By Ian Laybourn, PA Sport
Freed duo Chev Walker and Ryan Bailey made a triumphant return to rugby league with key roles in Leeds Rhinos' Boxing Day challenge against local Super League rivals Castleford.
The Rhinos pair, who missed the end of last season after being jailed for violent conduct, were given a rapturous reception from a bumper 13,154 crowd, whose size reflected the lingering appetite for traditional Boxing Day fare despite rugby league's switch to summer.
Walker, forced to wear an electronic tag as a condition of his early release 11 days ago, was a constant danger and set up the game's second try for his winger Mark Calderwood to make a quick impression on new coach Tony Smith.
The Headingley crowd also gave warm welcome to new signing Marcus Bai, the Papua New Guinea international winger, but his first appearance was overshadowed by a sparkling show from England A stand-off Danny McGuire, who presented Smith with a belated Christmas gift in the shape of two crucial tries.
Leeds, despite lacking nine regulars, coasted into a 10-0 lead inside 18 minutes with tries from McGuire and Calderwood but Castleford were inspired by acting captain Ryan Sheridan, the former Leeds and Great Britain scrum-half who struck up a fine partnership with young stand-off Jonny Hepworth, and lively hooker Wayne Godwin.
Godwin forced his way over from acting half-back on 22 minutes to bring his side back into the game and grabbed a second after 65 minutes to keep the outcome in the balance, with Francis Maloney kicking both conversions.
But McGuire brought the crowd to its feet with a dazzling solo try, converted for a second time by half-back partner Rob Burrow, who then clinched victory for the home side when he gained a fortuitous bounce to score the Rhinos' fourth try 12 minutes from the end.
Paul Johnson enjoyed a dream debut as Bradford warmed up for the World Club Challenge clash against Penrith Panthers with an emphatic 10-try success in Brian McDermott's benefit game.
The former Wigan centre scored four tries, including a first-half hat-trick, as the Bulls ruthlessly swept aside new-look Castleford's gutsy challenge with an ominous display of pace and power.
Tigers dominated the first quarter before the Super League champions clicked into gear with six tries in 17 sizzling minutes.
Michael Withers started the spree, Johnson opened his account and substitute Jamie Langley and Paul Deacon also crossed before Johnson completed his hat-trick with two quick tries as the Bulls surged 34-0 ahead at the break.
Castleford, who were rocked by the 12th-minute departure of Australian Paul Mellor with a knee injury, scored converted tries through Wayne Godwin, debutant prop Craig Greenhill and Lee Harland early in the second half but the Bulls responded with a quick double from winger Lesley Vainikolo and the second from Langley to secure victory.
Johnson bagged his fourth try and rookie winger Karl Pryce scorched over off a superb pass from substitute Chris Bridge, who landed both conversions.
Prop McDermott crowned a glorious 10-year spell at Bradford with spells at the start and finish of the game.
Mellor could struggle to make the start of the Tetley's Super League season after picking up a knee injury.
The Australian will be assessed by medical staff on Monday.
Tigers head coach Graham Steadman said: "It looks like medial ligament knee damage. It's obviously very disappointing for Paul. We'll have to see what the medical staff say."
Paul Newlove was a late withdrawal from the Castleford line-up with a foot injury but Steadman is hopeful the former St Helens three-quarter will be fit for the Tigers' final friendly against Hull next month.
By Ian Laybourn, PA Sport
Huddersfield piled on the pre-season agony for Castleford with a comfortable win in this dress rehearsal for their opening Tetley's Super League clash at the McAlpine Stadium on February 15.
The Giants combined some impressive defence with an array of attacking skills to condemn the Tigers to a hat-trick of friendly defeats and give coach Graham Steadman a headache ahead of the new campaign.
Castleford, who lost 56-18 to Bradford on Sunday, looked devoid of attacking ideas at times and they suffered two more injury blows when new signings Sean Ryan and Paul Newlove both limped off before half-time, joining Paul Mellor on the injured list.
