Super 8s - The Qualifiers Round Four Review

The battle to survive in Super League and for others reach the top flight continued with round four of The Qualifiers.

Saturday's round opener saw an epic batttle as Warrington Wolves held on for a 40-38 win over London Broncos.  London started superbly as they opened up a 14-0 lead with tries from Kieran Dixon, Rhys Williams and Jarrod Sammut with Sammut converting only his own try. Warrington got off the mark through Tom Lineham for 14-4 before George King went over just before the interval with Declan Patton converting for 14-10.

The Wolves levelled within five minutes of the restart through Peta Hiku with Patton converting for 14-16. Further scores from Kevin Brown, Patton and Ben Westwood were converted by Patton making it 14-34. A second self-converted try from Sammut cut the gap to 20-34 before Patton converted a second try from Brown, 20-40. London staged a stunning fightback as Sammut completed his hat-trick ahead of a try from Andy Ackers and second score from Dixon with Sammut converting the lot for 38-40.


 

Hull Kingston Rovers continued their push for an instant return to Super League with a 30-18 win at Featherstone Rovers. Fev struck first through Kyran Johnson nine minutes in with Ian Hardman converting for 6-0. 

Hull levelled six minutes later as Ryan Shaw went over with Jamie Ellis converting for 6-6 before improving a try from Danny Addy and scoring a self-converted try for 6-18 at half-time.

A try from Frankie Mariano on 51 minutes saw Hardman convert for 12-18 before an Ellis penalty, tries from Thomas Minns and Andrew Heffernan (Ellis conv) put KR in control at 12-30. The final say went to the hosts as Johnson claimed his second try with Hardman converting for 18-30.

 

Catalans Dragons boosted their Super League survival hopes with a comfortable 24-0 win at Halifax.

A tight first quarter between the sides saw them locked at 0-0 before two tries in six minutes either side of the half hour mark saw Luke Walsh and Richie Myler touch down with Walsh converting twice for 0-12 into the interval.

Brayden Wiliame extended the lead within five minutes of the restart, Walsh converting for 0-18 before he converted an effort on 65 minutes from Fouad Yaha for 0-24.



 

Widnes Vikings continued their survival hopes with a 24-8 win at Leigh Centurions.

The Vikings opened the scoring inside four minutes through Lloyd White for a 0-4 lead that soon became 0-8 as Rhys Hanbury kicked two penalties. Alex Gerrard extended the lead on 26 minutes, Hanbury converting for 0-14.

James Clare got Leigh on the board with a 55th minute try but Widnes resumed control with Corey Thompson crossing and Chris Bridge converting for 4-20. Matty Dawson cut the gap six minutes later to make it 8-20 but Widnes wrapped up the win with two penalties from Bridge for 8-24.

Super 8s Round Four Review

The run-in towards the end of the season is in full swing with Super 8s round four last weekend.

The round opened on Thursday as Leeds Rhinos defeated Hull FC with a 36-28 win at Headingley.Leeds struck first through Rob Burrow on seven minutes with Kallum Watkins converting before FC drew level with a a Steve Michaels try which Marc Sneyd converted for 6-6. The sides exchanged scores with Brad Singleton and Scott Taylor crossing with Watkins and Sneyd  kicking for 12-12. 

The Rhinos took an 18-12 lead with a Liam Sutcliffe try and Watkins conversion ahead of a Sneyd penalty for 18-14. The half-time score was 24-14 though as Mitch Garbutt crossed and Watkins converted on 37 minutes. FC cut the gap within seven minutes of the restart through Danny Washbrook , Sneyd kicking for 24-20 but Leeds replied rapidly as Adam Cuthbertson  went over with Watkins kicking for 30-20. 

 Josh Bowden kept FC in the hunt on the hour with Sneyd making it 30-26 but a Watkins penalty was followed by a score two minutes from the end which saw Matt Parcell cross and Watkins kick to confirm the win.

Castleford continued their push to reach 50 points with a 24-16 win at Huddersfield Giants. 

