WRAP: 2024 Betfred Super League Round 24

AJ and RLP bring you the full wrap up from Super League Round 24.

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

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

Robins retain competition lead

Hull KR have maintained their spot at the top of the table following a 32-12 win over fellow finals contenders Salford Red Devils.

Rovers capitalised and had a fast start to the fixture. A brilliant pass from Niall Evalds allowed Jack Broadbent open space for the first of his two tries after just three minutes of play. The Red Devils took a chance down the left hand side as Ethan Ryan raced away down the right touch-line. Ryan found support and linked up with Joe Mellor who scored to give Salford their only lead of the contest.

Unfortunately for Salford, the lead failed to last long. A Mikey Lewis 40/20 on the 22 minute mark gave Rovers a strong chance to go back in front. Jai Whitbread wrestled his way to the line, the ball carrying arm didn't contact the ground and he was able to ground it in front of referee Jack Smith and Rovers led 12-6.

 Lewis crossed for a try of his own 11 minutes later as Rovers were keen to move back to the top of the Super League table. Lewis skipped across the field, beat some poor right edge defence of Salford to cross for an incredible individual try. Broadbent completed his double on half-time and Rovers had one hand back on first place at the break courtsey of a 20-6 lead.

Tom Opacic delivered Salford a critical blow as the second half was just heating up. A great short offload from Peta Hiku saw Opacic wrestle his way to the line and ground the ball to inflict the fatal blow to Salford. Jez Litten further added salt into the wound with a try 16 minutes from time as he charged over from dummy half. Salford added a consolation try through Nene MacDonald, but all eyes in Sl are on next Friday night (UK time) as Wigan play Hull KR for what will be sole possession of the minor premiership.

Hull KR 32 Salford Red Devils 12
Venue: Sewell Group Craven Park, Hull

Date: Fri, 30th August.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: Hull KR 20-6.   Penalties: Hull KR 6-4.   Referee: Jack Smith.   

Hull KR: Evalds, Broadbent, Hiku, Opacic, Hall; May, Lewis; Sue, Parcell, Whitbread, Hadley, Storton, Minchella (C). Int: Tanginoa, Litten, Luckley, Brown.
Salford: Hankinson, Ryan, Macdonald, Lafai, Cross; Nikorima, Sneyd; Singleton, Mellor, Wright, Stone, Watkins (C), Partington. Int: Atkin, Ormondroyd, Shorrocks, Wilson.

Hull Kingston Rovers (32)
Tries: Jack Broadbent 2, Tom Opacic, Jez Litten, Jai Whitbread, Mikey Lewis
Goals: Mikey Lewis 4/7

Salford Red Devils (12)
Tries: Joe Mellor, Nene Macdonald
Goals: Marc Sneyd 2/2

Controversy reigns as Leigh down 12-man Wire

Super League's head high tackle interpretations have again come under fire after the sending off of Paul Vaughan in Warrington's 16-12 loss to Leigh.

It was a disastrous start from Wire. A loose pass out of yardage was intercepted by Lachie Lam. Lam was able to get it onto Ricky Leutele and he was able to sprint the remaining 20 metres or so to cross for the first try of the contest after nine minutes of play.

The drama reached fever pitch off the next kick-off when Owen Trout was hit high by Vaughan. He stayed down and didn't not return. This gave the video referee time to look at the incident and he was sent off by referee Liam Moore and Wire were down to 12 men. The rest of the first half was a back and forth affair as Wire tried to crack the Leigh line.

A brilliant attacking phase from the Wire with five to go before the break was enough to level the scores at half-time. A brilliant pass from George Williams found Matty Ashton who finished off in the corner and the scores were locked at half-time.

Leigh kept pushing and attacking the Vaughan-less Warrington middle. Lam took the inside pass from Matt Moylan and was metres away from the line. Fortunately, a few plays later, Frankie Halton charged across to score and Leigh led 12-6. Seven minutes later, Leigh went down the short-side with Lam floated one over the top and Josh Charnley scored to make it a two possession game.

