Sport : Rugby League

WOLVES CLOSE GAP; ROVERS WIN

20th May 2012, 05:51pm

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Ryan Atkins: Scored a hat-trick of tries

Ryan Atkins: Scored a hat-trick of tries

Stefan Ratchford marked his comeback from injury with the match-winning tries as Warrington moved to within a point of Stobart Super League leaders Wigan with a 42-12 victory at Wakefield on Sunday.

Former Wakefield centre Ryan Atkins scored a hat-trick of tries against his old club but it was Ratchford who played the decisive role as the Wolves completed the double over the Wildcats.

The former Salford utility back, who had been out for 11 weeks after damaging his shoulder in the sixth game of the season, returned a month earlier than expected and made an immediate impact with two tries.

Chris Riley also crossed twice while Steve Southern and Frankie Mariano scored Wakefield's tries.

The depth of Castleford's squad was laid bare at Hull KR as the injury-ravaged Tigers were thrashed 70-12 by a Robins side who posted their best-ever Super League win.

Shorn of their three first-choice half-backs in Rangi Chase, Ryan McGoldrick and Danny Orr, Ian Millward's men rarely got a look in at MS3 Craven Park as they ran in to a Rovers side desperate to find some consistency to form the backbone of a play-off charge.

Craig Sandercock's men moved to within a point of the top eight with this win, although Castleford's diluted line-up offers a caveat to the margin of victory.

Hull KR scored 12 tries in total, with David Hodgson scoring four and Shannon McDonnell three as the Red and Whites bettered their 70-14 victory over Wakefield last season.

Kris Welham, Sam Latus, Craig Hall, Constantine Mika and Lincoln Withers also crossed for the hosts while Josh Griffin and Jordan Thompson scored Castleford's tries.

Catalan Dragons bounced back from their Challenge Cup defeat by Warrington to notch their fifth win in their last six Super League matches with a 42-34 win at bottom-club Widnes.

But the Dragons were given a fright by bottom club Widnes in a 14-try extravaganza.

Widnes had conceded at least 30 points in every match back in Super League and were determined to make amends for their 76-6 hammering at the hands of the Dragons in March.

Louis Anderson scored two tries for the visitors while Lopini Paea, Clint Greenshields, Scott Dureau, Thomas Bosc, Leon Pryce and Vincent Duport also crossed.

Widnes managed six of their own - thanks to David Allen, Rhys Hanbury, Chris Dean, Joe Mellor, Patrick Ah Van and Stefan Marsh - but their efforts weren't quite good enough to cause a shock.

Danny Tickle's late penalty proved crucial as Hull FC edged out the London Broncos 14-12 in a tight contest at Gillingham's Priestfield Stadium.

Tickle's successful kick 12 minutes from time gave Hull an eight-point lead and London were unable to make up that gap despite going over for a converted try soon after.

Hull's victory, which also saw Tickle convert tries from Ben Crooks and Richard Whiting, helps the Black and Whites maintain their play-off push.

The hosts' two tries came from Michael Robertson and Kieran Dixon but it wasn't enough to ease their struggles at the wrong end of the table.

On Friday night, Wigan claimed an emphatic 32-12 defeat of previous leaders Huddersfield at a soggy Galpharm Stadium.

The Giants had hoped to demonstrate their trophy-winning credentials by completing a double over the Warriors but a defeat by seven tries to two suggests they still have much to do to win over the doubters.

Josh Charnley had an off day with the boot, missing all four kicks at goal, but he scored two first-half tries to take his tally for the season to 18, seven in front of his nearest rival, to ensure Wigan enter the second half of the season in pole position.

Jodie Broughton snatched a dramatic 20-20 draw for Salford against Bradford with a try three minutes from time.

The Reds trailed 20-16 until Broughton took a Luke Patten pass to go over in the corner but Daniel Holdsworth missed the conversion.

Karl Pryce bagged a hat-trick for the Bulls, who were also awarded a controversial Tom Burgess try by referee Richard Silverwood.

The Reds, playing against a strong wind in the first half, trailed 10-6 at the break.

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