Super 8s – Round Two Review
The second stage of the Super 8s were underway this week as the teams continued to battle it out to be in the top four in a few weeks’ time. Castleford continued to put pressure on the others at the top of the table, but there was some shock results from the chasing pack.
THURSDAY
WAKEFIELD TRINITY 38-6 LEEDS RHINOS
Leeds looked to be piling the pressure on the Tigers as they beat Wigan last week, but they had a turn in fortune this time out, as Trinity handed them a tough match.
Joe Arundel got the hosts in front in the early stages, before Adam Cuthbertson drew things level in a positive first 10 minutes. It was one way traffic from there on in though, as Ben Jones Bishop, Kyle Wood and Jacob Miller crossed to send Wakefield in with a 26-6 lead at half time.
It didn’t get much better for Leeds in the second half as tries from Bill Tupou and Matty Ashurst confirmed the victory, also confirming Wakefield’s biggest ever Super League win over their neighbours.
FRIDAY
WIGAN WARRIORS 18-4 HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS
It was a must win match for both of these sides on Friday night, with their hopes of a top four finish fast becoming further out of reach. Wigan welcomed back Sam Powell from suspension, their only change, with Huddersfield forced to make a few changes following injuries to Leroy Cudjoe and Sam Rapira.
It was a far from exciting affair, with the rain owing to a series of handling errors and penalties. Jermaine McGillvary got things going as he crashed over inside 10 minutes, before Anthony Gelling pegged one back at the other end. Liam Farrell added the Warriors’ second before the break to give Wigan a 10-4 lead.
Huddersfield couldn’t find the finishing touch in a low scoring second half, the only points coming from a Sam Powell penalty goal and Sam Tomkins converted try right at the death of the game.
ST HELENS 6-8 HULL FC
Hull FC got an important win in their bid to make it to a second final in their season. In another game dampened by the way, errors counts were exceptionally high.
Saints were first on the scoreboard as Percival linked up well to feed Regan Grace out wide, Marc Sneyd made it all square just before half time with a great individual effort. It was a difficult second period for both sides, with neither crossing the whitewash. The game came down to a Marc Sneyd 50-metre penalty goal which snatched the points for Hull.
SALFORD RED DEVILS 4-23 CASTLEFORD TIGERS
Castleford made another huge stride in maintaining their top spot and look heavy favourites to make it to the Grand Final this year, as they beat Salford in a routine Tigers performance.
It was a comfortable opening forty for Castleford, with Zak Hardaker’s brace proving the difference, giving them a 12-0 cushion at the break. Manu Vatuvei latched on to Todd Carney’s grubber kick early after the restart as Salford looked to get back in it, but there was no such hope as Castleford proved why they sit top of the table.
Paul McShane went over from dummy half on the hour mark, Jy Hitchcox went over shortly afterwards. Luke Gale confirmed the rout as he smashed a drop goal between the uprights to upkeep Castleford’s 10-point breathing space at the summit of the Super League table.
