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PA Sport © PA Sporting Life Castleford consolidated a top-five position in Super League by notching a league double over Halifax. Leading 16-6 at half-time, the Tigers sealed victory with two tries in nine minutes from Darren Rogers and Lee Harland late in the game. Halifax hooker Paul Rowley went over three minutes from time but it came far too late to rescue the Bluesox whose play-off hopes have faded. Jamie Bloem put Halifax ahead with a third-minute penalty goal after Castleford Mike Eager was pulled up for a high tackle. The Tigers got the opening try five minutes later. England stand-off Danny Orr hoisted a high kick and Barrie-Jon Mather knocked the ball back for winger Jon Wells to go in. They quickly increased their lead when hooker Aaron Raper sent Orr bursting through and the stand-off out-foxed the Halifax cover to score a superb 50-metre try. Orr missed the first two conversions but kicked a 21st-minute penalty goal to put Castleford 10-2 ahead. The Bluesox reduced the deficit when centre Damian Gibson latched onto a loose ball to go in for an unconverted try. But the Tigers quickly took charge again when Mather capitalised on Raper's kick to grab a 34th-minute try which Orr improved to give them a 10-point advantage at the break. Loose forward martin Moana was held up over the line as Halifax started the second half strongly. But it was Castleford who got the vital next score in the 65th minute when Rogers finished a move involving Orr, Adrian Vowles and Eager. Substitute Harland put the game beyond the reach of his old club when he went in for a 74th-minute touchdown. Vowel's try and Bloem's second goal completed the scoring in the closing stages. By Ian Laybourn, PA Sport © PA Sporting Life St Helens coach Ian Millward celebrated the acquisition of a new contract by steering the reigning Super League champions back to the top of the table. A fifth successive win puts Saints two points clear of Bradford Bulls and ruined Castleford's hopes of improving on their fifth place. Saints were never at their best but still had too much power and pace for an out-of-touch Tigers outfit who have yet to defeat a top-four team this season. Castleford, who have not won a league game at Saints for 10 years, suffered a blow with the loss of influential half-back Brad Davis with a chest injury and were trailing 30-8 before hitting back with two late tries. They set off at a lively pace and were 6-0 ahead after centre Michael Eagar broke through the home defence on halfway and sent stand-off Danny Orr sprinting to the corner for a try he converted from wide out. The Tigers could have had more points but for a series of handling errors while Davis crossed the line only to be recalled for a forward pass. The little Australian played on in obvious discomfort until the interval but never appeared for the second half. Saints' handling was little better, despite the glorious weather conditions, but they took their chances better and their decisive finishing was perfectly illustrated by man of the match Keiron Cunningham. The Great Britain hooker demonstrated his danger close to the line when he tore through a two-man tackle and sidestepped full-back Richard Gay for his ninth try of the season on 16 minutes. The scores were locked at 6-6 until St Helens seized the initiative with four tries in a 16-minute spell either side of the break. Loose forward Paul Sculthorpe took advantage of a quick play-the-ball to dive over and Samoan powerhouse duo Fereti Tuilagi and Vila Matautia combined to get skipper Chris Joynt racing over on the half-time hooter. And the game was put beyond the reach of Castleford when Long picked up a stray pass from the out-of-touch Orr to sprint 60 metres for a gift score and then put in a neat kick for Cunningham to grab his second try. Andrew Purcell, switched from hooker to scrum-half following the loss of Davis, and centre Barrie-Jon Mather, with an 80-metre interception, grabbed tries to briefly lift the visitors. But Saints were never threatened and they finished in total command with two more tries and two others disallowed. Impressive young full-back Paul Wellens followed up a Long kick that fortuitously rebounded off a post and then broke clear to send Long in for his second try. Long kicked his seventh goal from as many attempts to claim a personal tally of 22 points. By Ian Laybourn, PA Sport © PA Sporting Life Warrington, the Jekyll and Hydes of Super League, turned the form book upside down with a remarkable victory that opens up the race for the fifth play-off place. The Wolves, roundly booed after their shock home defeat by Huddersfield-Sheffield five days earlier, left the field to an ovation from their traveling fans after stunning Castleford with a six-try show. It was Castleford's turn to hear the boos after losing to a side below them in the table for the first time this season. Sixth-placed Hull, who would have been a distant seven points behind had tonight's game gone to form, can now close the gap to just three with a win over Wakefield at the Boulevard on Sunday. With six defeats in their previous seven games, the Wolves may have had nothing to play for but their self-respect. But they did much to restore their battered reputation with a battling performance that was aided considerably by an inept display from their opponents. Three of Warrington's tries were the direct result of handling errors as Castleford produced their worst display of the season. A blunder by Andrew Purcell, surprisingly chosen at stand-off ahead of England international Danny Orr, as early as the first minute set the tone for the error-strewn game. Warrington took the scrum, and after a series of forays hooker Danny Farrar sold a dummy from acting half-back and went over with just 80 seconds on the clock. Forward Steve McCurrie would have added a second try just three minutes later had he been able to hold on to a pass from veteran scrum-half Allan Langer, but the Wolves took a firm grip on the game thanks to the superb finishing of Kiwi centre Toa Kohe-Love who was making his return from a shoulder injury. The Kiwi grabbed his first try on 22 minutes after Lee Briers' probing kick took a wicked bounce to deceive