Round 11 saw Bradford Bulls come up from the bottom spot of the Super League table, a close win for Huddersfield Giants and a surprisingly easy win for the Rhinos.
St Helens vs London Broncos
The Thursday night game saw St Helens, as expected, win this game by a fair margin on the score-board, but London showed signs of improvement. Some great tries from St Helens, including a beautiful no-look, inside pass from Walsh to Lomax which ended up with Makinson scoring in the corner. London managed to grab three tries themselves, through Solomona, Bishay and Minns, showing signs of improvement. This comes with the recent news that Tony Rea has left the London Broncos, being replaced by Assistant Coach, Joe Grima, so things may go up from here for the Broncos. 48-18 the full time score, in front of a crowd of 9,408.
Leeds Rhinos vs Wigan Warriors
I’m a Wigan fan, so the less said here, the better. A surprisingly comfortable win for the Rhinos against a Wigan side who looked lost. With no O’Loughlin in the 17-man squad, Wigan had no clear leader on the pitch. Anthony Gelling was the only stand-out player for the side. Leeds, on the other side, were close to perfection. They completed their sets, had a good kicking game and their forwards worked their butts off. A great game for Zak Hardaker, who has been described by team-mate Jamie Peacock as better than any fullback in the NRL. Close call, that. 28-12 the full time score to Leeds, in front of a whopping crowd of 18,139.
Catalans Dragons vs Salford Red Devils
This was a tight game for 70 minutes, with the lead going either way several times, but in the end the Dragons ran out winners. Catalan got a lead of 16-0, before Salford came back at half-time to lead 18-16, through tries from Meli, Williams and Eden. 5 minutes into the second half was it all took for the Dragons to regain their lead, through Taia. Salford then took the lead again, before Catalan got a few more tries shortly after to secure the win. 37-24 the Dragons won at full time, with a crowd of 7,862.
Hull FC vs Wakefield Wildcats
If you’re a Hull FC fan, just skip this part… It seemed quite simple for the home side, who took a 12-0 lead into the second half. But with tries from Mathers, Smith, Walshaw and Sammut all in the second half, the Wildcats went home with the 2-points. Hull FC fans were not happy with the display that their side showed in the second half, which could have been down to the injury of hard-working, Joe Westerman, who couldn’t carry on to play in the second half after falling into the advertisement boards. Lots of things to work on, especially with the Magic Weekend Derby against Hull KR just over a week away! 16-23 the Wildcats won, with 10,088 at the KC Stadium.
Hull KR vs Widnes Vikings
The Vikings left it very late to take the 2-points at the KC Lightstream Stadium. Tries from Owens, Allen and Brown gave Widnes a half-time lead of 18-16, before Hull KR fought back to lead 29-22. An almost impossible task lay ahead for the Vikings, but they didn’t shy away, with tries from Clarke and Brown, who got a hat-trick, which gave Widnes a 34-29 victory. 7,007 watching this one.
Huddersfield Giants vs Castelford Tigers
The closest game of the Round, with 1 point separating the two sides at the final whistle. The Tigers, who sit 3rd in the Super League table, missed out on the draw here though, by a Danny Brough drop goal in the 74th minute of the game. Only their 3rd defeat of the season. The scores were locked at 12-12 at half time, and things were just as close in the second half, too. Tigers didn’t give up once, and kept going at the Giants, managing to score a try through Clark in the 71st minute to level the scores at 28-28. In the end, captain Brough stepped up for the Giants to land the drop-goal, securing the Giant’s third consecutive win. 29-28 the full time score, with a crowd of 7,195 at the John Smith’s Stadium
Bradford Bulls vs Warrington Wolves
The surprise result of the Round. Struggling Bradford managed to get off the bottom of the Super League table with a surprise win over inconsistent Warrington. Bradford ended their 10-games winless run against the Wolves, dating back to 2009, with tries from Foster, Kearney, Oblison, Purtell and Kear, and 5 goals from Foster securing them a win which sees them go up to 0 points on the table, after being deducted 6-points at the start of the season. Inconsistency is the word used the most to describe Warrington so far this season, and this game shows just that. They need to pick up form, and quickly, as they’re not fulfilling what fans would expect. 34-28 the full time score, with a crowd of 6,173 at the Provident Stadium.
With 11 rounds gone and just over a week away to Magic Weekend, it’s exciting times for the Super League competition. I can’t wait to see some more action!
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