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Race for the top eight heats up

No more unbeaten teams in the Super League, writes JAMES NALTON

After seven rounds of the 2015 Super League season, no unbeaten teams remain and from the top of the table to the bottom, teams are forming an unruly queue for the all-important top eight.

The first game of round seven saw the Widnes Vikings become the victims of some unfortunate scheduling, as they had just three full days between their win over Hull KR last Sunday and this week’s fixture against Salford on the Thursday.

The Red Devils duly dispatched of their weary visitors at the AJ Bell stadium, with a convincing 36-8 win in which seven different players crossed the line for their tries.

At the Halliwell Jones stadium in Warrington, Huddersfield’s half-back combination play shone through as they defeated a limp Warrington Wolves side by 29 points to 10.

The Wire struggled to create anything for their backs, as scrum-half Gareth O’Brien had little in the way of support from his stand-off Chris Bridge or full-back Stefan Ratchford. Conversely, the Giants’ pairing of Danny Brough and Jamie Ellis, supported ably by Luke Robinson, put Warrington to the sword with some simple but effective half-back play.

Brough’s kicking in the second half was especially impressive, as his clever kicks behind the Warrington line assisted two tries for left-winger Aaron Murphy.

Huddersfield’s forward play created the platform for Brough, with Craig Huby impressing at prop, and Michael Lawrence providing a solid option from the bench.

On the east coast, Hull KR secured a narrow 24-22 victory against St Helens at Craven Park, with the visitors almost coming back to level the game in the dying minutes.

Two controversial late tries for Saints, which should have been ruled out for forward passes, meant that Travis Burns had a chance to earn his side a draw with a conversion, but his kick from the touchline couldn’t find its way between the uprights.

Burns was the victim of a James Green shoulder to the face early on in the game, but the Australian half-back played on for the full 80 minutes, with prop forward Green going on to have an impressive game for Hull KR.

Albert Kelly produced two highlight-reel tries, as he twice went the length of the field to score for the home side.

The defeat was St Helens’ first of the season, whilst the win saw Rovers move up into the top 8 thanks to Catalan’s 22-38 loss to Leeds in France.

In the other games of the round, Wigan inflicted a 52-10 drubbing on Wakefield and two tries from Luke Gale helped Castleford to a 20-14 win against Hull FC.

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