Round 16 of Super League saw the stars of the league travel to the north-east of England, with each game of the round being played across two days at St James’ Park, Newcastle, for the sport’s annual Magic Weekend event.

Salford Red Devils and Widnes Vikings kicked off the festivities on Saturday afternoon, with Widnes running out 38-16 winners. The Vikings made the most of the event by changing the design of their black and white shirts to resemble those of the local football side, Newcastle United. Sales of their new shirt managed to raise £20,000 for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

On the pitch there were impressive performances from Kevin Brown, who scored a hat-trick of tries, and powerful winger Patrick Ah Van who crossed for two of his own. Both played a big part in the Widnes win.

Later in the day, a Hull derby finished 46-20 to Hull FC as a Fetuli Talanoa hat-trick helped another black-and-white side on to victory, while the evening game saw Wigan Warriors defeat league leaders Leeds Rhinos by 27 points to 12.

Wigan’s win put them two points behind the Rhinos in the table but also gave St Helens the chance to come within one point of first place if they could beat Warrington the next day.

Catalans Dragons and Huddersfield Giants opened proceedings on Sunday, in a game which came to life in the latter stages. The French side went in at half-time 10-0 down but scored 22 unanswered points in the second half to set up a grandstand finish.

With the scores at 22-16, Huddersfield’s Jermaine McGilvary crossed in the corner, giving Danny Brough the chance to level the scores with a difficult conversion. Brough came through for his team, as he often does, and the spoils were shared.

Next up were St Helens and Warrington, who entertained the crowd well into the afternoon.

The Wolves were 16-8 up at half-time but didn’t manage a single point in what was a miserable second half for them. Saints eventually won the game 20-16 thanks to Tommy Makinson’s goal-kicking, giving them the points required to close the gap on Leeds at the top.

The final game of the weekend saw Castleford Tigers inflict another defeat on Wakefield Wildcats, who remain rooted to the bottom of the table. Four tries from Denny Solomona, and a hat-trick from Ashley Gibson, helped Cas to a 56-16 win.

Despite the defeat, Wakefield’s Tom Johnstone entertained the fans who’d stayed on until the final game, with a length of the field interception try.