Despite several try attempts, the Wire were held at bay by the determined Leopards defence. However, Leigh's brilliant defence was broken in the final moments as Sam Powell crossed for a consolation try to make it a four point game. Warrington went for a hail mary, but despite the prayers, they fell short of the miracle finish as Leigh cement themselves in the top six.

Leigh Leopards 16 Warrington Wolves 12
Venue: Leigh Sports Village Stadium, Leigh

Date: Fri, 30th August.   Kickoff: 8:00 PM.   Halftime: 6-all.   Penalties: Leigh 7-6.   Referee: Liam Moore.   Crowd: 9,434.

Leigh: Moylan, McIntosh, Hanley, Leutele, Charnley; O'Brien, Lam; Trout, Ipape, Mulhern, O'Donnell, Halton, Amone. Int: Davis, Hughes, Pene, Hardaker.
Warrington: Taylor-Wray, Thewlis, Tai, King, Ashton; Williams (C), Drinkwater; Vaughan, Powell, Yates, Bateman, Fitzgibbon, Currie. Int: Musgrove, Philbin, Walker, Crowther.

Leigh Leopards (16)
Tries: Ricky Leutele, Josh Charnley, Frankie Halton
Goals: Matt Moylan 2/4
Sin Bin: Jack Hughes

Warrington Wolves (12)
Tries: Sam Powell, Matthew Ashton
Goals: Josh Thewlis 2/2

Cas further Hull hurt

Castleford have inflicted another loss on lowly Hull FC with the Tigers tasting victory for the first time in five matches, recording a 39-20 win away from the Jungle.

The Tigers started fast and crossed out wide in the opening five minutes of play. A well worked move down the left hand touch-line saw Innes Senior finish it off crossing in the corner as the Tigers led early. FC hit back almost immediately when Ligi Sao charged across to level the scores.

The game wasn't level for much longer as Castleford crossed for three tries in a twelve minute period, wiping the floor with Hull FC and going out to a 24-6 lead with a touch over 10 minutes to play. From a Hull error, Rowan Milnes scored off a scrum play to give Castleford the lead back after 15 minutes of play.

Off the kick-off, Castleford took full advantage as Liam Watts bursted onto a great short ball to fly into space. He got a pass to Jenson Windley to score and Castleford were having a party. With just over 14 to go, Tex Hoy continued to enjoy his footy in new surroundings, scoring against his old club and it was a three possession game on the half-hour mark.

Hull FC didn't go down without a fight with a quick fire double in the shadows of half-time. Harvey Bannon crossed for both tries, the first came following a lovely exchange of passing which saw the winger finish it off in the corner. Just prior to half-time, a brilliant rainbow pass from Jack Charles found his mark in Bannon who got a second to make it 24-14 at half-time.

Hull made it a four point game in the exchanges following half-time as they capitalised on Sylvester Namo's yellow card for a late shot. Carlos Tuimavave scored following an amazing flick pass from Herman Ese'ese and it became a ball game again but unfortunately that was the last of Hull's scoring, even as they had a brief 13 v 11 period after Liam Horne's yellow card.

Castleford capitalised on their own sin-bin period as Yusuf Aydin was sin-binned for a high tackle. Milnes added a penalty goal to get it back to one score. Namo was keen to atone for his sin-bin and he did just that when he charged across the line to make it 32-20. Milnes added a field goal to put the game beyond doubt while Hoy added the icing on the Castleford cake when he added his second try to make it a 19 point victory.

Hull FC 20 Castleford Tigers 39
Venue: MKM Stadium, Hull

Date: Sat, 31st August.   Kickoff: 3:00 PM.   Halftime: Castleford 24-14.   Penalties: Hull FC 10-5.   Referee: Liam Rush.   Crowd: 10,271.

Hull FC: Moy, Barron, Tuimavave, Briscoe, Martin; Smith, Charles; Ese'ese, Houghton (C), Gardiner, Lane, Sao, Aydin. Int: Ashworth, Balmforth, Ruan, Eseh.
Castleford: Hoy, Qareqare, Hooley, Tate, Senior; Milnes, Windley; Watts, Horne, Westerman (C), Mellor, El-Zakhem, Hill. Int: McShane, Lawler, Mustapha, Namo.

