Wolves Denied As Saints Extend Streak
A superb Super 8s opener at the Halliwell Jones Stadium saw St Helens
hold off Warrington Wolves to secure a narrow 20-18 victory.
A tight first quarter saw both sides commit numerous errors in passing over some good attacking moves but the deadlock was broken on 21 minutes as Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook crossed superbly with Mark Percival converting for 6-6 before an effort from Daryl Clark saw Kurt Gildey level at 6-6 with the boot. Jonny Lomax regained the lead for Saints four minutes before the interval with Percival successful again for a 6-12 half-time lead.
Defence from both sides was superb and with the game tightening up, Percival converted a penalty goal for 6-14 just before the hour mark and it was vital as Jack Hughes crossed within four minutes with Gidley's conversion closing the gap to two at 12-14. The narrow advantage increased for St Helens as Jordan Turner rounded off a man-of-the-match performance with a superb try on 69 minutes - 12-20.
Previous meetings between the sides have seen tight finishes over the years and this was to be no different as Ryan Atkins crossed with seven minutes left with the boot of Gidley closing the gap again to just two points at 18-20. The Wolves battled late on to sneak the win and had a Rhys Evans try disallowed as he had entered touch before crossing the try line leaving Percival's earlier penalty to be the crucial winning points.
A tight first quarter saw both sides commit numerous errors in passing over some good attacking moves but the deadlock was broken on 21 minutes as Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook crossed superbly with Mark Percival converting for 6-6 before an effort from Daryl Clark saw Kurt Gildey level at 6-6 with the boot. Jonny Lomax regained the lead for Saints four minutes before the interval with Percival successful again for a 6-12 half-time lead.
Defence from both sides was superb and with the game tightening up, Percival converted a penalty goal for 6-14 just before the hour mark and it was vital as Jack Hughes crossed within four minutes with Gidley's conversion closing the gap to two at 12-14. The narrow advantage increased for St Helens as Jordan Turner rounded off a man-of-the-match performance with a superb try on 69 minutes - 12-20.
Previous meetings between the sides have seen tight finishes over the years and this was to be no different as Ryan Atkins crossed with seven minutes left with the boot of Gidley closing the gap again to just two points at 18-20. The Wolves battled late on to sneak the win and had a Rhys Evans try disallowed as he had entered touch before crossing the try line leaving Percival's earlier penalty to be the crucial winning points.
Wonderful Warriors Rout Weakened Wildcats
Friday night's non televised action came from the DW Stadium as Wigan Warriors romped to a 60-12 hammering of a weakened Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.
Wigan raced into a 22-0 lead inside the first half hour as George Williams, Sam Powell, Josh Charnley and Sam Tomkins all crossed with Matty Smith converting three from four attempts. Wakefield fought back with an effort from Joe Arundel which Liam Finn converted for 22-6 but its the only plus in the half as Wigan went into the interval at 30-6 with tries from John Bateman and Oliver Gildart.
Dom Manfredi and Dan Sarginson crossed either side of a second try from Williams with Jake Shorrocks taking over kicking duties to convert all three for a huge 48-6 advantage which became 54-6 with a second Tomkins effort. Craig Hall stemmed the Wigan spree with 13 minutes left for 54-12 but the final say went to the Warriors two kickers as Smith crossed for a try with Shorrocks extending his 100% record to bring up the 60 point mark.
Terrific Tigers Floor FC
Friday's televised action came from the KCOM Stadium as league leaders Hull FC hosted Castleford Tigers.
The Tigers opened the scoring inside four minutes through Greg Minikin for 0-4 before racing into a 0-20 lead inside the first half hour with tries from Ryan Hampshire, Luke Gale and Luke Dorn. The lead lasted into the interval leaving the hosts needing a huge comeback to avoid defeat.
Any thoughts of a comeback were dented by Hampshire's second try for 0-24 but a trio of tries from FC saw Steve Michaels, Danny Washbrook and Jamie Shaul cut the deficit to 16-24 with six minutes left but the Tigers sealed the win in the final minute as Adam Milner crossed with Gale converting for 16-30.
Dragons Deny Vikings
Saturday afternoon saw the opening round come to a close at the Stade Gilbert Brutus as Catalans Dragons hosted Widnes Vikings.
The Dragons opened the scoring as Jodie Broughton crossed in the 19th minute before Justin Horo extended the lead with Thomas Bosc converting for 10-0. The slim lead lasted into the interval as the Dragons moved halfway to ending their horrific losing streak.
Widnes hit back within seven minutes of the restart through Matt Whitley with Lloyd White converting for 10-6. Fouad Yaha ran in an 18 minute second half hat-trick which saw Bosc converting the first two efforts as the hosts looked to have sealed the win at 26-6. Widnes did have the final say as Patrick Ah Van crossed five minutes from the end for 26-10.
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