Huddersfield also suffered an injury blow when Paul White was carried off on a stretcher after twisting awkwardly on the wet surface but everything else went right for new coach Jon Sharp, who watched all five new signings make useful contributions to an impressive overall display.
Full-back Paul Reilly gave the Giants an eighth-minute lead when he followed up a deft kick from stand-off Stanley Gene and wily loose forward Brandon Costin fashioned a second try for lively hooker Sean Penkywicz as the home side led 12-0 at half-time.
Another clever Costin kick set up a try for scrum-half Paul March early in the second half before winger Marcus St Hilaire brought the crowd to their feet with a brilliant 80-metre solo touchdown.
Substitutes Ben Cooper and Matthew Whitaker then added other tries as the visitors faded and Costin compounded the visitors' misery by landing all five of his conversions, while March kicked a sixth.
Despite the efforts of hard-working skipper Ryan Hudson, the Tigers rarely looked like scoring a try and they had half-back Jonny Hepworth sin-binned on 68 minutes for punching.
Castleford's poor pre-season form continued with a fourth-consecutive friendly defeat ahead of their opening Tetley's Super League game at Huddersfield on February 22.
The Tigers had already lost to Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield and were edged out by Hull, who recovered from 16-0 down to maintain their unbeaten record in pre-season friendlies.
Castleford looked set for a confidence-boosting win when scrum-half Ryan Sheridan darted over for a 74th-minute try and Francis Maloney added his third goal to give them a 22-18 lead.
But Hull snatched victory three minutes from time when centre Alex Wilkinson went over and Paul Cooke landed the winning points with the difficult conversion, his fourth goal from four kicks.
Australian Sean Rudder, making his first start for the Tigers, combined impressively at half-back with Sheridan as the home side made a blistering start.
They were 16 points ahead after only 14 minutes through two tries from skipper Ryan Hudson, one from Waine Pryce and two goals by Maloney.
Hull, with full-back Shaun Briscoe looking sharp, stormed back to cut the half-time gap to four points with touchdowns from Gareth Raynor and Colin Best, both converted by Cooke.
Hull went ahead six minutes into the second half when Peter Lupton sent in Cooke who tagged on his third goal.
Castleford then looked favourites when Sheridan scored but they were denied by Wilkinson's late effort.
Inspirational loose forward Brandon Costin came off his sick bed to secure Huddersfield Giants' first opening-day win for six years with a late try.
Australian Costin, who had passed a late fitness test on a nasty ankle injury before the game, pounced on Paul March's kick through three minutes from time to secure victory after Castleford's Tom Saxton hesitated on his own try-line.
Costin, who had been likely to undergo exploratory surgery on Tuesday had he not come through the fitness test, dusted himself down to send over the conversion that made the Giants' win safe.
It capped a remarkable comeback for the home side, who were 18-10 down early in the second half - but a try on 72 minutes by Marcus St Hilaire dragged Huddersfield back in to it.
The Giants lay siege to the visitors' try-line in the closing stages and deservedly got their noses in front for the first time during the game thanks to Saxton's error.
The game had been there for Castleford's taking following a perfect start to the match when former Giants star Ryan Hudson played in Darren Rogers for a try on only four minutes.
Tigers debutant Ryan Sheridan then inspired the visitors to build a solid lead by setting up Waine Pryce and Saxton for tries either side of the break.
Scrum-half Sheridan, signed from Widnes Vikings during the closed season, was the man behind most of Castleford's best moves but sloppy handling errors ensured they were not fully able to take advantage of the opportunities he created.
The sides were evenly matched but the spectacle was marred by several ugly bust-ups.
But the only action referee Karl Kirkpatrick took was to sin-bin Castleford's Rogers after 61 minutes for persistent fouling and Huddersfield's Darren Fleary two minutes later for striking an opponent.
Huddersfield's other scorers were St Hilaire after 25 minutes and March three minutes from half-time with Costin weighing in with two conversions.
