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The last eight of the Challenge Cup served up a few surprises, with Widnes, Castleford, Leeds and Warrington booking their places in the semi-finals.
Widnes reached their first semi-final for 18 years as they eased to a 54-4 victory over Championship side Keighley.
Twenty-year-old halfback Tom Gilmore helped himself to a hat trick and the brilliant Kevin Brown grabbed a double, while Daley Williams touched down for the visitors.
Leigh Centurions took their fantastic league form to Leeds and were close to pulling off a shock win but for a couple of late tries by the home side. Ryan Hall went over early in the contest before Tom Spencer and Tom Armstrong put Leigh 12-6 up after half an hour.
Stevie Ward levelled it, but it was in the last 10 minutes that Leeds finally got a grip on the game. Robbie Ward and Zak Hardaker crashed over before Kevin Sinfield nailed a one-pointer to seal victory.
Castleford knocked out Challenge Cup holders Wigan at the DW Stadium. James Clare opened the scoring just before the 30-minute mark and Classy Cas’ went in 6-0 up at half time.
Liam Farrell got Wigan back into the game after the break, but tries from Kirk Dixon and Lee Jewitt sent the travelling thousands of Tigers’ fans home with a semi-final to look forward to.
Richie Myler and Joel Monaghan grabbed two tries each as Warrington beat Bradford at Odsal on Sunday afternoon. Despite a hard working effort, the home side fell away in the second half as Warrington’s possession and field position took its toll.
The Challange Cup finals see Widnes up against Castleford, while Leeds take on Warrington over the weekend of 9-10 August. Venues will be announced soon.
Try of the week
Castleford’s Kirk Dixon. Moving left to right, the ball went through hands and found its way to Jake Webster, who slipped out a brilliant pass for Dixon to walk over in the corner. Nice move.
Class in a glass
I was present at Weldon Road as Castleford dismantled Hull KR in what was one of the best performances by any side this season.
Their attacking flair from left to right, offloading ability and solid no-nonsense defensive structures have formed the basis of an excellent side that really work hard for each other. They were a joy to watch.
Agar steps down
Richard Agar has left Wakefield after two-and-a-half years in charge at Belle Vue. Agar won 27 of his 71 games, losing 43 with one draw to leave him with a 40 per cent winning return.
Agar steered the club to the 2012 playoffs despite financial unrest. He will be replaced by his assistant, ex-Hull KR scrum-half James Webster.
In brief
Wigan halfback Blake Green has signalled his intention to return to Australia at the end of this season. Green signed for the cherry and whites from Hull KR for £100k and was a Super League and Challenge Cup double winner last season. Melbourne is his likely destination.
Warrington captain Michael Monaghan will hang up his boots at the end of the season.
Young Hull KR forward Jordan Cox has signed a two-year deal with the club.
Mark Percival, Luke Thompson and Greg Richards have all signed long-term deals with St Helens. The trio will remain at Langtree Park until the end of the 2018 season.
Chris Bridge scored his 100th try and surpassed 1000 points as Warrington beat Leeds 24-6 on Friday night.
Hull speedster Callum Lancaster scored the first two tries of his career as Hull FC put 50 on London at The Hive.
Danny Craven has signed a three-year extension at Widnes.
Huddersfield have handed academy graduates Liam Johnson and Tyler Dickinson their first full-time contracts.
Maxime Herold will remain with London until the end of the season.
Despite interest from Hull KR, Eloi Pelissier has signed a two-year extension at Catalan.
Joe Grima has admitted that London require a miracle to avoid relegation. The club from the capital have lost all 15 of their games and are rooted to the bottom of the table, 8 points from safety.
Nineteen-year-old halfback Adam Brook has signed a two-year deal with Bradford. Good luck, young man.
Leaderboard (W-D-L)
St Helens and Leeds continue to fight it out for top spot, with the former leapfrogging their rivals after victory over Salford.
Leeds’ away defeat by Warrington leaves them in second. Catalan scraped a draw against Widnes and move into the final playoff spot at the expense of Hull KR, who were hammered at impressive Castleford.
Bradford are finally off the mark and into positive figures after a hard-fought win over troubled Wakefield.
1 (2) St Helens 12-0-3
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2 (1) Leeds 11-1-3
3 (-) Castleford 11-0-4
4 (-) Wigan 10-0-4
5 (-) Warrington 9-0-6
6 (-) Huddersfield 8-2-5
7 (-) Widnes 8-1-5
8 (9) Catalan 7-1-7
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9 (8) Hull KR 6-2-7
10 (-) Hull FC 6-0-9
11 (-) Salford 4-1-10
12 (-) Wakefield 4-0-11
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13 (-) Bradford* 4-0-11
14 (-) London 0-0-15
*Bradford deducted 6 points for entering administration.
Injury update
Hull KR have been hit by a spate of injuries over the past couple of weeks. Jordan Cox and Kevin Larroyer both left the field against Castleford with broken ankles and will be out for six weeks. Ben Cockayne is facing up to 10 weeks out with a knee injury and Rhys Lovegrove has picked up a knock as well.
Warrington skipper Michael Monaghan has torn a calf muscle and is unlikely to be back until the Challenge Cup semi-finals. James Laithwaite is also out after breaking his foot.
Player movements
Catalan have pulled off the impressive signing of former schoolboy Kangaroo Sam Williams from St George Illawarra until the end of this season. This one has been rumoured for a while and will really improve the Dragons’ squad. Good signing.
After paying big money for Tim Smith just 10 months ago, Salford have allowed the 29-year-old halfback to re-join Wakefield, while Shannon McPherson has returned to Australia. This has freed up enough space in their salary cap to bring forward the signing of Kevin Locke, who will now join the Red Devils immediately.
Greg Eden has returned to Hull KR after spending the past five weeks on loan at Salford. He will go straight back in at fullback against Warrington on Friday night.
Antonio Kaufusi has decided to end his loan spell at Bradford to return to parent club Huddersfield.
Championship side Featherstone have signed three Super League players on loan. Hull duo Jason Crookes (season) and Chris Green (four weeks) will link up with Andy Hay’s side, as will Warrington forward Danny Bridge on a month-long deal.
Suspension
Jay Pitts (Bradford) – one game for a Grade B dangerous throw against Warrington.
Final thought
On Monday we learnt the sad news that Hull KR centre Sean Gleeson had decided to retire from the game after a meeting with medical experts.
The 26-year-old centre, who also played for Wigan, Wakefield, Widnes and Salford, suffered an eye injury and doctors advised Sean to retire or face the possibility of complications in later life.
This is a real shame for Gleeson, whose Hull KR career was hampered by other injuries. Spotlight would like to offer him our best wishes and good luck for the future.
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