2019 Women's Super League Round Nine Review

Round Nine opened at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle as Castleford Tigers Women extended their unbeaten run with a comfortable 56-8 win over Wigan Warriors Women. The Warriors opened the scoring with Rachel Thompson crossing for 4-0 before the Tigresses replied through Courtney Pointon for 4-4. The hosts went ahead with Sinead Peach and Kelsey Gentles crossing, Stanley converting once for 14-4. Cas were in control at the interval after a self-converted effort from Stanley was followed by a second Gentles score and a Hollie Dodd try with Georgia Roche converting before crossing for a try herself for 34-4. 

The spree continued on the hour with a second Stanley score and Roche conversion for 40-4 before with Tamzin Renouf extending the lead with a try which Stanley improved for 46-4.Lacey Owen touched down to bring up the half century before Gemma Walsh crossed for Wigan for 50-8. The final say went to the hosts as Peach claimed her second try with a fourth success for Stanley completing the 56-8 victory. 

Leeds Rhinos Women continued their good season with a 52-0 hammering of Featherstone Rovers Women. A perfect start for the Rhinos saw Fran Goldthorp and Tasha Gaines cross for tries inside six minutes with Courtney Hill converting both for 12-0. A self-converted effort from Hill saw a gap in the scoring before Ellie Oldroyd and Chloe Kerrigan crossed with Gaines converting twice for 30-0 into the interval.

The second half saw the Rhinos wrap up the win with four scores either side of the hour mark Madison Laverick crossing ahead of a self-converted Gaines try who then improved an effort from Caitlin Beevers before completing her hat-trick and a haul of four conversions in the 52-0 rout. 

St Helens Women kept up their hopes of top spot with a 34-18 win over Bradford Bulls Women at Odsal. Saints raced into a 14-0 lead with scores from Emily Rudge, Becca Rotherham and Channy Crowl with Faye Gaskin adding a single conversion. Rhianna Burke crossed before a self-converted score from Gaskin was followed by a Tara Jones effort with Gaskin kicking for a 30-0 half-time lead. 

The second half saw the Bulls get off the mark with scores from Amy Hardcastle, Sarah Dunn, Olivia Wood with Leah Jones converting the lot for 30-18 but it was Saints who had the final say with Burke claiming her second try to round off a 34-18 win. 

Round nine came to an end with York City Knights Ladies claiming a 20-4 over Wakefield Trinity Ladies. The Knights first win of the season came courtesy of a hat-trick from Alisha Clayton and score from Ashleigh Hyde with Sam Boyes converting twice, Trinity's solitary score came from Lisa Taylor. 

Womens Super League Round Eight Review

After last week's Challenge Cup final. league action resumed at round eight with only three games completed after the tie between Leeds Rhinos Women and York City Knights Ladies was abandoned at the interval after a serious injury to Sophie Robinson. 

The Rhinos led 30-0 at the time and likely the final score if the game is not replayed and they reached that lead with Sophie Nuttall, Hanna Butcher and Charlotte Booth all crossing for tries with Robinson notching a hat-trick, suffering the serious injury in the act of scoring her third. Courtney Hill converting thrice in the half.

Leaders Castleford Tigers Women eased to a 50-16 win over Bradford Bulls Women at the Mend-a-Hose Jungle. The Tigresses went ahead on 12 minutes with Georgia Roche crossing and Tara Stanley converting for 6-0 before Bradford hit back through Sarah Dunn with Leah Jones converting to level at 6 all. Stanley claimed a try of her own before Amy Hardcastle crossed for the Bulls with Jones kicking them into a 12-10 lead. The Tigresses battled back with a Rhiannon Marshall try ahead of Stanley's second with her converting both for 22-12. A double blow before the interval for the Bulls saw Debbie Smith sent off and Kelsey Gentles (Stanley conv) cross for 28-12 into the break.

The hosts took control with Olivia Grace and Sinead Peach crossing with Stanley converting the latter for 38-12. Bradford cut the gap with a second Dunn try but it was to be their last as Marshall and Grace completed braces with Stanley converting to take her total to seven successes with the boot at 50-16.

Wigan Warriors Women suffered an 18-16 loss to Featherstone Rovers Ladies with the hosts snatching the two points late on. Rovers opened the scoring with Andrea Dobson crossing and Katie Hepworth converting for 6-0 after 17 minutes. Wigan drew level just before the interval as Becky Greenfield crossed and Kate McMullan converted for 6 all.

