2019 Super League Round Seven Review

Round seven began with Warrington Wolves just about holding on to secure a 34-32 in at Wakefield Trinity on Thursday night. A rapid start from the Wolves saw Toby King, Josh Charnley and Chris Hill cross with Stefan Ratchford converting the lot for an 18-0 lead inside 12 minutes. Trinity replied through Ryan Hampshire with Danny Brough kicking for 18-6 before a Blake Austin try and Ratchford conversion on the half hour made it 24-6. Ratchford was successful with the boot again either side of the interval with penalty goals making it 28-6.

Wakefield ended the Wolves spree with David Fifita's try (Brough conv) for 28-12 before a second Charnley score (Ratchford conv) put the Wire 34-12 up. Trinity staged a huge fightback with a two minute Kyle Wood brace followed by two late scores from Max Jowitt and Joe Arundel, two conversions from four attempts for Brough would prove costly as the final miss denied them the  chance to force Golden Point and ensured a narrow Warrington victory.

Friday's televised action saw St Helens maintain their 100% record with a comfortable 42-12 win at Castleford Tigers. An early self-converted try and penalty goal from Lachlan Coote got Saints up and running before Regan Grace and Dom Peyroux went over for scores which saw Coote convert the latter for 18-0, a lead that lasted into the interval. Zeb Taia resumed the scoring three minutes after the restart with Coote converting for 24-0 ahead of two scores in five minutes from Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and Mark Percival for 32-0.

The Tigers finally got on the board on the hour through Michael Shenton's try which Jordan Rankin converted for 32-6. Saints resumed their control with a second Peyroux score and Jonny Lomax try (Coote conv) for 42-6 but the final say went to the hosts as Jake Trueman crossed in the final minute with Rankin kicking for 42-12.

Huddersfield Giants moved off the bottom of the table with a 42-8 rout of Hull Kingston Rovers. The sides exchanged penalty goals early on with Ryan Shaw and Lee Gaskell kicking for 2-2. Kruise Leeming put the Giants ahead on 14 minutes with Gaskell's conv making it 8-2 ahead of tries from Oliver Roberts and Darnell McIntosh with Gaskell kicking for a 20-2 advantage.

A second Leeming effort just after the interval was followed by Jermaine McGillvary's four minute brace and with Gaskell converting twice, the Giants led 36-2. Rovers ended the Giants spree with a Weller Hauraki try which Shaw converted for 36-8 but the final say went to the Giants as Suaia Matagi touched won five minutes from the end with Gaskell his seventh successful conversion of the evening.

After slipping to the bottom after Huddersfield's win, Leeds Rhinos remain there after a narrow 26-22 loss at Catalans Dragons on Saturday.

The Rhinos raced into a 12-0 lead with an Ash Handley brace which saw Liam Sutcliffe converting twice before Fouad Yaha cut the gap for the Dragons with Sam Tomkins converting for 12-6. Konrad Hurrell crossed for the Rhinos before a second Yaha try and Lucas Albert score saw Tomkins convert the latter to draw the Dragons level at 16 all.

Handley and Yaha completed hat-tricks before the hour with the Dragons going 22-20 after Tomkins' conversion but a penalty goal eight minutes later from Sutcliffe saw the Rhinos level at 22 all. The Dragons sealed the win with just eight minutes left as Yaha completed a quadruple of tries at 26-22.

In attendance on Sunday at the AJ Bell Stadium as Wigan Warriors ended their losing run with a 30-22 win over Salford Red Devils.

The hosts led 6-0 after Josh Jones' fourth minute try and Ed Chamberlain's penalty goal inside ten minutes. Wigan fought back superbly with George Williams, Tommy Leuluai and Joe Greenwood all crossing in the space of eight minutes coupled with Zak Hardaker converting the trio for 18-6. Salford rallied deep in the half, Derrell Olpherts and Niall Evalds easing through the Warriors line with Chamberlain converting the latter for 18-16 into the interval.

Salford regained the lead within two minutes of the restart, Adam Walker crossing for a debut try to make it 22-18. The Warriors turned the game around either side of the hour as Williams twice raced clear to complete his hat-trick and with Hardaker kicking for a 10-point haul, Wigan sealed their first away win in 2019.

The round closed with Hull FC edging a 28-24 win at London Broncos. FC struck inside four minutes through Josh Griffin for 4-0 before Elliot Kear crossed for London with Kieran Dixon kicking for a 6-4 lead. A second Griffin score saw Marc Sneyd convert to put FC 12-6 ahead but again London hit back with Eloi Pelissier crossing and Dixon converting before adding a penalty goal late in the half for 14-10.

A rapid response from FC saw Carlos Tuimavave and Jordan Thompson cross within eight minutes of the restart with Sneyd converting just the first effort for a 20-14 lead. Albert Kelly and Bureta Faraimo extended the lead either side of the hour mark to 28-14 before London staged a fightback similar to their recent win at Leeds. Jordan Abdull and Rhys Williams touched down with Dixon converting just once as the Broncos closed the final gap to four at 28-24.