Monday 17 September 2018 20:32, UK
St Helens finally get their hands on the League Leaders' Shield while Salford's Ian Watson claims that they were robbed.
St Helens lift League Leaders' Shield
Justin Holbrook's men have led the table all season, but they missed a chance to secure the shield a fortnight ago when Wigan condemned them to a second successive home defeat, which came on the heels of their shock Challenge Cup exit.
However they finally got their hands on it with their win against Hull FC on Friday night. Hull were stubborn in defeat - they fought back from 12-0 down to make it 12-12 before Saints turned up the heat in the second half and secured a 38-12 win.
Saints will be pleased to add some silverware to their trophy cabinet but will hoping they can add the big prize in a few weeks' time!
"We could have wrapped this up before but thankfully tonight we have got it done," said Kyle Amor after the game.
"It is a nice little trophy for the fans, the town and the club but ultimately it is not the prize we are after. Winning this does not give you the right to be in the Grand Final - what it does do though is reward you for being the most consistent after 30 rounds.
"We are happy but we know that this is not like football where first past the post wins. We have a bit of work to do now."
Try of the round
Our try of the round this week comes from the Saints game with Welsh wizard Regan Grace scoring twice. His first was from short range after he shared a couple of quick passes with Ben Barba that somehow allowed him to cross over close to the corner flag.
His second was a glorious 60-metres effort that showed off his pace and sidestep before ducking under full-back Hakim Miloudi on his way to the line.
Manfredi back for Wigan
Talking about tries, it was great to see Dom Manfredi back after two years on the sideline. Manfredi capped his return with two tries to help the Wigan Warriors beat Warrington 26-6. The winger, who had been out for 762 days following a serious knee injury sustained at Castleford in 2016, was even looking at jobs on building sites but is delighted to be doing what he does best.
"It is really good to come back and get the win. I never thought this day would ever come - that is why I was looking for other jobs," Manfredi told Sky Sports.
"I just want to say a massive thank you to all the physio, the staff, my family and friends who have helped me through the tough times and got me back here."
Watson unhappy after Leeds loss
Salford boss Ian Watson believes his side were robbed after losing 18-16 to Leeds in their Super League Qualifier.
The Rhinos were awarded a penalty in the final minute with the scores equal, after Salford were pinged for a ball steal and Liam Sutcliffe kicked the penalty to give them the win.
However, in his post-match press conference, Ian Watson claimed his team had been "robbed" not only for the penalty conceded, but also because his side should have been awarded a penalty that would have won them the game.
O'Brien moves Toronto closer to Super League
Toronto, playing in front of a 7,923 crowd at the Lamport Stadium, clinched their third victory of the competition with a drop goal from Gareth O'Brien four minutes from the end.
Toronto are now fourth in the Super 8s Qualifiers with two games remaining against Widnes and Leeds.
"We need to beat all the Championship teams," said Toronto coach Paul Rowley as he looks ahead to Widnes and Leeds.
"So we've done that now. That was the minimum requirement for us. We need to now to try and knock off one of the Super League teams as well ... We're excited for the next challenge now."
The game was marred by an incident after Toronto forward Jack Bussey appeared to bite the ear of Bastien Ader during a tackle.
Referee Tom Grant stopped play after being alerted to the claim and went to examine Ader's ear.
Grant placed the incident on report and it will be examined by the RFL's match-review panel.
Tweet of the round
Nineteen-year-old Luis Johnson may not have had a winning start to his Super League career but he certainly won some admirers.
Johnson was part of the Warrington team that lost to Wigan on Friday night but showed his blistering pace by chasing down Oliver Gildart and stopping a certain try.
After Wolves star Daryl Clarke, tweeted his approval of Johnson's debut, Gildart responded with a classic line.