Castleford loose forward Adrian Vowles, and after the ball came back off the woodwork Langer scooped up to send in Kohe-Love. The centre scored again six minutes later, pouncing on a loose pass by substitute Orr and racing 90 minutes for a glorious touchdown. Castleford hit back on the stroke of half-time when Davis raced onto Orr's diagonal kick to the line to claim a try, which Orr converted, but their hopes of a comeback were short-lived, with Warrington extending their lead within three minutes of the re-start. Langer, instrumental in the majority of the Wolves' attacking moves, found his half-back partner Briers with a lovely inside pass - and the waif-like stand-off slipped through Ian Tonks' flailing arms to score his side's fourth try. It got worse for the home side when Lee Harland failed to clear the danger caused by Langer's grubber kick and McCurrie dropped on the ball for a soft try - and Briers then cut through some shoddy tackling for a second try and kicked his fourth goal. Castleford gained some consolation by scoring two tries in the last six minutes through full-back Richard Gay - the 100th of his career - and substitute Andy Lynch, both of which were converted by Orr. Huddersfield/Sheffield 16 Castleford 32 By Ian Laybourn, PA Sport © PA Sporting Life Play-off hopefuls Castleford got back to winning ways at the expense of the relegation-haunted Giants in front of a Bramall Lane crowd of just 2,102, the lowest of Super League V. Huddersfield-Sheffield, playing the second of three matches in South Yorkshire, were always chasing the game after Tigers left-winger Darren Rogers had claimed a hat-trick of tries inside the first 18 minutes. The Giants, trailing 20-0 at half-time, clawed their way back to 20-12 after 57 minutes but Cas secured the vital points, which gives them a five-point cushion over sixth-placed Hull, with Barrie-Jon Mather's 65th-minute try. It was all too easy in the first half for the Tigers, who bounced back from crushing defeats by St Helens and Warrington with four tries in the opening half-hour. Rogers grabbed the first try after only 90 seconds, profiting from a superb break by back-to-form captain Adrian Vowles, and scrum-half Brad Davis, a former Huddersfield player, had a score disallowed for a double movement before the home side had time to settle. Slick handling by Danny Orr and Michael Eagar got Rogers over for his second try and he completed his hat-trick on 18 minutes when he outjumped his opposite number Waisale Sovatabua to collect Brad Davis' towering kick. With Vowles also getting over the line, the game was virtually over as they led 20-0 with an hour to go. Castleford - who gave a first appearance to Dewsbury's record points-scorer Barry Eaton - tested the Giants' debutant, winger Leroy Rivett, with a series of high kicks but the 1999 Lance Todd Trophy winner proved up to the task as the home side fought back bravely. Left-winger Danny Arnold, who spent a month on loan with the Tigers in mid-season, pulled a try back on 50 minutes and when prop Dale Laughton crashed over for a second seven minutes later, the home supporters sensed a shock. But half-backs Orr and Davis combined intelligently for full-back Jason Flowers to get Mather over for the crucial score and, although Gene Ngamu grabbed a solo try to add to his two goals, Castleford had the final say when winger Richard Gay beat Arnold to a loose ball to register his side's sixth try, to which Orr added his fourth goal.
By Ian Laybourn, PA Sport © PA Sporting Life Below-par Bradford easily overcame the absence of inspirational captain Robbie Paul to return to winning ways at the expense of a poor Castleford side. After dropping three points from their last two games and losing two of their previous three home games, the stuttering Bulls were simply relieved to collect the win, which puts them just a point behind Super League leaders St Helens. Castleford, yet to beat a top-four team this year, still need points to make sure of fifth spot but rarely threatened to break their duck despite some enthusiastic defence in the opening quarter. The omens were not good for the visitors when stand-off Danny Orr put the kick-off out on the full. It was a calamitious start and things rarely got better for Stuart Raper's men. Paul Deacon, deputising for scrum-half Paul, gave Bradford a dream start when he supported a break by lively hooker James Lowes just 10 minutes into the game to score the first of the Bulls' four first-half tries. Loose forward Brad Mackay increased his side's lead, pouncing after Tigers winger Jon Wells failed to diffuse a Deacon 'bomb', and the home side led 12-0 after only 14 minutes. The visitors briefly threatened to make a game of it when veteran prop Dean Sampson, back after a four-match ban, produced some neat handling to get left winger Darren Rogers racing 50 metres for his 15th try of the season. But Bradford took the game away from the visitors with two quickfire tries in three minutes just before the break. Full-back Stuart Spruce successfully chased Lowes' grubber kick to the line for his 15th try of the season and then supported a break by substitute Paul Anderson to get winger Tevita Vaikona over. With Henry Paul kicking three conversions and a penalty, the Bulls were coasting at 24-4 by half-time but the second half was a big anti-climax. Castleford's woeful handling had let them down in the first half and it was another unforced error that paved the way for Bradford's fifth try. This time second rower Lee Harland knocked on deep inside his own half and, from the resulting scrum, half-backs Deacon and Paul got the ball wide for Michael Withers to show his pace and strength. The lanky Australian has played only four games since the Challenge cup final because of a leg injury and he showed what the Bulls have been missing as he powered his way over for his try since Murrayfield, brushing aside Castleford captain Adrian Vowles with contemptuous ease. Errors also crept into Bradford's game and they finished with 12 men following the sin-binning of prop Brian McDermott for a professional foul. The Tigers then grabbed a late try through centre Michael Eagar, which gave them scant consolation. |
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