Hull FC (20)
Tries: Harvey Barron 2, Carlos Tuimavave, Ligi Sao
Goals: Jack Charles 2/4

Castleford Tigers (39)
Tries: Tex Hoy 2, Innes Senior, Rowan Milnes, Sylvester Namo, Jenson Windley
Goals: Rowan Milnes 7/7
Field Goals: Rowan Milnes 1

Wigan keep Shield race alive

Wigan have continued to keep pace with Hull KR at the top of the table following a 26-18 win over Catalans. The loss now heaps pressure on the Dragons as they currently sit outside the top six on for and against.

Wigan started with intent and broke the line early. A nice shift down the left hand side saw Jake Wardle find some space, he was able to unload to Adam Keighran who got it away to Jai Field who scored for the opening try of the contest. Keighran converted to put Wigan ahead after 10 minutes.

The lead didn't last very long at all with Catalans crossing for two quick tries to take the lead away from Wigan. The first came against the run of play with Fouhad Yaha breaking some would be tacklers to score just his third try of the campaign.

Theo Fages continued his solid start to the game by chasing a Cesar Rouge kick. It was spilled by Liam Marshall and Fages followed through to ground it and give Catalans a 12-6 lead. The match went to half-time even after some disappointing defence in the shadows of the siren. Tom Forber caught the defenders asleep and scored to level the scores at half-time.

The Warriors came out and blasted Catalans off the park with two quick tries following the intermission to take complete control of the contest. Man of the Match Junior Nsemba busted through for his second line-break of the game to score gifting Wigan an 18-12 lead. This was soon followed at the 50 minute mark by Keighran getting a well deserved try to lead 24-12 with half an hour to go.

Keighran knocked over a penalty goal after Catalans were pinned for dissent. It was a frustrating second half as they continued to lack direction in this second half of the season. They made the game close late when Kruise Leeming was sin-binned for a careless and late tackle on a kicker. This allowed a consolation try to Arthur Romano, but despite this, the Dragons fell short as Wigan set up an epic 1 v 2 match with Rovers next weekend.

Catalans Dragons 18 Wigan Warriors 26
Venue: Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan

Date: Sat, 31st August.   Kickoff: 9:00 PM.   Halftime: 12-all.   Penalties: Catalans 9-5.   Referee: Chris Kendall.   Crowd: 11,083.

Catalans: Rougé, Davies, Romano, Laguerre, Yaha; Mourgue, Fages; Navarrete, Da Costa, Bousquet, McMeeken, Sironen, Garcia (C). Int: Séguier, Satae, Dezaria, Aispuro-Bichet.
Wigan: Field, Miski, Eckersley, Wardle, Marshall; French, Keighran; Havard, Leeming, Thompson, Walters, Nsemba, Ellis (C). Int: Byrne, Mago, Dupree, Forber.

Catalans Dragons (18)
Tries: Théo Fages, Fouad Yaha, Arthur Romano
Goals: Arthur Mourgue 3/3

Wigan Warriors (26)
Tries: Jai Field, Adam Keighran, Tom Forber, Junior Nsemba
Goals: Adam Keighran 5/5

Saints unconvincingly down Giants

A red card right on half-time to Huddersfield's Fenton Rogers was the turning point and gave St Helens an unspectacular 18-10 win over the Giants.

Saints started strongly as Johnny Lomax strolled through for an individual try and gave Saints an early advantage. The lead didn't last long as the Saints suspect right edge defence again proved to be where Huddersfield attacked. A spectacular finish by Elliot Wallis after 23 minutes was enough to level the scores.

Four minutes later, a high bomb was spilled by Saints fullback Harry Robertson. That mistake proved costly as Huddersfield quickly shifted right and Jake Bibby scored to put the Giants in front 10-6. The game turned shortly before half-time as Rogers was sent off for a no mitigation high tackle and the Giants had it all to do.