Cas struck first as Jake Webster crossed and Luke Gale converted for 0-6. Hudds cut the gap through Oliver Roberts before Paul  Clough gave them the lead six minutes before the interval with Jordan Rankin converting for 10-6 before adding a late penalty for a 12-6 half-time lead.

Ben Roberts cut the gap for Cas within three minutes of the restart with Gale levelling at 12-12 with the boot. The Tigers took the lead nine minutes later with a Greg Eden try with Gale kicking for 12-18 before he converted his own try on 62 minutes for a 12-24 lead. Hudds had the last say on the scoreline as Darnell McIntosh crossed for 16-24 three minutes from the end.

Wakefield Trinity maintained their top four hopes woth a comfortable 43-18 win at Salford Red Devils. A rapid start from Salford saw Craig Kopczak score the opening try inside three minutes which Todd Carney converted for 6-0. Trinity levelled with a Jacob Miller try and Liam Finn conversion before Finn converted an effort from Joe Arundel for 6-12.   Salford levelled with Greg Johnson's try which Carney converted for 12-12 before a second try for Jacob Miller restored the lead for Wakefield with Finn converting before adding two penalties for a 12-22 half-time lead.  

Finn kicked another penalty within four minutes of the restart before improving tries from debutant Tyler Randell either side of an effort from Bill Tupou, 12-42. Tyrone McCarthy cut the gap for Salford with nine minutes left with Carney converting for 18-42 but the final say went to Wakefield as Miller swept over a drop goal for 18-43.


My attendance this round was to see Wigan Warriors secure a 26-16 derby win over St Helens.

Wigan raced out of the blocks with a brace from Oliver Gildart inside five minutes which George Williams converted for a 0-12 lead. Williams extended the lead with a penalty ten minutes later for 0-14 before a controversial debut try from Ben Barba got Saints off the mark at 4-14, a score which remained into the interval.

Anthony Gelling crossed for the Warriors ten minutes after half-time for 4-18 before a self-converted try from Williams three minutes later made it 4-24. St Helens mounted a comeback with scores from Zeb Taia and Tommy Makinson, Mark Percival converting both for 16-24. Wigan rounded off the win in the final minute as Williams kicked a penalty for 16-26.

Ladbrokes Challenge Cup Final Review

Four years ago, I made my first visit to Wembley Stadium in horrific weather conditions for what was a successful Challenge Cup Final for Wigan Warriors, Saturday saw a return to the hallowed stadium in superb weather but would it be a similar result this time around?

Hull FC looked to secure back-to-back titles and also avenge the 16-0 humbling by the Warriors from 2013. The Warriors started the better of the two sides with a try in the opening five minutes from John Bateman with George Williams converting for 0-6.. FC hit back within eight minutes as Fetuli Talanoa crossed on the wing and Marc Sneyd converted for 6-6.

Hull completed the turnaround six minutes later through Mahe Fonua, Sneyd kicking for 12-6.Wigan closed the gap seven minutes before half time as Oliver Gildart went over but a missed conversion meant a 12-10 score at the interval.

A second score from Fonua saw Sneyd convert ten minutes after the restart for an 18-10 advantage, Wigan cut the gap with seven minutes to go as Joe Burgess crossed out wide but with the conversion missed, the score was 18-14. Wigan looked to have levelled in the final seconds but the effort from Burgess was ruled out to the dismay of the celebrating Warriors who seconds later saw FC celebrate the victory.

The Qualifiers Round Three Review

The battle to secure a Super League spot for next season continued with round three of The Qualifiers.

The round opened on Saturday afternoon as Warrington Wolves claimed a 22-8 win over Halifax RLFC.

The Wolves opened the scoring on 22 minutes as Peta Hiku crossed to make it 4-0 but the sides went into the interval level at 4-4 after a late score from Chester Butler. Chris Hill restored the hosts' lead within five minutes of the restart, Declan Patton converting for 10-4. 

Fax hit back with a second from Butler for 10-8 but the hosts opened up a 16-8 lead with a Matty Russell try and Patton penalty goal ahead of a late try from André Savelio which Patton converted.

