GOING into the 21st, there were just three rounds of Super League to go before the first part of the season comes to an end and the Super 8s start. Teams are still battling to finish in the all-important top eight, and those at the top are still vying to finish first.

There has been no let up in entertainment value as the league season draws to a close, as demonstrated by two epic encounters between sides who currently make up the top four.

On Thursday, Wigan beat Leeds by 26 points to 24 after a last-minute penalty from Matty Smith settled what was a back-and-forth, entertaining, if occasionally scrappy, game.

Leeds were in possession of the ball with seconds to go, but Paul Aiton obstructed a Wigan defender as the Rhinos broke, allowing Smith to claim two points for his side with the penalty kick.

Friday night’s game brought more thrills and spills, as St Helens beat Huddersfield 35-34 in a free-scoring encounter. Saints’ new signing Adam Quinlan bagged a hat-trick on his debut, but it was a dramatic 30-yard drop goal from Luke Walsh which gave Saints the two points.

The win took St Helens a point behind Leeds in the table, and a point ahead of local rivals Wigan.

The remaining four games of the round took place on Sunday, where the teams in and around eighth place were fighting it out. 

Any side finishing in the bottom four will go into the middle part of the Super 8s — the qualifiers — where they play the top four sides from the Championship (the second division) and could face the prospect of relegation, so the remaining games mean a lot to these teams.

Widnes Vikings were victorious at home to Catalans Dragons, with a couple of late tries from the French side making the game look more even that it was. The Dragons were on top for around 15 minutes at the start of the game, but Widnes responded well and eventually took the lead through a superb effort on the wing from Paddy Flynn.

The Vikings are still in with a slim chance of clawing their way back into the top eight after this 29-22 win, but will need Hull and Catalans to make some mistakes in the final two games and win their own against Wigan and Salford.

Hull FC secured an important, narrow home win against Castleford after being 14-6 down at half time. A Jordan Abdul try just after the break, a Tom Lineham brace and a Marc Sneyd drop goal saw them eventually run out 21-18 winners.

Elsewhere, Warrington made sure of a top-eight finish with a 40-20 win at Wakefield, and Salford defeated Hull KR by 31 points to 18 after being 18-4 down at half time.