kelepi Tanginoa went across after some terrific lead up work down the left edge of the Dragons. Hall's try-scoring form at Magic Weekend continued when he crossed after 61 minutes, Tanginoa again charged across following a brilliant short-ball from Lewis.

Catalans hung firm for the rest of the game before a brilliant chip from Tyrone May which found Niall Evalds to put an exclamation point on the win. However, there was a biting allegation from Mikey Lewis against Cesar Rouge which will ring familiar for those in Australia after the recent Kyle Flanagan case.

Catalans Dragons 4 Hull KR 36
Venue: Elland Road, Leeds

Date: Sun, 18th August.   Kickoff: 5:00 PM.   Halftime: Hull KR 12-4.   Penalties: Hull KR 7-3.   Referee: Tom Grant.   Crowd: 22,293.

Catalans: Rougé, Davies, Romano, Smith, Ikuvalu; Mourgue, Fages; Dezaria, Da Costa, Navarrete, Garcia (C), Sironen, Bousquet. Int: Séguier, Satae, Maria, Wallace.
Hull KR: Evalds, Burgess, Hiku, Gildart, Hall; May, Lewis; Sue, Parcell, Whitbread, Hadley, Batchelor, Minchella (C). Int: Litten, Luckley, Storton, Tanginoa.

Catalans Dragons (4)
Tries: Bayley Sironen

Hull Kingston Rovers (36)
Tries: Ryan Hall 2, Kelepi Tanginoa 2, Elliot Minchella 2, Niall Evalds, Peta Hiku
Goals: Mikey Lewis 2/8

Giant success to end Magic Wknd

A brilliant first half from Jake Connor has set the Huddersfield Giants up for success with a 20-12 win over the Castleford Tigers. 

The Giants started well and with intent and were rewarded early. Connor dug deep into the line and found Sam Halsall who finished off the movement brilliantly with an acrobatic finish in the corner. Connor nailed the conversion from touch for an early lead. 

In the ensuing sets, Connor nailed a 40/20 to keep the Tigers on the back foot. Sam Hewitt crashed across the line to give the Giants a 12-0 lead. The Huddersfield defence held brilliantly in a sin-bin period after a high tackle by Tui Lolohea and the score remained 12-0 at half-time. 

Jason Qareqare had a rough start under the high ball in the first half. Unfortunately, that continued to start the second when a bomb was dropped, which led to Esan Marsters scoring in the 48th minute. 

Fenton Rogers mistimed his tackle and also went to the sin-bin. This time, the Tigers responded as Tex Hoy created the extra number and Qareqare rebounded nicely to score the Tigers first try. 

Castleford were looking to mount a late comeback when Qareqare crossed for his second try. Some brilliant second phase play saw Liam Horne chip to a corner and Qareqare caught it on the full to make it a one possession game. Unfortunately, a high tackle 40m out allowed Connor to nail a penalty goal to make it a 20-12 win for the Giants.

Huddersfield Giants 20 Castleford Tigers 12
Venue: Elland Road, Leeds

Date: Sun, 18th August.   Kickoff: 6:30 PM.   Halftime: Huddersfield 12-0.   Penalties: Castleford 6-3.   Referee: Aaron Moore.   Crowd: 22,293.

Huddersfield: Connor, Bibby, Marsters, Naiqama, Halsall; Lolohea, Russell; Hill, Milner, Savelio, Rushton, Hewitt, Cudjoe (C). Int: English, Ikahihifo, Rogers, Rush.
Castleford: Hoy, Qareqare, Hall, Tate, Senior; Milnes, Miller; Mustapha, Horne, Hindmarsh, Mellor, El-Zakhem, Westerman (C). Int: Watts, Namo, Martin, Hill.

Huddersfield Giants (20)
Tries: Esan Marsters, Sam Hewitt, Sam Halsall
Goals: Jake Connor 4/4
Sin Bin: Tui Lolohea, Fenton Rogers

Castleford Tigers (12)
Tries: Jason Qareqare 2
Goals: Rowan Milnes 2/2

Round 22 table

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

RLP stats leaders

MOST TRIES

MOST GOALS

MOST POINTS