Six Tackles: Magic moments from Newcastle
Newcastle celebrates it’s fourth consecutive year hosting the Super League Magic Weekend this weekend. So, we took at look at some of the best moments inside St James’ Park.
Jacob Miller drop goal
Wakefield Trinity 24-24 Catalans Dragons. Three minutes left. Stand up Jacob Miller, who became his side’s hero after belting a 50 metre drop-goal.
The game was toe-to-toe between then-Laurent Frayssinous side and Chris Chester’s, and this moment left every fan inside the stadium speechless.
Pat Richards had the chance to steal the lead with minutes left, but his penalty hit the post and Wakefield quickly scrambled for possession.
50 metres out, Miller attempted the unthinkable. However, his right-boot struck the ball perfectly to give his side the unbelievable victory in front of the St James’ Park crowd.
Joe Burgess scores last-minute try
Magic Weekend loves a last minute try, and this was one to add to history. Warrington Wolves and Wigan clashed at the 2017 annual event, and the Wire looked in the clear with a 24-20 lead and a minute remaining. Cue Joe Burgess.
The Wire had already completed the comeback, taking the lead for the first time through Jack Hughes in the 73rd minute.
However, Shaun Wane’s side produced some pure magic. A kick from skipper Sean O’Loughlin was collected by the winger with one-minute and four-seconds left, breaking the hearts of Warrington fans.
George Williams couldn’t convert the kick though, and they shared a spoil of the points with a full time result of 24-each.
Jermaine McGillvary steals a point
Huddersfield Giants were 10-0 ahead in Newcastle’s debut year – 2015 – but a Catalans Dragons comeback saw the French side ahead 24-18 with not long left on the clock.
Then, England winger Jermaine McGillvary produced arguably the best finish of the weekend.
An off-load from Eorl Crabtree, to Luke Robinson, pass to Scott Grix to Danny Brough and a long ball saw the winger with a quality finish in the corner under pressure from the opposition’s defence.
Brough nailed the side-line conversion and the points were shared, with a full-time result of 24-all and a thrilling finish to a Super League fixture.
Jake Connor’s football skills
Whilst Huddersfield were 22-points clear against St Helens with 27 minutes left in 2016, this piece of Jake Connor skill is still impressive.
Attacking the line, Giants were on fire. But this has to be one of the highlight tries of the fixture.
Ryan Hinchcliffe to Danny Brough and a sweet volley kick from now-Hull star Connor saw him recollect his kick and feed it to winger Aaron Murphy which had all the Sky pundits amazed with this piece of art.
The try extended Huddersfield’s lead and had Huddersfield chairman Ken Davy on his feet with a smile from left ear to right. If you look closely at the highlight reel – even a Wigan fan stood and cheered for this try.
Castleford comeback
St James’ Park hosted one of the best comebacks in Magic Weekend’s history, as Castleford came from 14-0 behind to win 28-14 in 2016.
Tries from Stefan Ratchford, Kurt Gidley and Ben Currie gave Warrington a 14-0 lead inside 30 minutes of the fixture.
However, Daryl Powell’s men out-classed the Wire in the second half scoring seven unanswered tries, including two from now-retired Luke Dorn.
A day to remember for the Tigers fans.
Kevin Brown hat-trick
Then-Widnes captain had one of the best individual performances of the weekend as he scored a hat-trick in his side’s victory over Salford Red Devils in 2015.
The half-back scored his first in the 35th minute, fooling the opposition’s defence with a swift dummy to dive under the sticks.
His second, in the 42nd minute, assisted by a team break and another dummy saw his crash over the whitewash with Niall Evalds and Theo Fages on his back. His third he had a big hand in, feeding fullback Rhys Hanbury on the inside ball to break, then supporting the break to complete the hat-trick and secure the win for Denis Betts’ side.