Adrian Purtell scored twice as Bradford Bulls moved off the bottom of the Super League table with a thrilling 34-28 victory over Warrington on Sunday.
Purtell, who joined the Bulls from Penrith Panthers in 2012, helped his side to their third victory this season — a result which saw them move above London Broncos in the process.
Bradford were docked six points after going into administration in February, but they battled all the way against the Wolves with Jamie Foster, Brett Kearney and Tom Olbison also getting in on the act.
Tries from Anthony England, Chris Bridge, Kevin Penny, Joel Monaghan and Matty Russell had Warrington 28-22 up with 10 minutes to go but Elliot Kear’s late try turned the game in Bradford’s favour.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Castleford slipped up in the race at the top of the table despite Justin Carney and Jake Webster each grabbing tries against Huddersfield,
Joe Wardle, Leroy Cudjoe, Jermaine McGillvary, Scott Grix and Aaron Murphy were on the scoresheet for Huddersfield but it was Danny Brough who struck the decisive drop goal late on to give the Giants a nail-biting 29-28 win.
Michael Shenton, Kirk Dixon and Daryl Clark also scored for the Tigers but they are now two points behind second-placed St Helens.
Wakefield’s remarkable 23-16 comeback victory against Hull owed much to Jarrod Sammut, who kicked three goals and scored a try at the KC Stadium.
The Wildcats were 16-0 down after Danny Houghton, Jordan Rankin and Ben Crooks had crossed for the hosts.
But Richard Mathers, Daniel Smith, Matt Ryan and ex-Penrith Panther Sammut completed a sensational turnaround.
Meanwhile, Kevin Brown’s hat-trick was enough for Widnes to see of Hull K R 34-29.
Morgan Escare took his Super League season try tally to 10 after his hat-trick against Salford helped Catalan Dragons to a 37-24 victory on Saturday.
New Zealand-born Zeb Taia and Fijian international Daryl Millard also crossed for the French outfit but it was full-back Escare who stole the show.
Salford did hit back from 16-0 down to lead at the break with former Auckland Warrior Francis Meli among their scorers.
But Escare’s 70th-minute try and a last-minute Eloi Pellsier drop-goal closed the door on a Salford comeback.
Leeds remain top of the Super League table following their five-try demolition of last season’s champions Wigan on Friday.
After seeing St Helens move above them in the standings with a comfortable 48-12 win at home to London Broncos a day earlier, the Rhinos knew victory at Headingley would be enough to reclaim first position.
And Danny McGuire, Zac Hardaker, Tom Briscoe, Ryan Hall and Liam Sutcliffe all went over to secure a 28-12 success, which ended the Warriors’ eight-match winning run in all competitions.