The Warriors scored consecutive tries with Sarah Harrison racing over and McMullan kicking for 12-6 but Fev battled back with Grace Cotton going over but with no conversion the score was 12-10 The sides were level on 62 minutes with a Hepworth penalty goal but a Rachel Thompson try soon restored the lead for Wigan at 16-12, the missed conversion from McMullen was to prove crucial as with eight minutes to go, Hepworth crossed and converted to seal an 18-16 win.

The final game of the round saw St Helens stroll to a 60-0 demolition of Wakefield Trinity Ladies at Ruskin Park. A perfect start for the Saints saw Rhianna Burke cross in the opening minute for 4-0 before Beth Stott and Katie-May Williams crossed with Faye Gaskin converting the latter for 14-0. The lead stretched to 26-0 at the interval after tries from Emily Rudge and Vicky Whitfield were converted by Gaskin. 

Saints spree resumed just five minutes after the restart as Rudge claimed her second try ahead of a Tara Jones score with Gaskin on target with both conversions for 38-0. Rudge completed her hat-trick before Eboni Partington went over and with Gaskin converting just once the lead became 48-0. The 50 point mark came as Rudge claimed her fourth score with the scoring all done by the 64th minute as Chantelle Crowl went over with Gaskin ending the afternoon with eight successes with the boot for 60-0.

2019 Super League Round 25 Review

Round 25 opened with the top two facing off on Thursday night as St Helens wrapped up a 30-12 win over Warrington Wolves.The Wolves flew out if the blocks with Jake Mamo crossing for the opening score inside two minutes for 4-0. Saints responded with tries from Kevin Naiqama and Jonny Lomax with Danny Richardson converting twice for 12-8 either side of a Josh Thewlis score for the hosts, the Wolves went into the interval just 12-10 behind after a Stefan Ratchford penalty goal.

Saints took just four minutes of the second half to reply with Joseph Paulo crossing, Richardson kicking for 18-10 before a second Ratchford penalty goal cut the gap to 18-12. Saints took control with scores from Matty Costello and Tommy Makinson, Richardson converting both to reach five successes in a 30-12 win.

In attendance on Friday night at the DW Stadium as Wigan Warriors claimed a 36-18 win over Hull Kingston Rovers. Wigan struck first with George Wiiliams crossing inside five minutes with Zak Hardaker converting for 6-0 before the Robins responded with a self-converted try from Ryan Shaw to level at 6 all. The hosts regained the lead with a Liam Marshall score which Hardaker improved for 12-6 before Ben Crooks replied for Rovers with Shaw converting for 12 all into the interval.

The sides exchanged scores after the restart with Liam Farrell (Hardaker conv) and Josh Drinkwater (Shaw conv) for 18-18 before three tries in 15 minutes ensured victory for Wigan as Burgess and Tony Clubb touched down ahead of a second Farrell score seeing Hardaker end the night with a perfect six with the boot for 36-18.

Leeds Rhinos boosted their survival hopes with a comfortable 48-8 victory over Catalans Dragons. A rapid start from the Rhinos saw Ash Handley crossing inside ten minutes with Rhyse Martin converting and adding a penalty goal before scoring a self-converted try for 14-0. Another penalty goal for Martin made it 16-0 with the Dragons scoring the final points of the half with a Mickael Goudemand try which saw Tony Gigot convert before adding a penalty goal on the hooter for 16-8 into the interval.

A second try for Handley was rapidly followed by Richie Myler crossing with Martin converting twice before adding a penalty goal for 30-8. Any hopes of a Dragons comeback were ended by Rob Lui and Tom Briscoe crossing for tries either side of a second from Myler, a stunning night with the boot for Martin saw him convert the lot to end on ten successes in a 48-8 win.

London Broncos' survival hopes suffered a blow with a 20-6 loss to Castleford Tigers on Saturday evening. The Broncos opened the scoring with a Brock Lamb try which Kieran Dixon converted for a 6-0 lead that was soon cut to 6-4 by a try for the hosts from Tuoyo Egodo which proved to the final score of the half.

Oliver Holmes put the Tigers ahead with a try just three minutes after the restart for 8-6 before a first senior try for Jacques O'Neill and second score for Egodo saw Jamie Ellis convert twice to complete the 20-6 success.

