A review of the Super 8s and Qualifiers action...
Results
Saturday (Sep 15)
- Widnes 26-12 Halifax (Qualifiers)
- Toronto 13-12 Toulouse (Qualifiers)
- Hull KR 30-18 London Broncos (Qualifiers)
Friday (Sep 14)
- Wigan Warriors 26-6 Warrington Wolves
- Wakefield Trinity 34-22 Catalans Dragons
- St Helens 38-12 Hull FC
- Leeds Rhinos 18-16 Salford Red Devils (Qualifiers)
Thursday (Sep 13)
Castleford Tigers 44-12 Huddersfield Giants
Saturday, September 15
Widnes 26-12 Halifax
Krisnan Inu and Patrick Ah Van touched down for doubles as Widnes ended their 17-game losing run with a workmanlike 26-12 victory over Halifax at the Halton Stadium.
It was billed the battle for the wooden spoon as both the Vikings and Halifax were pointless after four games of the Super 8s Qualifiers.
It was a must-win for Widnes to give them a flicker of hope of making the Million Pound Game and they delivered.
The win over Fax put them a third of the way there but with two away games at Toronto Wolfpack and Hull KR remaining, it is a tough ask for Francis Cummins' side who are staring relegation in the face.
Inu's 14-point haul made sure Widnes' longest-ever losing run came to an end and his efforts were enough for Cummins and the Vikings to finally exhale after they picked up their first two points since March 22.
Toronto 13-12 Toulouse
Toronto took another step towards promotion to Super League as Gareth O'Brien's late drop goal gave the Wolfpack a tense 13-12 victory over Championship rivals Toulouse.
The result moved Toronto on to six points in the Super 8s Qualifiers table and left Toulouse struggling to make the Million Pound Game.
Toulouse full-back Mark Kheirallah opened the scoring with a penalty but the hosts took control after tries from Mason Caton-Brown and Nick Rawsthorne.
Another Kheirallah penalty made it 8-4 before Paul Marcon touched down to level the scores at half-time.
Stan Robin cancelled out Chase Stanley's try late on to set up a nail-biting finish, with O'Brien holding his nerve to settle the contest.
Hull KR 30-18 London Broncos
Hull KR took another significant step towards Super League survival with a hard-fought 30-18 victory over London Broncos in round five of the Super 8s Qualifiers at KCOM Craven Park.
The patched-up Robins lost Adam Quinlan, Danny McGuire, Maurice Blair Mose Masoe, Lee Jewitt and Justin Carney from last week's win over Halifax but still had too much craft for their Championship opponents as they ground their way to a fourth successive victory.
It lifts them level on eight points with Salford and Leeds with two rounds left in their pursuit of a top-three finish and leaves London fighting for a place in the Million Pound game for their best chance of promotion.
Rovers looked to have wrapped up the points by half-time when they led 20-6 but the Broncos battled back strongly and dominated for long periods of the second half to get to within two points and set up a tense finish.
The home side were only able to breathe easily when James Greenwood went over for his second try of the match 10 minutes from the end and centre Junior Vaivai gave them a flattering margin of victory with a late score.
Friday, September 14
Wigan Warriors 26-6 Warrington Wolves
Dom Manfredi ended over two years of hurt with a two-try return to action as Wigan beat Warrington 26-6 to remain unbeaten in the Super 8s.
The winger had been on the sidelines for 762 days following a serious knee injury sustained at Castleford in 2016 - but all that pain was worth it as he scored twice late on to secure the points for Wigan.
The opening 40 minutes will not feature in many end-of-season highlight reels, but it was Wigan who led 6-0 the break with a try from nothing from Thomas Leuluai.
Warrington managed to level things in the second half with Stefan Ratchford going over, but two tries in the final 10 minutes from Manfredi saw the Warriors record their fifth successive win in the Super 8s. Ryan Sutton then added a final score.
The Warriors looked the better team with the ball in hand but they were unable to create many chances, though Willie Isa went close.
St Helens 38-12 Hull FC
St Helens shrugged off their late-season wobble to lift the League Leaders' Shield for the sixth time in the Super League era.
England centre Mark Percival and exciting winger Regan Grace scored two tries apiece as Saints overcame injury-hit Hull 38-12 at the Totally Wicked Stadium.
Justin Holbrook's men have led the table all season but they missed a chance to secure the shield a fortnight ago when Wigan condemned them to a second successive home defeat, which came on the heels of their shock Challenge Cup exit.
However, they made no mistake this time as they cruised to a fourth win of the season over the Black and Whites, who have now lost their last nine matches.
League Leaders Shield 2018 Winners @Saints1890 🎉 pic.twitter.com/rPmqUDAReA
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) September 14, 2018
Leeds Rhinos 18-16 Salford Red Devils (Qualifiers)
Liam Sutcliffe held his nerve to kick a penalty on the full-time hooter as Leeds took a huge step towards retaining their Super League status with a 18-16 victory over Salford.
On a day when the Super 8s were axed in favour of a return to the traditional one-up, one-down system of promotion and relegation, the tension was palpable as both teams dared not lose.
But it was the Rhinos who edged it to inflict a first Qualifiers defeat on the Red Devils and leave the champions on the brink of retaining their place in Super League.
Leeds held a slender half-time advantage thanks to tries from Tom Briscoe and Jimmy Keinhorst either side of Niall Evalds' effort.
Greg Burke levelled the scores while Brett Ferres was in the sin bin and Derrell Olpherts cancelled out Briscoe's second try to set up a dramatic finale.
Wakefield Trinity 34-22 Catalans Dragons
Tom Johnstone claimed his third hat-trick of the season as Wakefield moved back up to fifth in the Betfred Super League table with a 34-22 victory over Catalans Dragons.
Johnstone draws level with St Helens' Ben Barba on 24 at the top of the league's try scorers after his latest scoring spree.
Trinity climb above faltering Huddersfield on game points difference and, with two matches remaining, have every chance of emulating finishing in the same spot as last year.
Ladbrokes Challenge Cup winners Catalans have now lost six successive Super League games either side of their Wembley triumph.
However, an upturn in fortunes and victory at sliding Hull next week could yet see them still finish seventh - a far cry from 2017 when they were scrapping for their top-flight lives.
Thursday, September 13
Castleford Tigers 44-12 Huddersfield Giants
Forward Junior Moors was the star of the show with two tries as Castleford came from 12-4 down to beat Huddersfield 44-12 and keep the pressure on second-placed Wigan.
Gale, the reigning Man of Steel who only recently returned from a fractured kneecap, was a late withdrawal with a minor leg strain, and Tigers struggled for long periods without him.
It was a third successive defeat for Huddersfield, but they showed early signs of repeating their 32-18 win at the Mend-a-Hose Jungle only seven weeks earlier and were in contention until a late collapse saw them concede five tries in the last 23 minutes.