Castleford's scoring was completed by former Halifax star Ryan Clayton after 42 minutes and three conversions from Wayne Godwin.
By Andy Hampson, PA Sport
Danny McGuire ran in a hat-trick as Leeds maintained their winning start in Tetley's Super League IX with a hard-fought derby win over Castleford.
The Rhinos led just 12-8 with 20 minutes remaining but Tony Smith's side stepped up the pressure to finish strongly with four quick tries.
Castleford had looked far from the struggling side their winless record now suggests but could manage just one try from Ryan Clayton and eventually ran out of steam.
Cas handed the early initiative to the Rhinos when a Sean Rudder pass was intercepted by Sinfield deep inside his own half.
The Leeds captain raced all the way to the Tigers line, where he was finally caught by Darren Rogers, but the damage had been done and McGuire was soon celebrating the opening try.
It was an ominous start for a Tigers side which had struggled through its opening games of the season, but they hit back immediately.
A sustained spell of pressure yielded a Wayne Godwin penalty after former Rhino Ryan Sheridan was caught by a high tackle and a try soon followed.
Sheridan, linking well with half-back partner Rudder, was the architect with a 'bomb' that Clayton clawed in to touch down.
With Godwin converting, the Tigers had their noses in front and the contest began to heat up.
Cas continued to take the game to their opponents but were caught out by a quick break as Wayne McDonald charged through the middle.
The big forward burst into space and then offloaded for McGuire to slide over for his second by the posts. Sinfield added his second goal of the contest to put Leeds 12-8 ahead.
The tackling from both sides was fierce and Leeds lost half-back Rob Burrow after a heavy hit 10 minutes before the interval.
But it was Castleford who allowed frustrations to get the better of them and Godwin was sent to the sinbin after a scuffle broke out late in the first half.
Cas coped well enough without Godwin but the hooker cost his side two points soon after his return when he missed a penalty from in front of the posts.
Yet he was not the only one to miss out on seemingly simple points as both sides threw away tries in the space of a minute.
First McGuire looked set to complete his hat-trick as he darted through but dropped the ball in the act of touching down.
Then Cas blew a certain score as they pierced the Rhinos defence only for Ryan Hudson to let his pass for Nathan Sykes drift forward.
It was a pulsating end-to-end affair but the Rhinos took a decisive grip with four tries in 12 minutes as the game moved into the final quarter.
The Tigers failed to lay a hand on Mark Calderwood as he weaved his way up the field and when he was finally caught Marcus Bai was on hand to complete a fine move.
There were signs Cas were starting to tire as another sweeping attack by the visitors ended with try for Gary Connolly.
Then McGuire completed his treble as Connolly surged down the left and passed inside.
The game was up for Castleford and they had the look of a beaten side when Keith Senior trotted through for the Rhinos' sixth try eight minutes from time.
Sinfield converted for a fifth time to wrap up the scoring.
PA Sport
Castleford are still looking for their Tetley's Super League win of the season after squandering a 12-0 after only seven minutes.
Warrington, who play Whitehaven in the Powergen Challenge Cup quarter-final on Sunday, took charge in the last 20 minutes to make it two wins out of three in the league.
But it started so well for the Tigers with Jon Hepworth going over for the first try after two minutes following good support from Michael Smith.
Then Smith and Hepworth combined again for skipper Ryan Hudson to go over with Wayne Godwin's two conversions putting the Tigers in the driving seat.
But Warrington began their comeback when Brent Grose sent John Wilshere over for his first try after 17 minutes with Lee Briers landing the conversion.
Warrington cut the gap to 12-10 at the break when Wilshere outjumped Tom Saxton to collect Briers' kick.
Warrington went ahead for the first time after 50 minutes when Paul Noone went over with Briers adding the goal.
Castleford staged a rally to restore the lead with Hepworth's second try after a superb break from Godwin, who landed the goal.