St Helens capitalised in the second half on the extra man advantage. Moses Mbye delivered a delightful pass on the outside to Sione Mata'utia who beat the cover defence to score. Jon Bennison converted to give Saints their lead back. Saints had the game won after 54 minutes when Tee Ritson blitzed the Giants on their left hand side and went straight through before finding Robertson to make it a two possession game. The scores stayed that way until the final siren as Saints stay in the race for the top six.  

Huddersfield Giants 10 St Helens 18
Venue: John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield

Date: Sun, 1st September.   Kickoff: 3:00 PM.   Halftime: Huddersfield 10-6.   Penalties: Huddersfield 5-4.   Referee: Aaron Moore.   Crowd: 3,877.

Huddersfield: Lolohea, Wallis, Marsters, Naiqama, Bibby; Clune, Russell; Hill, Golding, Greenwood, Hewitt, Rushton, Cudjoe (C). Int: Rush, Ikahihifo, Livett, Rogers.
St Helens: Robertson, Ritson, Blake, Mata'utia, Bennison; Lomax (C), Mbye; Walmsley, Burns, Lees, Whitley, Batchelor, Knowles. Int: Paasi, Delaney, Vaughan, Stephens.

Huddersfield Giants (10)
Tries: Jake Bibby, Elliot Wallis
Goals: Oliver Russell 1/2

St Helens (18)
Tries: Jonny Lomax, Sione Mata'utia, Harry Robertson
Goals: Jon Bennison 3/3

Leeds golden win puts top six in reach

A Brodie Croft field goal in golden point was enough to allow the Leeds Rhinos to sneak past the battling London Broncos in their final Super League home game. London hosted their final home game as they are 99% likely to be relegated under the new IMG proposals.

London were keen to send their home fans out in style and were rewarded early. Jack Campagnolo crossed after a brilliant show and go caught the Leeds defence napping and the Broncos had an early lead after five minutes. Five minutes later, a brilliant grubber from Croft sat up awkwardly for Josh Rourke and Rhyse Martin scored to level the scores. A penalty goal from in-front gave Leeds a lead.

That lead was extended when Martin crossed for a first half double after an early kick from Matt Frawley caught the London defence out. The kick sat up perfectly for Martin and Leeds led by 14-6. London responded in the shadows of half time when Emmanuel Waine collected a Campagnolo grubber and beat Lachie Miller's attempt of tackle to reduce the gap to eight at half-time.

Waine thought he added a second just after half-time but the video referee was unable to overturn Marcus Griffiths' on-field decision of no-try and the try was chalked off. Leeds also had some bad luck as the video referee denied a try after 52 minutes. The Broncos retook the lead when Lee Kershaw added a try in the corner and it was a two point lead. Martin finished off his hattrick when Croft delivered a magic pass and Leeds led 20-16.

The Broncos had the try of the match late. Kershaw was away down the right hand side, a desperate attempt by Lachie Miller nearly saved the day. But he was able to deliver a magical offload to Ethan Natoli and the Italian levelled the scores at 20 and we were off to golden point. Croft again broke London's heart with a first period field goal to secure a one point win. 

London Broncos 20 Leeds Rhinos 21
Venue: The Cherry Red Records Stadium, Wimbledon

Date: Sun, 1st September.   Kickoff: 3:00 PM.   Halftime: Leeds 14-12.   Penalties: 8-all.   Referee: Marcus Griffiths.   Crowd: 4,403.

London: Rourke, Kershaw, Natoli, Bassett, Miloudi; Leyland, Campagnolo; Butler, Davis, Kennedy, Lovell (C), Adebiyi, Stock. Int: Tison, Bienek, Jones, Waine.
Leeds: Miller, Fusitu'a, Momirovski, Newman, Edgell; Croft, Frawley; Lisone, Ackers, Sangaré, McDonnell, Martin, Smith (C). Int: Nicholson-Watton, Bentley, O'Connor, Donaldson.

London Broncos (20)
Tries: Ethan Natoli, Jack Campagnolo, Lee Kershaw, Emmanuel Waine
Goals: Oliver Leyland 2/4

Leeds Rhinos (21)
Tries: Rhyse Martin 3
Goals: Rhyse Martin 4/4
Field Goals: Brodie Croft

Round 24 table

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