Leeds Rhinos get back to winning ways after back-to-back defeats from St Helens in the league and Challenge Cup, downing the Castleford Tigers who are still searching for their first win of the season in the league.
Leeds’ last win was their comeback at Leigh, when they beat the Leopards 16-22. After that, Leeds had to wait for their next win. They faced St Helens in the two following matches, firstly losing 8-18 in a game that Leeds could have won after an impressive first half. However, St Helens, the 2023 world champions, shifted into gear in the second half and scored a couple of tries in quick succession and Leeds were unable to get back into the game. A week later, St Helens ran out winners again, with the score this time being 6-20. The weather played its part in the errors, although I feel that Leeds never really got into the game.
Local derby action – the first half
Next up, Leeds Rhinos were away at Castleford. The Tigers – without a league win this season – put up a valiant effort in the first half. It was all Castleford, with Leeds tackling over double the Tigers by halftime. It wasn’t a pretty display from either side in the first half. The pitch was chewed up from both the rain and the game as the night went on. Castleford had the chance to take the lead pretty early on with an attempt at goal, but Richardson’s kick was struck off the post and Leeds collected the ball.
Plenty of kicks from Jacob Miller and Danny Richardson kept pinning Leeds back, forcing repeat sets. However, at halftime the scores were level at 0-0. As someone who was standing soaked in the away end, I wasn’t sure which way the game would go, but I did notice the Tigers looked shattered by halftime, whereas the Rhinos looked fresh.
A Leeds Rhinos resurgence
Leeds came out a different team in that second half. I did not think it was one of their best performances this season, however, they dug in together – something that’s been missing in recent years. New signings Paul Momirovski and Lachie Miller opened up their accounts in Leeds colours with two tries each. A loose ball after a contested kick was dotted down by Momirovski by his fingertips, followed by his second try, which came after some beautiful play between Andy Ackers, Brodie Croft and James McDonnell, who shot through the line to pass the ball onto Momirovski, who dived near the posts.
With the scores at 0-12, and with 18 minutes left, Rhyse Martin kicked a penalty goal to make it 0-14, after a terrible drop kick from Danny Richardson was kicked out on the full. The Castleford team looked deflated by this point, and so did their fans. I do not blame them, because they have been watching some very poor rugby this season. I appreciate the optimism that some of their fans have shown online, but Castleford are currently a championship side at best. But because there will be no relegation this year, they are inevitably safe.
Some cold comfort for the Tigers
Shortly after Rhyse Martin’s penalty kick, Miller pounced on a loose ball that was patted back by Ash Handley – making his 200th Rhinos appearance – and Miller dived under the sticks to make it 0-20 after Martin added the extras. The Tigers eventually had something to celebrate, when Josh Simm picked up a spiralling kick that was looking to be heading straight out of play and beat the Leeds defenders to score in the corner.
Three minutes later, however, the game was put to bed when Croft opened himself a gap to breeze through and ship the ball onto Miller who raced away to the try line. The final score was 6-26.
Post-game analysis
In a post-match interview, Handley said “They didn’t really challenge us, to be honest”. I feel Handley is spot on with this and it reflects how much the Tigers need to improve in their attacking. Fans paying up to £30 to watch their side be well beaten every week isn’t great. The blame lies with the board, who are focussed only on the IMG grading system, when they should be providing coach Craig Lingard the recruitment he wants.
Head coach Smith was very pleased with his spirited Leeds team’s performance and in his post-match press conference he said it was “An extremely strong defensive performance”. For his full post-match press conference click here.
Castleford Tigers vs. Leeds Rhinos rivals round highlights
My top three performers
Sam Lisone is starting to seriously impress me every time he plays. Coming off the bench for this game, he made such hard work for Castleford with his powerful running and when he was on the pitch I felt like the momentum shifted to Leeds considerably more. His defensive effort was great too, especially in the first half.
Lachie Miller was rightfully given Man of The Match by the pundits and I am so excited to see how he performs on dry pitches during the summer. He is elusive and dangerous with the ball. His footwork is so deft that simply watching him makes me glad the I don’t have to tackle him. He was everywhere during this game and made great defensive plays during the first half, keeping Castleford at bay. He is so safe under the high ball that I felt he would never drop a ball in those moments. I am happy to see him score his first tries for Leeds because he deserves them.
Louis Roberts played arguably his best game for Leeds. He was immaculate in defence, collected the ball calmly every time it was kicked to him when the Tigers seemed certain to score points and he got stuck in as much as he could. He ran the ball well and gave his all to the blue and amber shirt. The away end certainly appreciated his efforts and I believe Roberts will only get better and better.
Next up for Leeds Rhinos
The Rhinos next take on Warrington Wolves, who have just been beaten by Catalan and will be desperate to get back on track. This game will be no push-over for the Rhinos and I feel it will be a close encounter. I believe that if Leeds can defend like they did in that first half against Castleford, then the Rhinos will win it. James Bentley will not be available for this game after failing a HIA assessment following a clash of heads with team mate Harry Newman. Newman passed his HIA at Castleford but a severe cut to his upper lip meant he required stitches immediately. It is unknown at the time of writing if Newman will be in contention to play.
The Rhinos play Warrington Wolves this Friday night, April 5th at 8pm.