Catalans Dragons' survival hopes suffered a blow as they lost out 30-6 at home to Leigh Centurions.

The Centurions led 10-0 after 25 minutes with a seventh minute try from Adam Higson saw Ben Renyolds convert before Higson crossed for his second try on 24 minutes. The lead lasted into the interval with Leigh extending their advantage with a Cory Paterson try on 51 minutes, Renyolds converting for 16-0.

Leigh made the win safe on 67 minutes as Josh Drinkwater touched down with Renyolds converting for 24-0 after kicking a penalty goal four minutes earlier. Catalans avoided a nilling as Brayden Wiliame crossed on 77 minutes with Luke Walsh converting for 24-6. The final say went to the visitors as Paterson crossed for his second score in the final seconds with Renyolds converting.

Hull Kingston Rovers furthered their push for a Super League return with a narrow 35-30 win over London Broncos.

London led 6-0 inside four minutes as Jarrod Sammut converted an Andy Ackers try but KR levelled within four minutes as Danny Addy crossed and Jamie Ellis converted for 6-6. Sammut made it 8-6 with a penalty goal but a Kieren Moss try and Ellis' conversion gave the hosts a 12-8 advantage. 

KR took control ahead of the interval with scores from Rob Mulhern and Ryan Shaw with Ellis converting both and Chris Atkin sweeping over a last-gasp drop goal for 25-8. Ellis pushed the lead to 27-8 with a penalty before London battled back with a James Cunningham try which Sammut converted for 27-14. A second score from Shaw saw Ellis kick for 33-14. London continued to push with Alex Walker crossing and Sammut converting for 33-20. A penalty goal from Ellis made it 35-20 but London had the last say with a late double as Mark Ioane and Elliot Kear crossed with a single conversion from Sammut.


Widnes Vikings kept up their survival hopes with a comfortable 58-10 win over Featherstone Rovers. 

A rapid start from the Vikings saw them lead 22-0 inside 20 minutes with Rhys Hanbury and Charly Runciman scoring five minute braces with Lloyd White converting three times. Fev hit back through Misi Taulapapa for 22-4. A four minute brace from Chris Bridge before half-time saw White convert both for a huge 34-4 lead at the interval. 

James Lockwood cut the gap with Ian Hardman converting for 34-10 but Widnes powered on with a brace for Stefan Marsh sandwiching Bridge's hat-trick try coupled with a Danny Craven conversion. The rout was completed by a hat-trick try for Hanbury ahead of him converting a late effort from Joe Mellor.

Super 8s Round Three Review

Ahead of a break due to the Challenge Cup Final, the Super 8s reached round three and after a low scoring round two, this was quite the opposite with three sides scoring 40+ points. 

Castleford Tigers claimed the League Leaders Shield with a comfortable 45-20 win over city rivals Wakefield Trinity in Thursday's round opener.

Trinity opened the scoring with a Liam Finn penalty goal inside two minutes for 0-2 before Cas led on ten minutes as Zak Hardaker crossed with Luke Gale converting for 6-2. Ben Jones-Bishop crossed for Trinity for 6-6 but Cas were back in front as Mike McMeeken crossed, Gale converting for 12-6.  Jake Webster went over for Cas with Gale kicking for 18-6 but the gap was 18-10 at the interval after a late try from Mason Caton-Brown. 

Danny Kirmond cut the gap further with Finn converting for 18-16. Cas took control,Greg Eden crossing before Webster completed his hat-trick and a fourth try, Gale converting twice while adding a drop goal too for 39-16. Max Jowitt made it 39-20 before a second score from Hardaker and conversion from Gale sealed top spot.

My attendance this round was on Friday as Wigan Warriors prepared for the cup final with a comfortable 42-6 win over Salford Red Devils. 

Wigan raced into a 16-0 lead inside 17 minutes with scores Sean O'Loughlin crossing for the opening try on eight minutes ahead of efforts from Liam Farrell and Joe Burgess with George Williams converting twice. 

