Result: Castleford Wins 20-18
When: Sunday 21 of 2017, St. James Park
Greg Eden played one of his best matches of the season by scoring a hat trick on the second half of the game in less than 17 minutes.
Usually the last match of Magic Weekend turns out to be the most disappointing, but not this time when both Castleford and Leeds provided one of the most exiting games of the season with a diehard finale. And Castleford won it outright by being far more superior and wise.
Castleford have marked an impeccable journey since the beginning with few imperfections along the way, and look strong to being the champs this year.
During the first 40 minutes Leeds took charge and Castleford resisted the attack and leveled the field by half time. But during the second half Castleford came forth with superior strength and surprised a tired Leeds.
In just 17 minutes Castleford set 4 tries, three of them thanks to Greg Eden the top scorer of the team. No they stand alone as the top of the league by a 2 point advantage with no worthy opponent to challenge them for the crown.
While nothing is won during the Magic Weekend and there is still a long way to go to the finals, the game performance does boost the team with confidence and respect from their rivals.
Who is there to challenge the Tigers?
While Castleford remains as the top favorite and was the main attraction during the weekend, Salford made an impressive performance and can build a remarkable challenge for the Tigers. They stand second on the table with victory during the Magic Weekend.
The Red Devil’s own campaign has been quite impressive since last season´s Million Pound Game, now their latest victory against Leigh Centurions makes them a powerful side. The Centurions played hard with a 12 to 6 lead at one point, but they soon broke against tries from Ben Murdoch-Masila, Kris Welham and Greg Johnson, Salford was in full control of the game by halftime.
Second half on Leight managed to reduce the gap by 6 points but it would only last a while, future tries from Niall Evalds and Johnson kept Salford on the lead when exhaustion was taking over the Leight’s side. The sending off of Adam Higson added to the loosing misery.
Day two of Magic Weekend began with some sorry matches until Castleford saved the day right at the end. The Dragons won 10-6 on a sad game to watch with tries from Sam Rapira and Adam O’Brien, an unexpected victory.
It turned out to be the third most attended Magic Weekend in history with an overall attendance of 65,407. Al three main attendances have occurred in New Castle, a place that welcomes the event with big arms.
Bet on Rugby League
To bet on Rugby League online at William Hill all you have to do is claim a first deposit bonus and pick your favorite side. Castleford seem rock solid for the rest of the season and Salford will follow right behind.