Leeds Rhinos earnt back-to-back wins with a 22-6 win over Warrington Wolves at the Halliwell Jones Stadium. It’s a result that could see Leeds repeat their late run of form that saw them make it to the Grand Final last year, while the Wire have now lost five of their last six as they lose ground at the top end of the table.
Leeds struck first with a superb try after six minutes, and after two tries against Huddersfield last week, Sam Walters continued his sparkling form. Blake Austin once again carried the ball and shimmied his way past the defence before the ball made its way to Walters who made no mistake. He’s on his way to Wigan next season but is still producing the magic for Leeds.
Ash Handley then produced a spectacular finish right in the corner as Leeds continued where they left off last week and raced into an early lead. Leeds then went 14-0 up in 13 minutes as the boos rang out around the Halliwell Jones Stadium as Handley once again was afforded too much space on the left and this time he could jog over the line.
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Daryl Powell was left bemused at the start his side had made, just thes
a week after that disappointing loss to Castleford. Meanwhile, Leeds were on cloud nine, David Fusitu'a had signed a new contract extension and Warrington couldn’t find anything. Sam Kasiano was shown a yellow card for a shoulder charge that could have easily been a red had he made contact with the head.
Half-time came and went as Leeds stayed in control without being able to take advantage of the extra man. They also made it through 20 uneventful second half minutes before the Wire finally bagged a try. Matty Ashton was the scorer as Stefan Ratchford produced a moment of magic to pick the ball up off the floor and feed the try scorer.
When Warrington were trying to pile on the pressure, Richie Myler came back to haunt his former club by putting the finishing touch onto a powerful move through the middle. The away side were up against it for the previous ten minutes but that try in front of the away end, his second in as many weeks, alleviated any pressure that the Rhinos were feeling.
That was enough to secure the points and Rohan Smith will be delighted with how his team approached this game. It is rare that a side sat 8th in the Super League table looks as accomplished and dangerous as this, and perhaps we could see a repeat of last term. Rhinos were below par for the majority of the season, but turned up for the final ten matches to scrape into the playoffs.
Then, they battered Wigan before coming up short against St Helens in the Grand Final. It was a strange season that never looked like getting going, but they ended up competing for the biggest prize. Perhaps back to back wins can help inspire a run into the top six, which looked unlikely when they’d lost four in a row just a month ago.
The Wire looked out of place and out of shape here as they made it five defeats in six, while Leeds went marching on. The top six is beckoning…
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