Super League Sunday: Chase haunts Castleford, Rovers win derby
Wakefield 16 St Helens 24
St Helens came from 16-4 down to preserve their 100 per cent start to the 2014 First Utility Super League and reclaim top spot from Leeds, their next opponents, with a 24-16 victory.
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Hide AdNathan Brown’s men were under-strength and well below their best in the absence of influential playmaker Luke Walsh but turned the game on its head with a scoring burst of four tries in a decisive 15-minute spell midway through the second half.
Saints, who were also without stand-off Lance Hohaia through injury, were indebted for their sixth successive victory to Paul Wellens and Jon Wilkin, who formed an unlikely half-back pairing with a combined age of 64.
Among the tryscorers was centre Matty Dawson on his debut for Saints, who also had four forwards making their first appearances of the season.
Hull KR 16 Bradford Bulls 0
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Hide AdHull KR eased the pressure on coach Craig Sandercock with a 16-0 win over Bradford at the KC Lightstream Stadium.
Sandercock needed a victory after his side took just one point from their first five games and this was a must-win match.
Bradford offered very little but were not helped by two first-half injuries to hooker Matt Diskin and prop Adam Sidlow.
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Hide AdDiskin went off in the 11th minute while Sidlow followed in the 25th to make life much harder for Francis Cummins’ side, who remain at the foot of the Super League on minus two points.
Salford City Reds 23 Castleford Tigers 16
Rangi Chase made a triumphant return to inspire Salford to their first win in four games and send his old club crashing to their first defeat of the season.
Chase landed the man of the match award after setting up two tries for Andrew Dixon and dropping a late goal to seal a 23-16 victory in this First Utility Super League encounter.
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Hide AdChase was back after suffering a calf injury on his Salford debut against Wakefield in the first match of the campaign.
The England stand-off, who joined Salford from Cas in the close season, was jeered by the large army of Tigers fans every time he touched the ball.
But that did not seem to worry Chase, whose side led 10-6 at half-time and held on to win an entertaining contest.
Hull FC 0 Widnes 7
Hull FC were nilled at home as they lost to Widnes in a low-scoring affair.