Sunday afternoon saw Salford Red Devils boost their play-off hopes with a 32-12 win at home to Huddersfield Giants. Salford opened the scoring with penalty goal from Krisnan Inu inside three minutes for 2-0 before he improved a try from Logan Tomkins for an 8-0 lead. Huddersfield cut the gap to 8-6 into the interval with a Darnell McIntosh try and Oliver Russell conversion but went in 10-6 behind after an Inu penalty goal.

Hudds took a 12-10 lead ten minutes after the restart with a self-converted try from Russell but their joy lasted just 14 minutes as Mark Flanagan (Inu conv) crossed with Inu adding another penalty goal before improving an effort from Lolohea and scoring a try of his own as he ended the afternoon with eight successes with the boot in the 32-12 victory.

The round came to an end with Hull FC claiming a 26-16 win over Wakefield Trinity at the Mobile Rocket Stadium. Trinity struck first with Ryan Hampshire racing over and Danny Brough converting for 6-0 before Bureta Faraimo replied for FC with Marc Sneyd converting for 6 all. FC went ahead with three rapid scores in the space of six minutes, Carlos Tuimavave and Ratu Naulago crossing either side of a self-converted try from Sneyd for 20-6 at the interval.

A second try for Naulago saw Sneyd kick for 26-6 but Trinity still had a fight in them with Joe Arundel and Jacob Miller crossing for tries which saw Brough convert for a 26-16 final score.

2019 Super League Round 24 Review.

In attendance as Round 24 began on Thursday night with Wigan Warriors edging a narrow 15-14 win over Hull FC at the KCOM Stadium. FC opened up a 4-0 lead with two penalty goals from Marc Sneyd inside 15 minutes before Wigan were awarded an 8 point try with Liam Marshall tackled in the act of scoring, Zak Hardaker converting twice for and 8-4 lead. Hardaker added a penalty goal for 10-4 before Sneyd replied with a penalty goal on the hooter for 10-6 into the interval.

Wigan regained a two score lead with a second Marshall try just eight minutes after the restart for 14-6 but FC battled back with ex-Warriors forward Scott Taylor crossing for 14-12. A tense final ten minutes saw Sneyd level at 14 all with a fourth successful goal of the evening before Hardaker swept over a drop goal from 40 yards to seal the win for the Warriors at 15-14.

St Helens all but wrapped up the League Leaders Shield in consecutive seasons after a comfortable 26-6 win over Wakefield Trinity on Friday night. The sides exchanged penalty goals early on with Danny Richardson kicking ahead of  Danny Brough for 2-2. Saints regained the lead with three scores in eight minutes as Richardson, Louis McCarthy-Scarsbrook and Tommy Makinson all crossed with Richardson converting the lot for 20-2 at half-time.

The second half saw a near scoreless 40 minutes with a Kevin Naiqama try for the hosts on 72 minutes which Richardson converted while Kelepi Tanginoa crossed for Trinity two minutes from the end for 26-6.

Leeds Rhinos moved away from the bottom with a 44-0 demolition of Huddersfield Giants. The Rhinos raced into a 16-0 lead before the half hour with Adam Cuthbertson, Tom Briscoe and Konrad Hurrell crossing for tries which saw Rhyse Martin convert twice. Brad Dwyer crossed just before half-time with Martin kicking for 22-0 into the interval.

The second half matched the first with a 22 point haul for the visitors as Ash Handley crossed for a brace at either end of the half, sandwiching a second score from Hurrell and an effort from Liam Sutcliffe, Martin converting three times for six successes in the 44-0 win.

Saturday afternoon saw a fiery contest as Catalans Dragons claimed a 30-10 win over Warrington Wolves. The Dragons opened the scoring with a Sam Tomkins penalty goal on 11 minutes for 2-0 before a scuffle saw Michael McIlorum and Chris Hill sent to the sin-bin with Tomkins kicking a penalty for 4-0. Wire levelled with a Jake Mamo try but went into the interval behind after a Fouad Yaha try for the hosts to make it 8-4.

Warrington went ahead three minutes after the restart with Hill touching down and Stefan Ratchford converting for 10-8. The Dragons went back in front on 54 minutes with David Mead's try which saw Tomkins convert before adding two penalty goals either side of the hour for 18-10 with the latter coming after Mamo was sin-binned for the Wolves. Matt Whitley and Tony Gigot wrapped up the win with tries in the final ten minutes which saw Tomkins convert twice for seven successes with the boot. However, a feisty end saw three cards brandished in the final minute with Tomkins, McIlorum and Mamo all sent off.

