HALIFAX PANTHERS took the spoils in the big Challenge Cup Final rehearsal match against LEEDS RHINOS with a dramatic 52-46 win.
The sides battled for the first time in two years and will meet again next month as Halifax aim to defend the first part of the treble that they won last year.
The first half of this match was as perfect as these types of contests should be. One side scored, and then the other, until the score was 18-all. Halifax then went into a 30-18 lead, but Leeds pulled two tries back to level the scores at 30-all at the break.
Josh Butler scored a first half hat-trick of tries for Leeds, with Nathan Collins contributing two tries and five goals.
Jack Brown got a brace of tries for Halifax before the break. Joe Calcott, Rob Hawkins and Wayne Boardman, who was also 100 percent with the kicks, all went over once.
The second half started well for Leeds as an unconverted Tristan Norfolk try gave them the lead again, only for Brown to complete his hat-trick with Boardman converting to give Halifax a 36-34 advantage.
Leeds made it 46-36 thanks to tries from Norfolk and Collins, the latter improving both, but after that, Halifax took control as two more tries from Brown, both converted by Boardman, and one from Hawkins, secured the win for Halifax.
LONDON ROOSTERS moved above Leeds into second place with a 72-24 victory at SHEFFIELD EAGLES, after being 30-6 up at the break.
Jason Owen was 100 percent with the kicking, landing all twelve conversions. He also scored a try in each half.
Joe Coyd and Max Owen each scored four tries, with Lewis King and Mason Billington both going over once.
Chris Haynes scored two tries for Sheffield, one in each half, with Luis Domingos and Ben Simpson, who converted his own try, also contributing. Joe Wink-Simmonds landed the other three conversions.
WIGAN WARRIORS stormed to a 76-32 win at EDINBURGH GIANTS, with Toby Burton-Carter registering a hat-trick of tries for the visitors inside the first eleven minutes, contributing to their 54-16 half-time lead.
Jack Heggie also went over three times for Wigan and converted twelve of his side’s 13 tries. Mel Griffith and Matt Turner each added a brace of tries, with Nathan Roberts, Adam Rigby and Phil Roberts scoring one each.
For Edinburgh, Stephen Halsey scored the first of his hat-trick of tries in the fifth minute, to mark a comeback after injury. Calum Davidson scored two tries and four goals, with Sarah Devlin adding a try.
HULL FC overcame BRADFORD BULLS 68-30 after being 26-12 up at half-time.
Josh Edwards led the way for Hull with six tries and ten goals. Liam Stancliffe contributed a hat-trick of tries, with Billy Swainger scoring two and Mike Swainger one.
Keiron Johnson scored two tries for Bradford, and in a good day all round for kicking in Super League, he also converted all five of his goal attempts. Michael Potter, Charlie Wanless and Nathaniel Wright were the other Bulls try scorers.