Super 8s & Qualifiers round-up: London on top, Salford win away, Warrington win dress rehearsal

The opening round of the Super 8s and Qualifiers was entertaining to say the least.

Wigan Warriors went three points clear of third-placed Castleford Tigers with a 24-22 win as new coaches Shaun Edwards and Adrian Lam watched on from the stands. Ben Flower put in an outstanding display for the Warriors.

Wakefield Trinity won for the first time in six visits to the KCOM Stadium with a 31-13 scoreline against Hull FC. Trinity trailed 13-7 at one stage but tries from Bill Tupou, Pauli Pauli and Tom Johnstone saw them pick up the two points.

Warrington Wolvesran in 10 tries to thrash Catalans Dragons 56-6 in the opening round of the Super 8s in a game that was dubbed ‘the dress rehearsal’ for the Challenge Cup final. The Dragons rested 10 players from the team that before St Helens the week before, and Wire coach Steve Price said that ‘he wouldn’t read too much in the victory’.

Huddersfield Giants caused a stir at the Totally Wicked Stadium as they beat St Helens 16-12 to keep their top four hopes alive. The visitors led 16-0 after 20 minutes thanks to tries from Darnell McIntosh (2) and Alex Mellor, before Saints fought back with tries from Ben Barba and Luke Thompson but it wasn’t enough.

Salford Red Devils picked up a crucial 28-10 win over Hull Kingston Rovers at the KCOM Craven Park in the opening game of the Qualifiers. Rob Lui put in another outstanding performance for the Red Devils and debutant Joey Lussick got on the scoresheet.

A late Jarrod Sammut drop-goal saw London Broncos continue their unbeaten run to eight games and condemned Widnes Vikings to a 17^thstraight league loss. The final score was 21-20 to the Broncos at the Halton Stadium. Malta international Sammut was sensational for London in the second half.

Joel Moon and Brad Dwyer scored two tries each as Leeds Rhinos ran-out 48-22 winners against Championship side Toulouse Olympique at Emerald Headingley. Leeds scored nine tries in total, while Bastien Canet, Bastien Ader, Maxime Puech and Chris Centrone crossed for Toulouse.

Toronto Wolfpack made a winning start to life in the Qualifiers with a hard-fought 14-0 win over Halifax at The Shay. Andy Ackers and Andrew Dixon scored the only tries of the game for the Wolfpack.

Super 8s round one results:

Hull FC 13-31 Wakefield Trinity (10,301)

St Helens 12-16 Huddersfield (8,979)

Warrington Wolves 56-6 Catalans Dragons (8,032)

Wigan Warriors 24-22 Castleford Tigers (10,293)

The Qualifiers round one results:

Halifax 0-14 Toronto Wolfpack (1,774)

Hull KR 10-28 Salford Red Devils (7,081)

Leeds Rhinos 48-22 Toulouse Olympique (10,166)

Widnes Vikings 20-21 London Broncos (3,432)