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Round 5 Round Up

17 Mar 2024

Here is a round-up of all the action from Round 5's Betfred Super League!

Thursday night saw a thriller as Salford Red Devils welcomed Wigan Warriors to the Salford Community Stadium live on Sky Sports.

A close contest between two in-form sides of Betfred Super League would go on to unfold - and despite an extremely strong performance from the Red Devils, challenging the current Champions proved to be a step too far for Paul Rowley's men.

Wardle wins it for @WiganWarriorsRL ?#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/sFks7ssE14
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) March 14, 2024

Wigan would take a 10-0 lead through tries from Liam Marshall and Abbas Miski, before Salford made an impressive comeback with two converted scores from Sam Stone and Tim Lafai to go in front by two points.

It looked as though Salford were going to pull off a repeat of last week when they came from behind to beat St Helens, but two tries from the Warriors in the final five minutes would snatch a 12-22 win on road, leaving the hosts heart-broken.

The Warriors still remain the only unbeaten side in 2024's campaign.

Over at AMT Headingley Stadium, St Helens returned to winning ways against Leeds Rhinos on Friday night - ending the Rhinos' winning home run.

Leeds took a lead ten minutes in through Luis Roberts who forced his way over from close range, before Waqa Blake hit back for the Saints, scoring his first points in the Red V - the score-line 8-6 at half-time.

But a second half would see the Rhinos outfit remain scoreless, despite there being little to separate the two sides and their performances. And it would be Paul Wellens' men who would go on to score two crucial tries in a matter of minutes through Jon Bennison and Moses Mbye - doing just enough to claim a 8-18 win in West Yorkshire, live on Sky Sports.

Turning the screw @Saints1890 ?

Brilliant Bennison try ?#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/TFdluzECKn
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) March 15, 2024

Likewise, Hull KR bounced back from their losses in Rounds 3 and 4 with a 12-24 win at the John Smith Stadium on Saturday.

The Robins went head-to-head with Huddersfield Giants and an early score four minutes in from Joe Burgess in the corner and a penalty kick would give Willie Peters' men a 0-8 advantage at the break.

Burgess starts the game off strong for @hullkrofficial ?#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/R2sxDLLLim
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) March 16, 2024

Most of the action would follow in the second forty - the Robins with another try four minutes in, and this time it would come from Peta Hiku who leapt the highest to claim Mikey Lewis' chip kick and touch down.

And Hiku continued to star on Saturday afternoon as he scooped up a loose ball to go over - on the back of some fancy side-stepping and a lovely break from his team-mate Niall Evalds.

Huddersfield would eventually hit back with two scores from Kevin Naiqama and Adam Swift in the closing stages of the game, but it was too little too late.

It was a big first win for Leigh Leopards on Saturday too, as they travelled to face Hull FC - registering their first win in style.

The Leopards were without a few notable names in their side, including club captain John Asiata and playmaker Lachlan Lam - but a Matt Moylan masterclass would lead the way as Adrian Lam's men racked up a record-breaking 4-54 victory for the club.

Matt Moylan starred in the Leopards' first win with a 22-point personal haul.

Seven different try-scorers crossed the whitewash for the Leopards, including Oliver Holmes and Ricky Leutele who each bagged themselves a brace.

This victory is Leigh's highest ever in a Super League match, as they registered their first two points of the season.

Saturday's evening game then saw Catalans Dragons dominate in the south of France as they inflicted a heavy 40-14 defeat on Castleford Tigers.

The Dragons are unbeaten at home in 2024 and produced a strong performance in Perpignan - Arthur Mourgue, Jordan Abdull, Tom Johnstone, Matthieu Laguerre, Tom Davies, Matt Ikuvalu and Cesar Rogue were all on the scoresheet, as the Tigers are left still searching for their first win heading into Rivals Round.

Sunday's game saw Warrington Wolves dominate in the capital, as they eased to a 4-58 victory over London Broncos. It was a memorable day for Sam Burgess' side for a number of reasons - Stefan Ratchford impressively surpassed the Super League goal-kicking record with 40 successive kicks, as well as equalling the all-time record of 41.

Round 5's closing game was a ten-try spectacle, including Adam Holroyd and Matt Dufty braces, a hat-trick for Josh Thewlis, as well as a try for James Harrison on his 150th career appearance - taking the Wolves to the top of the table going into the next round.