Round Four has to be the most exciting so far due to all of last seasons top four being involved in brilliant games but the first game of the week saw two sides currently in the top four meet as Widnes hosted Salford.
Widnes led with a Dean try (Tickle conv) but were pegged back in style by Salford after a superb solo run and try from Johnson (Mullaney conv) was followed quickly by a score from Lee which was given via the video referee. Mullaney's second conversion made it 6-12 but a Tickle penalty after the hooter made it 8-12 at the halfway point. The lead switched as Mellor (Tickle conv) scored for a 14-12 lead but the swing again went to the visitors as Fages scored with Mullaney converting for an 14-18 lead which was to be Salford's last score as Widnes levelled and cruised to the win.
Hanbury (Tickle conv) put the hosts up 20-18 with a brace from the returning Kevin Brown (Tickle convs) made it 32-18 and kept Widnes' 100% record intact sending them to second on points difference and close to my prediction of 24-20 with one score each away from perfection.
Leeds led with a Ward try (Sinfield conv) but were pegged back by a debut try by Broughton with Huddersfield taking a slim 8-6 lead with Brough's 53rd minute penalty but Sinfield replied in king just after the hour mark for 8-8. Wardle (Brough conv) made it 12-8 with 11 minutes to go but a try from Watkins made it 12-12 in the 73rd minute but Sinfeld missed the vital conversion and meant they would share the points. Prediction wise 24-12 was a tad wide of the mark.
Hull moved up into the top eight with a strong win against an average Bradford side but the visitors led after only two minutes when Diskin (Foster conv) opened the scoring but a trio of tires by Ellis, Westerman and Shaul (Whiting 2 convs) made it 14-4 with Purtell and Whiting both scoring uncovverted tries to keep the gap at 10 at 18-8 but the game seemed over as a competition at halftime as Hull raced over for two more scores through Heremaia and Houghton (Whiting 2 convs) giving them a 32-12 lead. Shaul grabbed his second (Whiting conv) for a 38-16 lead with Rankins putting them over 40 points with a self converted try but Bradford had the last score with Henry (Foster conv) making the final score 44-16. This was miles out but I didnt expect Bradford to be as leaky in defence which was i said 18-18.
St Helens remained top of the pile with a 38-18 win over Hull KR with Swift and Lomax (Walsh 2 convs) putting them 12-0 up inside 14 minutes but the Rovers drew level at halftime after tries from Larroyer and Eden with Burns converting both for 12-12.
Walmsley (Walsh conv) put Saints back in front with Soliola and Makinson adding further scores before the hour but the surprise was Walsh only converting one after a perfect kicking start to the season but all the same, Saints led 32-12 and confirmed the in as Wilkin went over and Walsh converted for 38-12 with Hull KR adding a third try with five minutes to go when Hodgson scored and Burns converted to give them a positive end to what was their fourth loss and with defending champions Wigan next week their task for a first win is tougher.Only six points off perfect with my 32-18 prediction.
Sunday saw a trio of amazing games with two shock results and the third looking like an upset at the halfway point.
London led 16-14 against Warrington before collapsing to a 16-44 loss. Wire led through Asotasi (Ratchford conv) after four minutes but the hosts hit back and led with Slyney and Farrar (Bishay 2 convs) making it 12-4 and went further ahead when Minns scored a third by Bishay failed to convert. Bridge and Evans closed the gap but Ratchford failed to convert either meaning they were behind at the break.
Ormsby (Ratchford conv) and Evans turned it around inside eight minutes of the second half to lead 16-24 but from there it was the Evans and Atkins show as they shared four tries with Ratchford converting the first for Atkins and Evans' third in the 67th and 70th minutes for a 16-44 win that could have been 50 had the kicking been more accurate but was a stunning turnaround all the same. Close here with 12-36 with the gap being 28 rather than my hope of 24 but at halftime looked to be very wrong.
Catalans are still winless after a demolition away to Wakefield who secured their first win in the process in a 56-14 win that saw them lead 32-0 at halftime with doubles from Tautai and Lyne added to by Molloy with all five converted by Sammut who also sent over a penalty goal.
The thrashing continued with a quick double from Godinet again with Sammut kicking both conversions but Catalan fought back when Whitehead and Pryce (Barthau conv) made it 44-10 but Smith and Sykes secured the win with Sammut kicking again for a 20 point haul with four minutes to go but Catalans had the last action as Whithead got his second in the final minute to make it 56-14.Wakefield all the way with a 30-14 prediction ironically exactly right for the French side.
The final game of the weekend saw Castleford make it four wins in a row with a last-gasp win over Wigan. The hosts led 16-0 after scores from Dixon, Dorn and Milner (Sneyd 2 convs) but a quick treble for the visitors including a first Warriors try for Bowen with Green (Smith conv) and Smith scoring from his own kick made it 16-14 but Clark (Sneyd conv) increased the lead to 22-14 but again Wigan came back with Clubb (Smith conv) and a hooter try from Burgess giving the Warrior a 22-24 halftime lead.
The scoring simmered until Channing (Sneyd conv) made it 28-24 as Sneyd added a penalty for a 30-24 lead but a frantic final few minutes saw the lead change twice as Charnley (Smith conv) levelled the tie at 30-30 with a superb drop goal from Smith giving Wigan a 30-31 lead but Cas got their revenge for last seasons late loss to Wigan when Dorn crossed and Sneyd converted for a 36-31 win. Obviously the full review will come in the Wigan blog post but the prediction was close with being a single point off with Wigan but never expected a Cas win when I said 24-30.