Sunday saw Hull Kingston Rovers boost their survival hopes with a 27-26 win over Castleford Tigers via Golden Point. The Robins opened the scoring with two scores in a minute as Craig Hall and Adam Quinlan crossed for tries which Ryan Shaw converted for 12-0. The Tigers hit back with a self-converted try from Peter Mata'utia for 12-6 but KR replied with a Shaw penalty goal for 14-6. The sides went into the interval with the Tigers 20-14 ahead after Jordan Rankin and James Clare both crossed with Mata'utia converting twice and adding a penalty goal.

Castleford extended their lead eight minutes after the restart with Greg Minikin crossing and Mata'utia kicking his fifth success of the afternoon for 26-14. Rovers rallied back though with ex-Tiger Ben Crooks scoring twice in the space of three minutes and with Shaw converting both for five successes, the sides were level at 26 all. Neither could break the deadlock as the match went on so Golden Point was required with Danny McGuire sweeping over a drop goal for the Robins to seal a 27-26 win.

The round ended with Salford Red Devils easing to a 58-28 win over London Broncos. Salford opened the scoring with three tries in nine minutes, Krisnan Inu, Mark Flanagan and Josh Jones all crossing with Tui Lolohea converting the lot for 18-0. London replied with a Rhys Williams effort which Kieron Dixon converted for 18-6. Salford regained control with scores from Niall Evalds, Lolohea and a second try from Inu and with Lolohea converting twice and Inu once, the lead was 36-6 at the interval.

London's hopes of a win looked dashed by scores after the restart from Evalds and Kris Welham with Lolohea kicking twice for 48-6. The Broncos stemmed the spree with a Luke Yates score which Dixon improved for 48-12 but Salford replied with a Jackson Hastings score which brought up the half-century at 52-12. London cut the gap again as Matty Fleming and Sadiq Adebiyi, the latter improved by Dixon for 52-22. Evalds completed his hat-trick with Lolohea reaching eight successes with the boot before London had the final say with a Rob Butler try in the final minutes which Dixon converted for a fourth success and 58-28 final score.

Men's Coral Challenge Cup Semi Finals/Women's Challenge Cup Final.

The semi finals of the Men's Coral Challenge Cup took place as a double-header at University of Bolton on Sat 27th July starting with Warrington Wolves claiming a spot in the Wembley final with a 22-14 win over Hull FC.

The Wolves opened the scoring inside seven minutes with Bryson Goodwin crossing for 4-0 before Marc Sneyd cut the gap for FC with a penalty goal for 4-2. FC edged ahead with a try from Bureta Faraimo before Sneyd added a second penalty for 8-4 on the half hour. Wire regained the lead into the interval as Ben Currie crossed with Stefan Ratchford converting for 10-8.

Toby King extended the lead with Ratchford kicking for 16-8 within ten minutes of the restart before FC cut the gap to 16-14 with a Scott Taylor try and Sneyd conversion but it was to no avail as the Wolves wrapped up the win late on with a Joe Philbin try and a third Ratchford conversion to complete a 22-14 win.

St Helens will contest the final for the first time since 2010 as they claimed a 26-2 win over Championship side Halifax RLFC. Saints opened the scoring with a Danny Richardson penalty inside four minutes before Steve Tyrer levelled with a penalty goal for 2-2. The hosts edged into the lead before the interval with James Roby crossing and Richardson converting for 8-2 into half-time.

Further scores from Dominique Peyroux and Jonny Lomax saw Richardson convert twice for 20-2 before a Theo Fages try and fifth conversion from Richardson wrapped up a 26-2 win.

The Women's Challenge Cup final took place earlier in the day with Leeds Rhinos Women successfully retaining the title with a 16-10 win over Castleford Tigers Women. The Tigresses opened the scoring with a Rhinannon Marshall for 4-0 before the Rhinos replied four minutes later through Fran Goldthorp with Courtney Hill converting for 6-4. Caitlin Beevers increased the lead with a try five minutes later for 10-4. The sides went into the interval level after Tamzin Renouf crossed and Tara Stanley converted for 10 all.

The second half proved to be a close run 40 minutes with just a single score as Hill went over for a try which she converted to wrap up back-to-back titles for the Rhinos Women with a 16-10 victory.