Round 26 round-up

A hard-fought victory away from home made it eight league wins in a row for the Saints after fending off a challenging fightback from the Wolves. Tries from Curtis Sironen and Mark Percival gave Saints a 12-0 lead after 19 minutes which they took into break. Daryl Clark forged a fightback for the Wolves, but it proved to be nothing more than a consolation as Moses Mbye secured the two points for St Helens and put Warrington's hope for a top six spot back in the balance.

An emotional golden point defeat against Leigh brought Wakefield's 24-year stint in Betfred Super League to an end. Despite being at opposite ends of the league table, Trinity were able to hold their own and found themselves just six points behind at the break. A Lee Kershaw double drew Trinity level early in the second half, but their hearts were ultimately broken when Gareth O'Brien kicked an 89th minute drop goal in golden point to seal Wakefield's fate.

It's double drop-goal delight for @GazOBrien22 ??@LeighLeopardsRL are victorious ?#SuperLeague #SLLeiWak pic.twitter.com/IbGa8iwTXs
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) September 15, 2023

The Warriors continued their relentless push for top spot with an emphatic win over the Tigers. Matt Peet's side are now unbeaten in their last eight games and have one hand firmly on the League Leaders' Shield ahead of Round 27. Four first half tries for Abbas Miski gave Wigan a comfortable lead and they continued their dominance in the second half to run out convincing winners at the DW Stadium.

On Saturday, the Giants conflicted more misery on Hull FC's disappointing run of form and made it five consecutive defeats for the Black & Whites. Jermaine McGillvary put Huddersfield ahead, but it took just five minutes for Hull FC to reply. The Giants regained the lead into half time and a second half hat-trick from Kevin Naiqama, a second from McGilvary and a brace from Will Price saw Huddersfield romp to victory at the MKM Stadium.

.@J_mcGillvary ? @willpryce_@Giantsrl on top form today ?#SuperLeague #SLHulHud pic.twitter.com/Pjmhq0FNAD
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) September 16, 2023

The Rhinos travelled to the South of France to face Catalans in what was an utterly dominant win for the home side. The Dragons raced away to a 28-0 first half lead thanks to tries from Adam Keighran, Tom Johnstone, Ben Garcia and a Tom Davies brace. Steve McNamara's side kept their foot on the gas in the second half and romped home to a 61-0 win, keeping Catalans in contention for top spot going into the final round.

The final game in Round 26 saw the Robins book their spot in the Play-Offs thanks to a gritty victory over fellow top six hopefuls Salford. James Batchelor put Hull KR ahead inside 20 minutes after returning from a stint on the side-lines, helping his side take a 6-0 lead into half-time. It proved to be an incredibly tense affair with all at stake as both sides searched for points in the second half, with Ryan Hall crossing for the decisive Hull KR try to secure their top six spot in front of their home faithful.