Widnes led with a Dean try (Tickle conv) but were pegged back in style by Salford after a superb solo run and try from Johnson (Mullaney conv) was followed quickly by a score from Lee which was given via the video referee. Mullaney's second conversion made it 6-12 but a Tickle penalty after the hooter made it 8-12 at the halfway point. The lead switched as Mellor (Tickle conv) scored for a 14-12 lead but the swing again went to the visitors as Fages scored with Mullaney converting for an 14-18 lead which was to be Salford's last score as Widnes levelled and cruised to the win.
Hanbury (Tickle conv) put the hosts up 20-18 with a brace from the returning Kevin Brown (Tickle convs) made it 32-18 and kept Widnes' 100% record intact sending them to second on points difference and close to my prediction of 24-20 with one score each away from perfection.
Leeds led with a Ward try (Sinfield conv) but were pegged back by a debut try by Broughton with Huddersfield taking a slim 8-6 lead with Brough's 53rd minute penalty but Sinfield replied in king just after the hour mark for 8-8. Wardle (Brough conv) made it 12-8 with 11 minutes to go but a try from Watkins made it 12-12 in the 73rd minute but Sinfeld missed the vital conversion and meant they would share the points. Prediction wise 24-12 was a tad wide of the mark.
Hull moved up into the top eight with a strong win against an average Bradford side but the visitors led after only two minutes when Diskin (Foster conv) opened the scoring but a trio of tires by Ellis, Westerman and Shaul (Whiting 2 convs) made it 14-4 with Purtell and Whiting both scoring uncovverted tries to keep the gap at 10 at 18-8 but the game seemed over as a competition at halftime as Hull raced over for two more scores through Heremaia and Houghton (Whiting 2 convs) giving them a 32-12 lead. Shaul grabbed his second (Whiting conv) for a 38-16 lead with Rankins putting them over 40 points with a self converted try but Bradford had the last score with Henry (Foster conv) making the final score 44-16. This was miles out but I didnt expect Bradford to be as leaky in defence which was i said 18-18.
St Helens remained top of the pile with a 38-18 win over Hull KR with Swift and Lomax (Walsh 2 convs) putting them 12-0 up inside 14 minutes but the Rovers drew level at halftime after tries from Larroyer and Eden with Burns converting both for 12-12.
Walmsley (Walsh conv) put Saints back in front with Soliola and Makinson adding further scores before the hour but the surprise was Walsh only converting one after a perfect kicking start to the season but all the same, Saints led 32-12 and confirmed the in as Wilkin went over and Walsh converted for 38-12 with Hull KR adding a third try with five minutes to go when Hodgson scored and Burns converted to give them a positive end to what was their fourth loss and with defending champions Wigan next week their task for a first win is tougher.Only six points off perfect with my 32-18 prediction.
Sunday saw a trio of amazing games with two shock results and the third looking like an upset at the halfway point.
London led 16-14 against Warrington before collapsing to a 16-44 loss. Wire led through Asotasi (Ratchford conv) after four minutes but the hosts hit back and led with Slyney and Farrar (Bishay 2 convs) making it 12-4 and went further ahead when Minns scored a third by Bishay failed to convert. Bridge and Evans closed the gap but Ratchford failed to convert either meaning they were behind at the break.
Ormsby (Ratchford conv) and Evans turned it around inside eight minutes of the second half to lead 16-24 but from there it was the Evans and Atkins show as they shared four tries with Ratchford converting the first for Atkins and Evans' third in the 67th and 70th minutes for a 16-44 win that could have been 50 had the kicking been more accurate but was a stunning turnaround all the same. Close here with 12-36 with the gap being 28 rather than my hope of 24 but at halftime looked to be very wrong.
Catalans are still winless after a demolition away to Wakefield who secured their first win in the process in a 56-14 win that saw them lead 32-0 at halftime with doubles from Tautai and Lyne added to by Molloy with all five converted by Sammut who also sent over a penalty goal.
The thrashing continued with a quick double from Godinet again with Sammut kicking both conversions but Catalan fought back when Whitehead and Pryce (Barthau conv) made it 44-10 but Smith and Sykes secured the win with Sammut kicking again for a 20 point haul with four minutes to go but Catalans had the last action as Whithead got his second in the final minute to make it 56-14.Wakefield all the way with a 30-14 prediction ironically exactly right for the French side.
The final game of the weekend saw Castleford make it four wins in a row with a last-gasp win over Wigan. The hosts led 16-0 after scores from Dixon, Dorn and Milner (Sneyd 2 convs) but a quick treble for the visitors including a first Warriors try for Bowen with Green (Smith conv) and Smith scoring from his own kick made it 16-14 but Clark (Sneyd conv) increased the lead to 22-14 but again Wigan came back with Clubb (Smith conv) and a hooter try from Burgess giving the Warrior a 22-24 halftime lead.
The scoring simmered until Channing (Sneyd conv) made it 28-24 as Sneyd added a penalty for a 30-24 lead but a frantic final few minutes saw the lead change twice as Charnley (Smith conv) levelled the tie at 30-30 with a superb drop goal from Smith giving Wigan a 30-31 lead but Cas got their revenge for last seasons late loss to Wigan when Dorn crossed and Sneyd converted for a 36-31 win. Obviously the full review will come in the Wigan blog post but the prediction was close with being a single point off with Wigan but never expected a Cas win when I said 24-30.
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