Set of Six: The main talking points from the world of Rugby League
Monday 15 June 2015 16:18, UK
We look at the main talking points from the latest round of Rugby League fixtures...
Fighting mars Giants win
Huddersfield got back to winning ways on Sunday with an impressive 30-19 win over Warrington but that victory was marred by a number of unsavoury incidents at the John Smith's Stadium.
There were two mass brawls in the second half, with referee Phil Bentham dishing out four yellow cards. Danny Brough and Anthony England even squared up to each other on the touchline after being sin-binned, and the latter could be banned for up to eight matches after being charged with spitting at an opponent.
Warrington coach Tony Smith condemned the ugly scenes, while also revealing he received abuse in the stands. Those are not the sort of headlines rugby league wants to be making.
400 not out for Brough
Danny Brough would rather not have marked his 400th career appearance with a sin-binning but the Huddersfield playmaker was central as the Giants completed a season double over Warrington.
Brough kicked three goals to continue his record of scoring in every match since February 13, a run now stretching to 18 games.
Tigers triumph at Headingley
They may have lost some key players over the close season but Castleford continue to defy the odds. The Tigers registered their third successive Super League victory on Thursday against Leeds as Daryl Powell finally tasted victory against his former side at the sixth attempt.
Cas raced into an 18-0 lead for the second time in as many weeks and although the Rhinos cut the visitors’ lead to two points, a second-half double from Denny Solomona and drop goal from Liam Finn secured a 10th league win of the season.
Live First Utility Super League
The tests keep coming for Cas though; they host St Helens on Thursday night, live on Sky Sports.
Wilkin stars for Saints
St Helens returned to the top of Super League with a dominant win over arch rivals Wigan and Jon Wilkin produced a captain’s performance.
The 31-year-old once again impressed at half-back, shrugging off a head injury that left him bloodied. Two Wilkin kicks resulted in tries - which we'll get to in a moment - and he capped off a fine display by touching down with 10 minutes remaining.
Night to forget for Bowen
While Wilkin starred for Saints, Matty Bowen endured a night to forget at Langtree Park. The Wigan full-back was deceived by the bounce of Wilkin’s grubber kick for Travis Burns’ try early in the second half, and he also made a hash of dealing with a high kick from Wilkin with 15 minutes remaining to gift Shannon McDonnell an easy try.
No stopping Sio
It has been a topsy-turvy season for Hull KR but one of the few consistencies has been the try-scoring form of Ken Sio.
The 24-year-old took his tally to 13 in 16 Super League appearances with a hat-trick against Widnes on Sunday. It snapped a run of three successive defeats for the Robins and leaves them just two points behind city rivals Hull FC, who sit in eighth place.
With home games against Warrington and Salford to come, as well as a Challenge Cup quarter-final with Catalans Dragons at the KC Lightstream Stadium, June could be the month where Chris Chester’s men turn their season around.
