Betfred Super League round-up: St Helens increase lead at top, Sam Tomkins bags Catalans hat-trick

Results

• Huddersfield Giants 28-32 Catalans Dragons
• Leeds Rhinos 16-32 Hull KR
• St Helens 32-10 Wigan Warriors
• Wakefield Trinity 16-36 Castleford Tigers
• Warrington Wolves 12-22 Salford Red Devils

Makinson scores brace as Saints ease past arch rivals

St Helens increased their lead at the top of the Betfred Super League to 10 points with a crushing 32-10 derby win over arch-rivals Wigan.

Tommy Makinson crossed twice in the first half to put Saints ahead at the Totally Wicked Stadium and further scores from Lachlan Coote, Kevin Naiqama and Jonny Lomax put the hosts 32-4 up after an hour.

Wigan finished strongly and claimed a consolation try through Zak Hardaker - who scored all his side's points - but a number of their fans had long headed for the exits.

Coote finished with a personal haul of 16 points having also kicked six goals.

Tomkins hat-trick sees Catalans edge victory over Huddersfield

Sam Tomkins scored a first-half hat-trick as Catalans boosted their Super League play-off prospects with a hard-fought 32-28 victory which reawakened Huddersfield's relegation fears.

The England full-back's clinical finishing laid the platform for an impressive opening 40 minutes from Steve McNamara's men, who led 22-12 at the break.

Centre Brayden Wiliame also touched down for the Dragons during while Innes Senior and Jake Wardle were Huddersfield's first-half scorers.

Catalans underlined their superiority with a second-half brace from winger Jodie Broughton but further home tries by Darnell McIntosh, Lee Gaskell, and Senior in the final quarter ensured a tense finale.

The French visitors ended a five-match losing streak when beating Wakefield at home last weekend and this was another step in the right direction for McNamara's men.

For Huddersfield, despite their spirited late rally, this was a major setback after they had won at Salford last week to halt a run of four successive defeats.

The result leaves the Giants just two points above bottom-placed London and in the thick of the scrap to avoid the drop.

McGuire back to haunt former club at Headingley

Former captain Danny McGuire returned to haunt Leeds with a masterclass display on his 400th Super League appearance to guide Hull KR to a precious 32-16 victory.

The 36-year-old stand-off is retiring at the end of the season but showed he still has much to offer as he tormented his old team-mates with a dazzling array of attacking skills that created three of Rovers' six tries.

Two of them went to Australian centre Kane Linnett while Papua New Guinea international second rower Rhyse Martin scored on his full debut for Leeds but he and Liam Sutcliffe missed all four conversion attempts between them.

Another Leeds old boy, hooker Matt Parcell, who was in their Grand Final-winning team of 2017, scored the opening try and the victory was also sweet former Rhinos coach Tony Smith, who has now guided his latest club to three wins from his six matches in their bid to avoid the drop.

This victory enabled Hull KR to draw level with their hosts and crucially put them two points clear of bottom club London Broncos in a still tense relegation battle.

Clare at the treble as Tigers see off rivals

A James Clare hat-trick helped Castleford come from behind and beat derby rivals Wakefield 36-16.

Winger Clare grabbed three tries as the Tigers rallied from 8-0 down early to notch a convincing 20-point win at the Mobile Rocket Stadium.

Struggling Wakefield slumped to their eighth loss in their past nine matches, leaving them just four points off bottom place in Super League.

Inu's double helps Salford secure shock win

Krisnan Inu claimed two tries as Salford Red Devils recorded their second shock Betfred Super League win of the season at the Halliwell Jones Stadium over second-placed Warrington Wolves.

The Red Devils had stunned the Wolves with a convincing 36-12 win on Good Friday at the same ground and were good value for another deserved success to keep them very much in the play-off picture.

In a battle between the top two in the Man of Steel standings it was Salford's Jackson Hastings who got the upper hand over Warrington's Blake Austin, with another excellent display from the Red Devils half-back which also saw him create two tries for his side.

Inu claimed two tries and three goals for a personal haul of 14 points with Salford's other tries coming through Ryan Lannon and Kris Welham.

It was a below-par performance from Warrington on a frustrating night for Steve Price's side as they claimed tries from Jason Clark and Matt Davies and two Dec Patton conversions.