The Rhinos picked up a home win over struggling Hull KR at Headingley, despite a nervy end to the game. Here’s what happened.
MATCH DETAILS
Leeds came out firing and quickly took the lead through an Ash Handley try. The manner of the try, a quick line break with multiple support runners, would become a common sight as the game progressed.
Handley would add another try before half time. Tom Briscoe and Jack Walker also crossed the line to give Leeds a 22-0 lead heading into half time.
Leeds would start the second half just as dominant, with an early Matt Parcell try that seemed to guarantee the result.
However, a KR fightback looked to be on the cards with tries from Ben Crooks, Kane Linnett and Weller Hauraki.
With the Robins down by just six, ex-Leeds man Danny McGuire opted to go for a drop goal conversion in order to save time and closed the gap to just four points with less than three minutes to go.
Leeds managed to hold on to their lead and come away with the two points, despite nearly erasing all their hard work from the first half. This is certainly something that will worry head coach David Furner.
FOUR POINTERS
Headingley is becoming a fortress
Sunday’s win marked Leeds’ third consecutive home win and fixtures at Emerald Headingley will now be vital to ensure Leeds propel themselves up the table and away from the relegation dogfight that is beginning to form at the foot of the table.
The Robins in relegation fight
A loss to Leeds ensured that KR dropped down to 11th in the table, now behind the Rhinos. Coach Tim Sheens knows how important the next few games will be in making sure that KR don’t lose pace with the rest of the struggling teams. Rovers must start beating the teams around them or risk falling deeper into the battle at the bottom.
Leeds can win without Hurrell
The Rhinos showed on Sunday that Leeds are not a one man team. Too often this season, centre Konrad Hurrell has been asked to do more than his fair share of the work but players like Ash Handley and Brad Dwyer showed they can be forces in their own right, and not just reap the rewards of a world class centre.
New relegation rules mean stakes are higher than ever
Thanks to the scrapping of the Middle Eights format, bottom of the table clashes actually mean something again. This will become more prominent as the season reaches its later stages but this game may be more important than anyone realises when the season ends and one side is left looking at where they should’ve picked up points.
THE RESULT
Leeds Rhinos 28
Tries: Handley 2, Briscoe, Walker, Parcell
Goals: Sutcliffe 4
Drop Goals: n/a
Hull KR 24
Tries: Crooks 2, Linnett, Hauraki
Goals: Shaw 3, McGuire
Drop Goals: n/a
SQUADS
Leeds Rhinos: Walker, Briscoe, Watkins, Newman, Handley, Lolohea, Lolohea, Singleton, Merrin, Dwyer, Sutcliffe, Oledzki, Smith
Interchanges: Cuthbertson, Parcell, Donaldson, Trout
Hull Kingston Rovers: Hall, Crooks, Keinhorst, Shaw, McGuire, Mulhern, Lunt, Tomkins, Vaivai, Lawler, Lannon, Linnett, Drinkwater
Interchanges: Hauraki, Atkin, Harrison, Maria
