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Round 14 Round Up

3 hrs

Round 14 kicked off with a statement win from Warrington Wolves, who strengthened their position near the top of the table with an impressive victory at the BrewDog Stadium against St Helens.

It was Tristan Sailor who opened the scores with an opportunistic try, chasing and collecting his own kick to touch down.

But Albert Hopoate’s response gave Wire a lifeline at half-time, before Josh Smith put the visitors in front with a superb solo score, as he sprinted the length of the field.

Warrington then rounded off their win in style, as young Ewan Irwin stepped his way over, and Sam Burgess’ side claimed their ninth victory in a row over the Red V (6-18).

League leaders Leeds Rhinos experienced a second half fright in the south of France on Friday Night.

The Rhinos run riot in the opening forty with tries from Brodie Croft, Maika Sivo, Fergus McCormack and two from Harry Newman which gave them a comfortable 30-0 advantage - or so they thought.

But Thomas Lacans' try just before the break was the beginning of an impressive Toulouse Olympique comeback, as Lacans’ second and tries from Polselli and Matthieu Laguerre brought the scores to 30-24 with just over 20 minutes remaining.

Despite this exceptional effort, however, Sivo’s second try ensured there’d be no upset on the cards, before Chris Hankinson and Cameron Smith finished off the job as the Rhinos remain top of the tree (24-48).

Also on Friday, Wigan Warriors continued their red-hot form, as they dismantled Wakefield Trinity, 10-48, at the DIY Kitchens Stadium.

A few busy weekends of Wembley and Paris didn’t faze the Warriors, as they travelled to face Trinity and delivered yet another masterclass.

Matt Peet’s men were at their brilliant best and scored nine tries against their top six opponents, including four from rising star Noah Hodkinson.

Captain Liam Farrell also bagged a brace as he rolled back the years, whilst Ollie Partington, Jake Wardle and Zach Eckersley also added tries.

The likes of Jai Field and Junior Nsemba shone, as did Bevan French on his return to action.

Wigan were simply too hot to handle. Will any team be able to stop them in their tracks?

Meanwhile, Hull KR got their revenge on York Knights for that famous opening round defeat. Once again, the Robins flourished on home soil, with a convincing 38-6 victory.

Jon Bennison put the Knights in front initially, but this was their only thing to cheer about, as six different try scorers went in for the hosts.

Tom Davies, Mikey Lewis, Joe Burgess and James Batchelor sent the home side into a healthy 22-6 lead at the break.

Then, another Davies try, and scores from Jack Broadbent and Rhyse Martin guaranteed the spoils for the champions in Round 14.

On Saturday, Hull FC secured their win since April, beating bottom of the table Huddersfield Giants.

There was a glimmer of hope to start with as Olly Russell scored, which put the Giants in front for a short period.

But all of it was short-lived as tries from the Black & Whites’ Logan Moy, Jake Arthur, Ethan O’Neill’s double, and further scores from Amir Bourouh and Harvey Barron consigned Huddersfield to a seventh straight defeat (36-12).

There was an entertaining encounter at Stade Gilbert Brutus, as a points fest unfolded between Catalans Dragons and Castleford Tigers.

Tommy Makinson and Solomona Faataape grabbed doubles, with Franck Maria and Toby Sexton also getting involved in the try-scoring action.

For Castleford, Jason Qareqare, Jack Brown, Joe Stimson and Kristain Mapalangi were on the scoresheet, but their threat was not enough to overcome the French side away from home (32-28).

Round 14 then concluded with a ‘Vegas 2027 Taster’ as Bradford Bulls faced Leigh Leopards.

And it was a memorable afternoon, as Josh Charnley broke Super League's all-time try-scoring record, overtaking Ryan Hall’s 271 tries.

Charnley banked a heroic hat-trick at Bartercard Odsal, which now puts him on 272 tries.

The Bulls started the game energetically, but could not break down the Leopards’ defence, even though they had multiple chances to do so near the line.

Chris Atkin and Caleb Aekins eventually a scored sensational try each, but Leigh were far stronger, with Innes Senior, Bailey Hodgson and Louis Brogan also crossing to add to Charnley’s three (12-38).

This is Leigh’s sixth win in seven Super League matches, as they move to within two points of St Helens, who currently occupy the final Play-Off spot.

It's heating up at the halfway point, but what does the second half of the season have in store?