A second score from Burgess was followed by a try from Sam Powell just before the interval with Williams converting for 22-0. A self-converted effort from Williams was followed by a rare score from Frank-Paul Nuuausala,Williams converting for a huge 36-0 lead.

Salford avoided a nilling as Niall Evalds went over on 68 minutes with Gareth O'Brien converting for 36-6 but the hosts had the last say as Liam Marshall crossed six minutes from the end.

Friday's televised action saw Leeds Rhinos bid farewell to their famous South Stand with  a 16-14 win over St Helens.

A tight first half saw the sides level at 2-2 past the half hour mark after penalty goals from Mark Percival and Kallum Watkins. Saints led 8-2 into the interval as Jonny Lomax crossed on 37 minutes with Percival converting.

Leeds levelled within eight minutes of the restart as Ryan Hall crossed and Watkins converted for 8-8. The Rhinos went ahead just after the hour as Adam Cuthbertson touched down with Watkins converting ahead of kicking a penalty goal for 16-8. 

Saints cut the gap to 16-14 with five minutes to go as Danny Richardson went over with Percival converting but they were unable to complete the comeback.





Hull FC's preparation to defend their Challenge Cup title saw them suffer a huge 46-18 loss to Huddersfield Giants.

The hosts opened the scoring through Gareth Ellis with Marc Sneyd converting for 6-0 after ten minutes. Hudds cut the gap to 6-4 with Darnell McIntosh's try before leading as Lee Gaskell touched down with Danny Brough converting for 10-6.

Jake Connor went over for the hosts with Sneyd converting for 12-10 but the Giants would lead 22-12 into the interval via tries from Alex Mellor and McIntosh with Brough converting twice. Brough added a penalty goal four minutes after the restart ahead of a try from Tyler Dickinson which Jordan Rankin converted for 30-12.

A second score from Gaskell was followed seven minutes later by FC denting the Giants spree as Josh Griffin touched down with Sneyd converting for 30-18. Hudds wrapped up the win with a Kruise Leeming try and third for Gaskell with Rankin converting both.

Super 8s- Super League/The Qualifiers Round Two Review

As promised last week, the reviews for the Super 8s begin with round two but again the two competitions are combined in one post.

Thursday night saw a Yorkshire battle with a surprise as Wakefield Trinity eased to a 38-6 win over Leeds Rhinos.

Trinity led 6-0 inside five minutes with a Joe Arundel try and Liam Finn conversion before Adam Cuthbertson crossed and Kallum Watkins converted for the Rhinos at 6-6.

Two scores in as many minutes put the hosts ahead as former Rhinos winger Ben Jones-Bishop went over as did Scott Grix with Finn improving both before adding a penalty six minutes later for 20-6. A try in the final seconds of the half from Jacob Miller saw Finn convert for 26-6 into the interval.

The second half was a low-scoring one compared to the frantic first half but Trinity maintained control and wrapped up the win with tries from Matt Ashurst and Bill Tupou with Finn converting both.

My attendance for the week was on Friday night as Wigan Warriors claimed an 18-4 win over Huddersfield Giants.

The Giants opened the scoring with 10 minutes played as Jermaine McGillvary crossed but Danny Brough was unable to convert at 0-4. Wigan levelled three minutes later through Anthony Gelling's try before edging ahead just before half-time with a Liam Farrell try which Sam Powell converted for 10-4 into the interval. 

Powell extended the lead with a penalty goal on 52 minutes before the win was sealed three minutes from the end as Sam Tomkins crossed for a try which he then converted. 

Castleford Tigers moved a step closer to securing the League Leaders Shield with a comfortable 23-4 win over Salford Red Devils.

The Tigers opened the scoring inside seven minutes through Zak Hardaker's try which Luke Gale converted for 0-6 before Hardaker claimed his second try just before the half-hour mark with Gale kicking for 0-12. The lead remained into the interval but within three minutes of the restart, Salford were on the board as Manu Vatuvei touched down for 4-12.

