Leeds Rhinos 0 St Helens 48: Super Saints expose the gulf in class between themselves and sorry Rhinos

What they learned from a painful 48-0 defeat by champions St Helens was that while they are a much-improved team, Leeds still have a long, long way to go to match the competition’s best sides.

Saints were, by far, the best opposition Rhinos have played this year and the gulf in quality was considerable, as the scoreline suggests.

It was only the third time Leeds have failed to score in Super League – the previous occasion being at Wigan in 2017 – and the first at Headingley.

The last time they failed to score on home tuft was against Wakefield Trinity in March, 1992.

Five months ago, before the lay-off, Rhinos would have fancied their chances against a Saints side who hadn’t found their feet under new coach Kristian Woolf.

But last year’s Grand Final winners and leaders have stormed out of lockdown and were too good in all departments. On this showing, it’ll take a special effort to wrest the title away from them.

Rhinos never came to terms with the opposition’s speed and power.

The hosts were up against it from the moment the team sheets were handed in, missing four players – Richie Myler, Konrad Hurrell, Rob Lui and James Donaldson – from the 17 who pipped Huddersfield Giants last week.

Without their first- and second-choice full-backs, marquee centre and stand-off, it was always going to be tough, but squad strength will be crucial in this intense, shortened season and it was a good opportunity for the players who came in.

Tom Briscoe got through his first game in 53 weeks, without any try-scoring opportunities, but it was another learning experience for youngsters Alex Sutcliffe and Callum McLelland.

Sutcliffe made his fourth senior appearance – Rhinos have failed to score in two of those – and it was McLelland’s fifth, two of those being against lower-league opposition in the Challenge Cup.

Sutcliffe made an excellent early tackle to prevent Lachlan Coote scoring, played in two positions, starting at left-centre before moving into the second-row and had a good dig before suffering an ankle injury.

McLelland looked much more at home than when he got a taste at a similar stage of last season, but it was a daunting assignment. Both will have better days.

Rhys Evans is much more experienced, though he has been out of Super League for a while.

The former Warrington Wolves and Bradford Bulls man made his debut as a half-time substitute, replacing Alex Mellor who battled hard before taking a knock just before the interval.

Rhinos are a good team when they control the ball and play with play with discipline. As in their first game of the restarted season, Leeds gave the opposition too much ball.

They conceded the first four penalties, as they went 12-0 behind and six of the nine in the opening period. The count finished seven-six in Saints’ favour, but Leeds got the benefit of three of the four set restarts. Leeds were never in it, trailing 12-0 after only 16 minutes and were 24-0 down at half-time.

Only a decent effort in the third quarter kept Saints below the half-century.

Brad Dwyer made an excellent tackle to keep Jonny Lomax out, but James Graham crashed over on the next play and Coote booted the first of his perfect eight conversions.

That was after eight minutes and then Dwyer’s pass to Sutcliffe, deep inside Rhinos territory, was forward and from the turnover Alex Walmsley crashed over off Theo Fages pass.

On 26 minutes Fages and Kevin Naiqama linked across the line for Tommy Makinson to score at the corner.

Leeds steadied the ship after that, but on the final play of the half Regan Grace broke from near his own line, skipped round stand-in full-back Ash Handley on half-way and then beat Luke Gale’s attempted tackle for a spectacular touchdown.

Other than that, Handley did okay in an unfamiliar role and Cameron Smith also worked his socks off for a lost cause. Leeds gave as good as they got until the 17th minute of the second half when Grace went over for his second try, from Lomax’s pass, after McLelland and Adam Cuthbertson had done well to hold up forward Zeb Taia.

Leeds were attacking with 15 minutes left when Grace again picked up the ball a few metres out and went the length of the field to complete his hat-trick.

On 74 minutes Walmsley broke through the middle and Fages was in support to cross and in the final seconds Rhinos turned the ball over near their own line and James Bentley put Coote in. Rhinos had no real scoring opportunities in the first half and only a couple after the break.

When they created an overlap and Rhyse Martin’s pass toward the right-wing went into touch, then Handley made a break but his pass inside wasn’t a good one and Gale couldn’t take it.

Leeds didn’t give in and credit to them for trying a few things – most notably a short drop-out which Harry Newman gathered.

Rhinos’ defeat completed a miserable weekend for the White Rose county with all five Yorkshire teams who were in action being beaten.

A message from the Editor: Leeds has a fantastic story to tell - and the Yorkshire Evening Post has been rooted firmly at the heart of telling the stories of our city since 1890. We believe in ourselves and hope you believe in us too. We need your support to help ensure we can continue to be at the heart of life in Leeds. Subscribe to our website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe. For more details on our newspaper subscription offers click here.

Thank you

Laura Collins