Leeds came into this game in buoyant mood following last week's mauling of Hull KR. However they were not quite prepared for how stern a test St Helens would prove to be. The first half was a battle of two very good teams trying to make a break-through. On the 18th minute mark, Rhinos scored thanks to fabulous work from Kevin Sinfield and Carl Ablett to let Danny McGuire through for his 250th try of his career. It was also a landmark for Kevin Sinfield as he converted his 3,500 points for the club.
However St Helens were growing in confidence and hit back on 24 minutes through Anthony Walker and Tommy Makinson converted shortly afterwards.
Both defences were holding firm for the remainder of the first half and chances were far and few between. The second half however proved to be a more exciting affair for both clubs and the video ref was kept busy throughout. Leeds took the lead again through a penalty by Sinfield after the Saints were caught offside. McGuire then had a try wiped out after he had spilled the ball.
Saints soon took the lead through Makinson after the ref adjudged that an obstruction by Soliola was not going to stop the Saints going for the try-line. Makinson missed his conversion so it was 10-8 to Saints.
Leeds however refused to lie down and 10 minutes before the final whistle Sinfield kicked another penalty to level the scores. However late drama ensued when Makinson collected a kick from Jonny Lomax and scored to break Rhinos' hearts and claim a victory for St Helens.
Man of the Match - I'm going to give it to the defence as they worked their socks off all game.
Injury worry is Jamie Jones-Buchanan who came off in the first half after suffering a bust bicep.
Let's all hope we get a really good win next week against Wakefield Wildcats in the Challenge Cup.
Until next time.....
After last week's impressive win over Widnes Vikings, the Rhinos were aiming to start on the same vein in this week's game against London Broncos and that they did when after just 84 seconds Danny McGuire sent over a grubber kick for Brad Singleton to collect and send over the line. Zak Hardaker added the conversion and overall scored 6 points for the Rhinos with his kicking.
Ryan Hall didn't take long to score his first of three tries in the first half after he managed to stretch one handed over the line.
Shortly after he came on, Mitch Achurch bagged himself through hard work of his own after Thomas Minns (on loan to London from Leeds) pulled him down but he still managed to get over the line.
Ryan Hall then scored his second try of the night after collecting Danny McGuire's kick and then charging through to score. His third came shortly after he beat off competition from Jamie O'Callaghan to complete his hat-trick. The rout didn't stop there in the first half however as Ben Jones-Bishop crossed the line to give Leeds a healthy lead at half-time.
The second half came and although it wasn't as try-laden as the first half we did still see some trys coming first from Zak Hardaker who had been doing pretty well all night thus far, he scored a try then added his own conversion. At this point it was 40-0 to Leeds.
London Broncos however did get what was to be their only try of the night through Mason Caton-Brown and the conversion was added by Josh Drinkwater.
Leeds were not going to stop at their 40-6 lead however and a try by Kallum Watkins, a second for Ben Jones-Bishop and a wonderful effort by Rob Burrow who added his conversion for his try, ensured Leeds went top of the table.
Man of the Match deservedly went to Ryan Hall for his hat-trick of tries and his determined performance throughout. Well done Ryan!
No real injury news to worry about but there was a debut for Robbie Mulhern. Congrats Robbie :)
Until next time......
After last week's performance against Huddersfield Giants which ended in a draw, Leeds Rhinos were hoping to start the first half a lot better than they did last week. And they did so with a fantastic try by Ben Jones-Bishop in the 18th minute. Kevin Sinfield missed his conversion however so the score was 4-0.
Not long after it was 6-0 thanks to Ben again and this time Sir Kev made no mistake with his conversion. Leeds pressed forward for more tries but Widnes' defence held still.
Half-time came and went and Leeds were on the surge for more tries. And their pressure paid off when Kallum Watkins scored a fine try and Sir Kev converted to make the score 16-0.
Leeds kept up the intense pressure and after good work by Brett Delaney, Ryan Bailey ran free to score his first try of the season and Kevin once again converting.
