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Wildcats go top as Leeds falter

Leroy Cudjoe scored two fine tries as Huddersfield beat Bradford © Getty Images

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Wakefield Wildcats stormed to the top of the Super League after a hard-fought victory against the Catalans Dragons. Youngster Dale Morton scored twice as the Wildcats twice came from behind to secure a 28-20 victory at the Hearwell Stadium.

New signing Paul Johnson was knocked out with his first touch of the ball after coming off the bench to make his debut. And regardless of the victory, Wildcats coach John Kear refused to get carried away.

"We won the game and we're very happy about that," he said. "But it doesn't take away from the fact that we'll have to improve further if we want to succeed against Leeds Rhinos next Sunday."

Chris Riley became the first Warrington Wolves player to score five tries when Warrington thrashed Harlequins RL 58-0 on Sunday. In response to Warrington's 60-8 defeat at the hands of Quins at the Stoop last March, winger Riley was one short of Lesley Vainikolo's Super League record of six tries for Bradford Bulls against Hull FC in 2005.

Captain Adrian Morley played a commanding role despite a sleepless night after his wife gave birth to his second child. "Mozza only had an hour's sleep but there was no risk in playing him," said Wolves boss Tony Smith.

Sean Long returned to haunt his old club as Hull FC secured a 32-12 win over St Helens at Knowsley Road on Saturday.

Long made the switch to Hull after 12 years with Saints, but had to wait just one week to face his old club. Saints came up against a Hull side eager to make an impression and they raced into a 12-0 lead at the break thanks to tries from Willie Manu and Epalahame Lauaki and conversions from Danny Tickle.

Long got in on the scoring act after the break and even though Matt Gidley threatened a comeback when going over for Saints with 17 minutes remaining, but Hull recorded a comfortable victory.

"It is not about me, it was a good team performance," Long told Sky Sports. "Saints threw a lot at us, we did not crack and then hit them on the counter. I have not been this nervous for a game for a long, long time. I had to keep it inside and suck it up. I am pleased with the performance."

Huddersfield Giants enjoyed a dominant victory over local rivals Bradford Bulls on a high-scoring night of Super League action that saw defending champions Leeds Rhinos lose on their own patch.

Huddersfield overcame the Bulls 24-12 on home turf, scoring four tries in a largely one-sided affair that was more-or-less decided within the opening half hour. Two tries from Leroy Cudjoe, one of which came from a delightful chip into the in-goal area, and a touchdown from Shaun Lunt ensured Bradford were staring at an 18-point deficit inside 25 minutes.

Stuart Reardon and Rikki Sheriffe replied just before half time as the Bulls momentarily rallied but, whereas Brett Hodgson kicked eight points for the Giants, there would be no extras for the visitors.

David Faalogo added a fourth try for Huddersfield to kill any hopes of a comeback just four minutes into the second half, and all Bradford could muster in reply was a second Reardon effort as the Giants took the derby honours.

Surprise result of the night came from a different venue in Yorkshire, where defending Super League champions Leeds Rhinos were beaten 24-10 by Castleford Tigers.

Leeds smashed Castleford 76-12 in the corresponding fixture last season, but a monumental forward effort prevented a repeat as the Tigers denied their hosts any room to breathe.

The weather played a telling part in an extremely tight opening as fog and icy conditions saw both sets of players struggle to settle, but Danny Maguire broke the deadlock for Leeds on 22 minutes for a converted 6-0 lead. Brett Delaney then dotted down the opposite side of a James Evans reply as Leeds took a 10-6 advantage into half time.

That was as good as it got for the Rhinos though as Joe Westerman took centre stage, crossing the whitewash to snatch the lead and then converting Brent Sherwin's try as Castleford powered into an 18-10 advantage. Dean Widders then emerged from the bench to add the final touchdown as Leeds fans headed for the exits.

The Crusaders will take no fond memories away from their trip to Wigan after the Warriors ran in seven tries in a 38-6 victory.

Wigan actually spent the opening 15 minutes on the back foot as the Crusaders camped in their half, but Amos Roberts broke to settle home nerves. Andy Coley quickly picked a sizeable hole in the Crusaders defence to open up a 10-point lead, from which Wigan never looked back.

Roberts's second effort was the pick of the tries after a meandering individual effort, which complimented scores from Martin Gleeson, Pat Richards, Lee Mossop, and a well-worked try from Cameron Phelps. Luke Dyer provided the Crusaders' consolation.

Hull Kingston Rovers coach Justin Morgan praised his back three after winger Peter Fox went over twice as the Robins ran out 30-12 winners over Salford City Reds.

"Our back three work really hard and do a lot of homework during the week, a lot of extra training and I think their combination last year was excellent and they're looking to go up a couple of notches this year so it was good for Foxy to get a couple of tries," he said.

© ESPN EMEA Ltd

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