But in the last 20 minutes Grose raced 80metres for an interception try from Hepworth's pass before forwards Paul Wood and Mark Hilton went over with Briers landing two of the three conversions to add to the worries for Tigers' boss Graham Steadman.
Castleford's only win this season has been against French club UTC in the Challenge Cup.
PA Sport
St Helens maintained their winning start in the Tetley's Super League as they ground out victory over dogged Castleford.
The defeat leaves the struggling Tigers still searching for their first win - but Saints found the going tough in an attritional contest at The Jungle.
Two tries in as many minutes midway through the second-half ultimately settled the issue as Jason Hooper raced 95 metres to score and Paul Wellens grabbed his second of the night.
Keiron Cunningham had opened the scoring for Saints in a dour first-half whilst Ryan Hudson and Wayne Godwin crossed for the Tigers.
It took 23 minutes for the first score, hooker Cunningham finally forcing his way over after a dull opening quarter.
Cas had enjoyed some solid possession but it was Saints who looked the most likely to break through as the openings gradually began to appear.
Wellens, Willie Talau and Darren Albert were all denied by strong last-ditch tackles before Cunningham eventually barged his way through two tackles from dummy-half.
The Tigers found it difficult to keep the ball out of Saints' hands after that and it came as no surprise when Wellens doubled the visitors' lead nine minutes later.
Long was the architect, twice getting involved as Saints spread the ball wide, but Wellens still had plenty to do to beat two men before getting over in the corner.
Long, having earlier improved Cunningham's try, landed a superb goal from the right touchline to give Saints what seemed a healthy cushion.
Castleford trailed 12-0 at the interval but it could have been worse had Ade Gardner not thrown a forward pass after breaking clear down the right.
Saints were denied again after another forward pass early in the second half. Paul Sculthorpe looked to have put Long through for a fine try after a break from halfway but referee Ian Smith cut the celebrations short.
The Tigers responded immediately and pulled themselves back into the game with a try after 44 minutes.
Skipper Hudson applied the finishing touches when he slid onto Jon Hepworth's kick. Godwin converted and added a penalty moments later to cut Saints' advantage to a mere four points.
But Saints looked capable of prising an opening at any moment and it took a fine tackle by Tom Saxton to keep Gardner out in the corner.
The game-breaking try eventually came from a Cas mistake. The Tigers drove close to the Saints line and looked like scoring themselves until Hepworth's errant pass was picked off by Hooper.
The Australian then left everyone trailing as he sprinted the length of the field to touch down.
Hooper then turned provider in Saints' next attack to send Wellens through for his second try and put the game safe. Long added his third goal.
Godwin found his way over to claim a deserved second try for the hard-working home side late on but Saints' win was guaranteed.
Wellens could have had a hat-trick but a forward pass again thwarted Saints and Jon Wilkin was stopped just short of the line.
PA Sport
Castleford's dismal start to Tetley's Super League IV got even worse last night as they crumbled to a 26-4 defeat at Hull.
The home side grabbed a 22-0 half time lead after a series of Tigers mistakes, and while win-less Castleford matched Hull 4-4 in a disappointing second half - it all came too late to save them from defeat.
The Tigers went 10-0 behind after just seven minutes when Hull centre Kirk Yeaman romped through weak defence.
Soon after Peter Lupton snatched a 40-metre interception try after a wayward Michael Smith pass.
The errors continued as winger Darren Rodgers knocked on Richard Horne's long kick to let in Colin Best.
And then Tigers full-back Damian Gibson knocked on a bomb from Horne's half-back partner Paul Cooke to gift a score to Richie Barnett senior.
Hull increased their advantage to 26 points with two penalties from Cooke in the 49th and 56th minutes of the contest.
But Castleford did rally in the second half, stopping Hull from adding further scores, and scoring their only try when Kiwi backrower Smith barged over just before the hour mark.
The game drifted to a finish, although Hull finished the game as they started it - pressurising the Castleford line.
Their margin of victory would have been greater, had they not had a try from Barnett junior disallowed in the final minute.