Kevin scored his own try not long after but failed to put his conversion through the posts. This was not to unsettle the Rhinos however and more pressure built up and Rob Burrow crossed over for Rhinos' sixth try and Kevin converted to make the lead more handsome.
Danny McGuire produced an excellent grubber kick to give Jamie Jones Buchanan his try for Rhinos and made it more sweet considering he's just come back from injury. Sir Kev converted once to make it 38-0.
Widnes scored a late consolation try through Rhys Hanbury but Jack Owens could not convert the following conversion. Full time came and Leeds Rhinos should be proud with how they performed in this game.
Man of the Match for me has to be Ben Jones-Bishop. Brian McDermott rightly justified his decision to give Ryan Hall a rest and put Ben in and it paid off with Ben scoring two wonderful tries.
One sole injury concern for Rhinos is Joel Moon who came off early in the first half. Hope the injury isn't serious and he recovers quickly for next week's game against the London Broncos.
Until next time.
However this lead to Huddersfield Giants upping their game and they had two tries disallowed in but it wasn't long before they got their just reward through former Rhino Jodie Broughton. However Danny Brough pushed his conversion wide. Halftime then commenced.
The second half started with both teams creating chances and Leroy Cudjoe had a try disallowed by the referee James Child as it appeared that Cudjoe had knocked on. Huddersfield brought the score level shortly afterwards through Danny Brough's penalty. Sir Kev however brought Leeds back in front with a penalty. Huddersfield however then managed to score their second try of the game through Joe Wardle and Danny Brough kicked the conversion to bring Giants in front.
However Rhinos were not to be denied and thanks to good work by Danny McGuire, Joel Moon and Paul Aiton, Kallum Watkins found the corner and scored a crucial try for Leeds. Sir Kev missed the conversion as it hit the post.
Rhinos had a couple of chances to nick the game but Danny McGuire's drop goal drifted wide and Sir Kev hit the post with his effort. Huddersfield also nearly stole the game but great defence from Rhinos prevented them going through. The game ended level.
My man of the match would be Kallum Watkins, he managed to get another try to prevent a defeat for us.
Injury worry is Brett Delaney who went off with a chest injury. Get well soon Brett.
Until next time.......
Leeds Rhinos travelled to Catalans Dragons stomping ground on the back of two convincing wins against Hull KR and Warrington Wolves. The atmosphere was electric. However it was Catalans Dragons who started proceedings with a try by Michael Oldfield, William Barthau converted to give Dragons the lead. However it wasn't long before Rhinos ran riot and the first try came from Joel Moon who scored after receiving a pass from Ryan Hall. Kevin Sinfield would kick the first of many kicks in a game which saw him earn Man of the Match.
Not long after, Paul Aiton threw a flat pass onto Brett Delaney who scored the second try for Rhinos and Sinfield converted once more.
Following that try, Tom Briscoe scored his fifth try of the season after superb work by Sinfield and Kallum Watkins set him up. Sir Kev booted his third conversion.
Half-time ensued with Rhinos in the lead and it was not long before Rhinos laid down the gauntlet with another try, this time from Carl Ablett. Sir Kev made sure of his superb kicking skills with another conversion.
Ryan Hall shortly fell over the line with another superb try following fantastic work from Joel Moon. Kevin Sinfield once again kicked the conversion.
Catalans scored a consolation try through Jean-Phillipe Baile,
Bathau converted.
But Sir Kev decided he wanted to be a part of the try scoring party and scored thanks to good work from Hardaker, Watkins, Briscoe and McGuire. He then converted to give Leeds a large and healthy lead.
The last try of the game fell to Ryan Hall who got a good pass from Joel Moon and he made sure of the victory to touch down. However Rob Burrow couldn't follow up with a conversion and the final whistle blew.
Man of the Match - Kevin Sinfield for sure deserves the title as he came back from injury quite quickly and proved his credentials with a powerful performance and he scored a try.
Until next time......
.JPG)
.JPG)
