Over 40,000 spectators filed through the gates of St James Park to attend the first day of Super League’s Magic Weekend. The weather was perfect and there was a carnival-like atmosphere.
The Magic Weekend produced red cards, last-gasp tries, stoic tryline defence, and the obligatory head clash.
Here is a wrap of the weekend’s fixtures:
Salford seeing red
The first match of the Super League Magic Weekend saw two sides in contrasting form go up against each other.
Widnes donned the black and white stripes of Newcastle United and were met with a warm reception. The Vikings got off to a good start, with half Kevin Brown playing like a man possessed.
The weekend’s first taste of controversy came just before half time, as Darrell Griffin was sent off for a high shot – arguably a poor decision by the match official.
Griffin lined up with his brothers George and Josh, the latter of whom was sin binned late in the match. This came after the trio tragically lost their father midweek to a heart attack, and a minute’s silence was held before the match to commemorate their loss.
Widnes have won four of their past six and look to be securing themselves a position in the safety zone.
Salford on the other hand have lost their last six games and look certain to fight it out in the Super 8s.
Five-eighth Rangi Chase returns from suspension next week as they face an uphill battle against St Helens.
Black and Whites get revenge in Hull derby
Former South Sydney winger Fetuli Talanoa lit up St James Park with a hat-trick as Hull FC crushed crosstown rivals Hull KR in the second game in Newcastle.
The Black and Whites coach Lee Radford was brutally honest in his assessment of his troops after a humiliating 20-6 defeat to the Rovers at the KC Stadium in April.
Hull FC avenged this defeat in emphatic style as they posted their biggest ever win over their rivals in the Super League era.
The 46-20 victory means Hull have now won seven from their last eight matches since that loss.
It was only their third victory out of nine Magic Weekend clashes against Hull KR, or as commentator Brian Carney put it; their first “uncontroversial victory”.
Wigan close gap at the top
Two of Super League’s powerhouses met in the finale of Saturday’s Super League action, as Wigan looked to bounce back from a humiliating defeat in the south of France, while Leeds looked to consolidate top spot on the table.
Wigan five-eighth George Williams stood up when it counted as he, along with Michael McIllorum, guided the Warriors to upset the Rhinos 27-12.
The Rhinos got off to a good start, leading 12-4 and were looking the stronger of the two sides. Williams then made a break in the 30th minute and beat a strong challenge from fullback Zac Hardaker to put Wigan back in the game.
Roosters bound winger Joe Burgess got the Warriors in the lead with another superb individual try.
Wigan were able to keep Leeds scoreless in the second half and make amends for last weekend’s capitulation against Catalans.
Dragons and Giants fight out controversial draw
The Dragons and Giants fought out a thrilling, albeit controversial draw in the first match on Sunday.
Huddersfield looked to be grinding out a tough victory as they took a 10-0 lead after a dour first half, featuring just the one try to the Giants.
It took until the last half hour for the Dragons to wake from their slumber.
Huddersfield held a 16-0 lead and looked to have put the fire out of the contest, until hooker Eloi Pellisier finally scored for the Dragons.
Todd Carney and Scott Dureau took control of the game, with Carney going over for a great individual try.
Zeb Taia continued his strong form when he put Catalans in the lead with ten to go.
Todd Carney then broke the line to send Dureau away for what looked like a certain try.
Huddersfield winger Jermaine McGilvarry hit the Catalans halfback with a high shot and amazingly the video referee did not rule a penalty try.
This meant the kick was not taken in front and Dureau missed it to keep Huddersfield in the contest.
After what seemed like a thousand penalties, Catalan looked to have repelled the Giants and completed an amazing comeback.
However, the game turned for a final time when McGilvarry went over in the corner as the siren sounded.
Danny Brough, who had a tough performance, split the posts in two as Huddersfield salvaged a point from the match.
The Giants were saved from a shock defeat, but would not be saved from a verbal lashing from coach Paul Anderson who appeared filthy with his side’s performance at full-time.
Saints hold on to beat Wolves
St Helens moved to second on the table as they held off Warrington in the dying minutes of the second clash.
The St Helens defence was stoic as they held off set after set of sustained Warrington pressure.
Winger Tommy Makinson put his body on the line to deny the Wolves as they rued letting a solid half-time lead of eight points slip from their grasp.
The Wolves had the better of the first half as they crossed the stripe with tries to Stefan Ratchford, Ben Harrison and Ryan Atkins.
The turning point came early in the second half when Wolves halfback Richie Myler sprinted through a gap and was set to score – but pressure from Adam denied the Wolves a certain try.
This act spurred the Saints on and it wasn’t long before they hit back with a try to Jordan Turner, followed by a try through veteran Jon Wilkin.
The Wolves had their chances to take the lead but were denied again and again by desperate defence from the Saints edges.
Warrington missed a chance to break into the top four after Huddersfield drew with Catalan Dragons in the earlier match.
Castleford rout woeful Wildcats
Castleford posted their biggest win over Wakefield in the last match of the Magic Weekend, as the Wildcats slumped to a 13th successive defeat.
Wingers Deny Solomona and Ashley Gibson bagged seven out of ten tries scored by the Tigers.
Wakefield recently announced former NRL coach Brian Smith would be taking over the reigns as head coach and this last match gave an indication of the challenge he had ahead of him.
The Wildcats were woeful out wide and for a lot of the game it looked like a training run for the Tigers -all but one of their tries came from the edges.
Wakefield worked their way back into the match to be down the by six points at halftime, but all hopes of an unlikely victory were dashed when Solomona scored his fourth try early in the second half.
Castleford have jumped up two places in the Super League table to sit sixth overall.
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