The win was wrapped up by two scores either side of the hour mark as Paul McShane and Jy Hitchcox crossed for tries with Gale converting the first before kicking a drop goal with five minutes left.



The final game of the round was the closest as Hull FC edged an 8-6 win over St Helens.

The Saints opened the scoring with just four minutes on the clock as Regan Grace crossed with Mark Percival converting for a 4-0 lead. FC went into the interval ahead as Marc Sneyd crossed for a try five minutes before half-time which he converted for 4-6.

A close-run second half saw just one further score as Sneyd kicked penalty goal four minutes after the hour mark for 6-8. Saints pushed to try and turn the narrow deficit around but to no avail as FC held on for the win.

The Qualifiers opened with Warrington Wolves claiming a 52-24 win over fellow Super League side Catalans Dragons.

The Wolves flew out of the blocks with tries from Stefan Ratchford, Matty Russell and Declan Patton inside 15 minutes with Patton converting the lot for an 18-0 lead. Catalans hit back five minutes later through Remi Casty, Luke Walsh converting for 18-6. Warrington resumed their control on the scoreboard with a Ryan Atkins effort ahead of Ratchford's second try with Patton improving both for 30-6 into the interval.

Catalans struck first in the second half as Krisnan Inu touched down with Walsh converting for 30-10. Atkins crossed for his second try which Patton converted before a long range try from Lewis Tierney saw Walsh convert for 36-16. The Wolves reached 40 points after efforts from Tom Lineham and Peta Hiku were improved by Patton but Catalans remained in the hunt with a second try from Inu, Walsh converting for 48-24. Warrington had the last say though as Lineham claimed his second try two minutes from the end.


Hull Kingston Rovers continued their quest to return to Super League with a narrow 20-16 win at Leigh Centurions.

Leigh struck first through Daniel Mortimer with Josh Drinkwater converting for a 6-0 lead which was cut on the half hour mark by Shaun Lunt's  try which Jamie Ellis converted for 6-6. The hosts led into the interval as Drinkwater converting a late penalty for 8-6.

Leigh moved to 10-6 with a Drinkwater penalty on 51 minutes but KR drew level on the hour mark as Ryan Shaw crossed with Ellis converting before adding a penalty five minutes later for 10-14. Leigh regained the lead on 69 minutes as Atelea Vea crossed with Drinkwater kicking for 16-14. The win was sealed for Rovers with four minutes to go as Lunt touched down for a second time with Ellis converting.


Widnes Vikings bounced back from their opening round defeat with a 36-12 win at Halifax.

The Vikings struck inside seven minutes as Chris Bridge crossed with Lloyd White converting for 0-6. A self converted effort from White was followed by him improving a late effort from Charly Runciman as Widnes led 0-18 into the interval.

A rapid brace from Corey Thompson within six minutes of the restart made it 0-26 but Fax cut the gap with a Ben Heaton brace before the hour with Steve Tyrer and Andy Murrell converting for 12-26. Widnes added the gloss on a strong win late on with scores from Joe Mellor (White conv) and Danny Craven.

 

The round ended with a fantastic 32-32 draw between London Broncos and Featherstone Rovers.

London made the perfect start as Jay Pitts crossed in the opening minute for 4-0 before Elliot Kear and William Barthau crossed in the space of two minutes with Jarrod Sammut converting once for 14-0. Fev responded through Connor Farrell with Ian Hardman converting for 14-6 before John Davies crossed just before half-time for 14-10.

A second try from Davies was swiftly followed by a score from Luke Briscoe with Hardman converting both for 14-22. London regained the lead with tries from Sammut and Mark Ioane with Sammut converting both to make it 26-22. London extended the lead through Andy Ackers (Sammut conv) but Fev fought back superbly with a second score for Briscoe ahead of a late try from Chris Ulugia with Hardman converting to secure the draw.

Super 8s - Super League/The Qualifiers Round One

After one of the most unpredictable regular seasons in Super League history, the annual split for the Super 8s began last weekend with round one. The traditional reviews will begin in round two with a post for each competition - Super League/The Qualifiers due to a busy schedule this week.