Rugby league: Best of the weekend
Monday 26 March 2018 16:43, UK
We select a sample of the highlights from last weekend's rugby league action.
Live Betfred Super League
Game of the weekend
Castleford stole the headlines with their single point 25-24 win over Leeds. But it was a Super League contest with so many notable elements: great tries, a remarkable fightback, and a result that hung on the game's final play.
Castleford produced the kind of performance in victory, largely absent this far, that their fans had grown accustomed to last season.
Leeds demonstrated the kind of metal and resolve so typical of this team and this club in recent years. A record-breaking crowd at Elland Road of over 23,000 also played their part and they certainly got their money's worth.
Notable Milestones
That Leeds defeat was Brian McDermott's 200th Super League contest as a coach and it will not be a forgettable one, despite him ending up on the losing side.
Mark Percival also marked his 100th appearance for Saints. But he was unable to crown it with a try and Tom Lineham hit a special hat-trick for Warrington that sealed a thrilling 34-24 win over an ever-improving Wakefield side.
Try of the weekend
Ben Barba's second try for Saints against Hull KR was particularly eye-catching. He picked up a tapped penalty from James Roby before playing a give-and-go with Zeb Taia and stretching to score.
But the third of Tom Lineham's tries for Warrington was particularly satisfying. Lineham ran the length of the field to touch down for a spectacular effort after he outpaced Ben Jones-Bishop in a race to the line.
Eagle eye
We so often celebrate tries in this round-up, but how often in the past has a team come to have its season defined by the performance of a goal-kicker?
As a stand-alone bread and butter effort, Hull FC's Marc Sneyd delivered a perfect six from six in his side's 42-16 win over bottom-placed Catalans Dragons.
Team performer
Stefan Ratchford has engineered some brilliant plays thus far this campaign and the ability of the England international to bring his creativity and vision to bear on a contest was again in evidence in Warrington's win over Wakefield.
The in-form full-back created two tries for Lineham with accurate passes that beat the Wakefield defence and also created a try for Bryson Goodwin while chipping in with three successful kicks at goal.
Championship watch
There was a glut of hat-tricks in the Championship at the weekend. Luke Briscoe has scored 11 tries already this season and scored a treble in Featherstone Rover's 40-14 victory over Batley Bulldogs.
London's promising full-back Alex Walker scored a hat-trick in their 64-18 win over Swinton Lions while Shane Toal scored a 15-minute trio of tries in Barrow's 36-22 victory over Sheffield Eagles.
