After last weekends stunning Tetley’s Challenge Cup victory over the Bradford Bulls the Broncos were brought crashing back to earth by a rampant Wigan Warriors as round fifteen of Superleague, the eve of the Magic Weekend, once again sprung a few surprises.

Castleford, under the new leadership of Daryl Powell, had a tough looking trip to the South of France; Warrington played host to a resurgent Hull FC at the Halliwell-Jones; and the Saints managed to halt a six game losing streak with a fight back win at the home of the Champions.

It was another exciting Superleague weekend and we round up all the details here.

We started the action on Friday evening with three games, our first at the City of Salford Stadium where the home side had hopes of knocking over a Bradford Bulls side who are showing indifferent form as the season progresses.

[PIC1]Luke Gale got the opener for the Bulls on nineteen but Ryan McGoldrick squared things up with a converted try on the half hour mark. Looking to take a lead into half-time and with the game poised at 6-6, McGoldrick kicked a drop goal with five minutes of the half remaining to edge his side in front.

The lead lasted two minutes as Blythe scored two in three minutes before the interval to give the Bulls a half-time lead.

The visitors took full control in the second half and kept the Reds scoreless as they ran in tries through Diskin and Purtell for a convincing 28-7 win to finish the weekend in seventh spot.

[PIC2]SKY chose the third against sixth clash as a resurgent Hull FC with Gareth Ellis back and firing on all cylinders travelled to Warrington to take on a Wire side who welcomed back Lee Briers after a long injury.

After a tough opening half-hour it was the home side who established a ten point lead with tries from Simon Grix and Joel Monaghan a minute either side of thirty minutes. When Briscoe scored a converted try just three from the break there was some hope for the Airlie Birds but they had an uphill battle.

Ryan Atkins further stretched the lead on forty-seven to 16-6 and it looked like the game might be in the bag, but that didn’t account for Hulls grit and determination which saw them score four unanswered tries from Lineham, a couple from Whiting and a second on the night from Briscoe.

In the end a great 26-16 win for the team from East Yorkshire.

[PIC3]Fridays final encounter saw the Giants travel to Widnes to take on the Vikings, still fresh from their Round 14 win over the Saints. Fortress Halton Stadium was demolished in the first half by the Giants with tries from Ferres, Brough, Patrick (2) and Murphy being answered by a single Flynn effort. At 30-6 the game was in the bag and coach Anderson took the opportunity to rest his big stars for long spells in the second half.
The Widnes fight back was therefore no surprise as they scored through Marsh (2) and White but a seventieth minute try for Ferres just kept the Giants a safe distance away from any potential upset and see the Giants home to the two points by 36-22.

Saturday afternoon brought us two games, both outside the M62 corridor as the Wigan Warriors travelled to the Stoop to keep their top of the Table position intact, and the Tigers flew to the South of France to take on the Dragons.

Wigan spared little time in setting to work demolishing the Broncos as they delivered yet another rugby league master class, increasingly looking unstoppable in their quest for the top spot.

A first half (13 minute) hat-trick from Pat Richards set the scene as Charnley and Sam Tomkins took a little longer to reach the same number of tries. Williams, Flower and Powell all got in on the action with a try each and Pat Richards kicked eight goals for a personal points tally of twenty-eight.

[PIC4]A pitiful London’s only joy of the afternoon was a fifty-fifth minute Dorn try, but as his side were already 42-0 down there was little cause for celebration. Wigan remain atop the league by three points and are seemingly unstoppable in their march to the Minor Premiership.

Daryl Powell’s Castleford Tigers gave the Catalans Dragons a bit of a second half scare as they fought back from a 30-6 half-time deficit to narrowly lose by 39-30.

Daryl Millard had opened the scoring after three minutes and the visiting supporters must have had belief when Thompson squared things up on eight. The home side then went to town and established a big first half lead through Duport, Anderson, Menzies and Escare.

The Castleford fight back took the form of Thompson, Carney (2) and Clark, all converted by Ellis to get the score line to 36-30 and the visitors within one score. A seventy-third minute Bosc drop-goal gave the home supporters some comfort before he landed a penalty on seventy-seven to seal the points and Powell’s first defeat back as a Superleague coach.

On Sunday Hull KR took on the Wakefield Wildcats and helped themselves to a top eight spot (at least for twenty- four hours until the Saints played).

The Robins led from the front with Horne and George tries establishing a 12-0 lead, but the Wildcats are not a side that just gives up without a fight in 2013. Collis, Cockayne and Lee Smith all scored before the thirty-seventh minute to give the visitors a 16-12 lead before Horne spoiled the party with his second on the stroke of half-time to regain the lead.

The second half saw unanswered KR tries from Hall, Lovegrove (2), and Mika to seal an impressive 44-18 win and leave the Wildcats three points adrift of the play-off places.

What would normally be billed as the game of the round was scheduled as the first Monday Night football game for SKY as the Saints travelled to Headingley to take on the Leeds Rhinos, and looking to end a shocking six game losing streak.

The Rhinos raced to an early sixteen point lead through Watkins, Moon and Burrow and just when it seemed like it might be another massacre the Saints hit back with twenty-six unanswered points either side of half time to put themselves into a winning position.

McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Soliola, Makinson (2) and Laffranchi all scored for St Helens to take a 26-16 lead on fifty minutes. Bailey grabbed one back for the home side to narrow the margin to four but Thompson stretched to score with seven minutes remaining to seal the victory for the Saints, their first win since the 1st of April.

The Rhinos have now lost two on the bounce and will need a big game to win on their next outing, the culmination of the Manchester Magic weekend against the Warriors.